The Philippi Trust SA has four very busy departments, of which one department the Resilient Kids SA programme, has been one which not only touches the hearts of thousands of people who see and read about their work, but it is also a program that has proved over and over again that people can be saved from poverty. All journeys start with a first step and every community is changed by taking care of the vulnerable, the orphans and the widows. Yet so many programmes are "giving people a fish...in stead of teaching people to fish themselves!" Resilient Kids is a programme which does just that. Start changing the children, one at a time. Resilient Kids is a part of the Philippi Trust SA, and is working with community based organisations, churches and individuals to empower and equip communities to take care of our vulnerable children. They provide training and support which enables adults and youth in a community to work with children in a way that helps build the resilience of each child. Their aim is to have, in each community, a team of safe, caring adults and youth who can provide ongoing support to the children of that community.
The Resilient Kids SA adult training programme begins with 5 days of 'theoretical' training in a variety of aspects of working with vulnerable children. After this the newly trained adults are given an opportunity to work with children from their own community in a safe, supervised environment. This could take the form of one or more of the following: a ‘holiday club‘ programme run over 4 or 5 consecutive days within the community, a series of ‘kids club’ events over a number of weeks, or a residential ‘experiential learning’ camp. Then follows a long process of mentoring and support within the community as Resilient Kids SA seeks to help establish sustainable, effective resilience building, child based activities.
An aspect of Resilient Kids that is clear evidence that this programme is changing the community, is to see how many children’s homes in the impoverished communities are now approaching them to come and build emotional resilience in their children. Monitoring and evaluation is always a challenge when the question is asked “How do you measure a life being changed?” Yet I feel that when a community is standing up and asking for their help, it is a clear sign that this programme is working!
Resilient Kids SA believes that all children can and should be given the opportunity to become more resilient. How to best provide resilience building opportunities is greatly influenced by the environment and circumstances of the child. No two communities are identical and the people who know a community best are those who live there. This is why Resilient Kids SA always works in partnership with adults who live in a community as well as community based organisations. Our aim is to show these adults that they have both the responsibility and the ability (with training and support) to meet the needs of the children in their community, especially when it comes to rights and resilience.
However, resources (financial, skills, education etc) are scarce within many of the communities which are home to our most vulnerable children. So Resilient Kids SA seeks to be a bridge between a community where adults are trying to build sustainable, resilience building children’s groups and those outside this community who have access to the resources needed. Our desire is to see partnerships develop between resilience builders in a community and churches, businesses, organisations and individuals outside the community that will ultimately benefit all concerned.
If you, your company or your church are keen to become involved in such a partnership please let us know, by emailing admin@resilientkidssa.org.za.
Article Written by Kay Lorentz
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