STRENGTHENING INTEGRATION OF SOS FAMILY MEMBERS INTO THE COMMUNITY.
Growing up as a member of a community is crucial for children and young people. It allows them to build safe and lasting relationships and ultimately enables them to develop into independent and contributing members of society. Social integration into the local society is a complex process.
It is in this regard , SOS Children’s Village Bakoteh embarked on a three days workshop to develop an Action Plan for the implementation of the SOS Children’s Villages Social Integration Initiative. The process was led by the CV Manager and the lead facilitator the National Advocacy and Communications Coordinator.
The purpose of the workshop was not intended as an assessment or evaluation activity, but as an opportunity to contribute to the improvement of SOS family care in Bakoteh. SOS parents, children, and young people can share their ideas and concerns openly in a participatory way with the local management team and develop a relevant local action plan for their location.
The session was attended by Children, Youths and SOS Mothers as key actors. Other support staff such at the Alternative Care Coordinator , Social Workers and Youth Care workers.
The facilitator used the Local Action Tool developed to guide National Associations to develop their action plans. The tool is a 3-day workshop methodology with the focus on how to improve social integration into the community for members of the SOS families in Bakoteh.
The workshop was based on a participatory approach, in which members of the local management team work together with children, young people and SOS parents from SOS family care on analyzing the local situation and identifying relevant actions to improve social integration.
Furthermore, other methods were also used to give participants a greater understanding of the topic such as a presentation on various topics related to SOS’s work, group sessions, and experience sharing.
At the end of the 3days workshop an action plan was developed and ready to be implemented.
