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Alternative care for children: International Social Service (ISS) builds the capacity of foster families in Burkina Faso

Alternative care for children: International Social Service (ISS) builds the capacity of foster families in Burkina Faso
ISS-AO and the ISS Network General Secretariat are working together to promote the family setting as a priority option for the protection of children living with disabilities in Burkina Faso. To this end, some 20 foster families have just been trained on how to care for children with disabilities as part of the initiative "Another Future is Possible in Burkina Faso: Promoting Foster Care for Children with Disabilities without Parental Support", implemented in partnership with the Burkinabe government.

The main objective of this first training session is to prepare foster families for the arrival and specific care of children with disabilities. The modules developed concern, among other things, the basic notions of disability and the specialized foster family, the social representations of disability, the stages of preparation of the family and the child, as well as the implementation of the personal development project and the individual care plan of the child in care.
This project to promote foster care for children is in its pilot phase and focuses on children with mild to moderate disabilities living in institutions called Centres d'Accueil des Enfants en Situation Difficile (CAED). The main idea is to promote the deinstitutionalization of children from 0 to 7 years of age, i.e., to gradually remove them from the CAEDs to ensure their methodical reintegration into families. The first step is to place them in accredited foster families trained in the specific care of disabled children. The final objective is that they find a stable family life in their families of origin or in a replacement family. A whole support system is in place before, during and after the placement, both for the children and for the host families.

Burkina Faso, a pioneer in West Africa    
The fostering of children with disabilities living in centers, promoted in Burkina Faso by ISS-AO and the ISS General Secretariat, is a first in West Africa. And the choice of this country is not insignificant. In addition to the presence of an ISS-WA office, Burkina Faso has one of the most effective systems for identifying, evaluating, accrediting, training and supporting host families in the region. The project is therefore being implemented in Burkina Faso, with the hope that it will be generalized throughout West Africa.


Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

ralisation dans toute l’Afrique de l’Ouest.