How we work
Camfed takes a long-term view. We believe that communities cannot overcome chronic poverty through short term 'projects' that span three or four years. If parents cannot support their child to go to school when she is 10, they are unlikely to be able to do so when she is 14, by which time educational costs will have risen.
In partnership with parents, guardians and schools, we provide support through childhood and adolescence into young adulthood. This system is responsive to the needs of individuals at critical moments, in the transition from primary to secondary education to job creation, employment or higher education. This approach creates a culture of responsiveness that girls absorb and go on to replicate in their lives. The power of the program is in the transformation in girls' and young women's lives and how they use this to transform the lives of others.
Camfed also builds the capacity of schools to respond to the needs of children. Across Africa, schools are more than educational institutions, they provide vital social support for poor children, especially those who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. Headteachers describe themselves as 'mothers' and 'fathers' to many children, ensuring that they are at school and have food and friendship. Resources for schools include educational materials, at once boosting the educational environment and the morale of rural teachers who feel forgotten by the national level ministries.
People who live through problems are best placed to provide creative solutions to solve them. Camfed's work places these people at the centre of programme design and implementation. The inclusion of people who have generally been marginalised, in a visible problem-solving process, builds confidence and pride, enabling them to own success. This process creates a new social context in which girls can move, as educated young women, into positions of influence, their progress can be celebrated by the community at large because they had a big hand in achieving the young women's achievements.
Two vital elements in Camfed's programme methodology are transparency and partnerships.
Latest NewsFeed
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- Fiona’s storyApr 16, 1 Comments
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