Child Thematic Project

From 2004-2008, the initial Child Thematic Project was implemented in five countries (Burundi, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Nepal) and aimed to establish a pilot-tested approach for psychosocial care for children in areas of political violence. This multi-component intervention system includes preventive and curative intervention, making use of established well researched models of care and support. The modules are available on our website (Psychosocial Care Package for Children). After the collaboration with schools, communities and the health sector was established, continuing efforts are made for the inclusion of marginalised groups. In Burundi the programme is still active: many children participate in psychosocial sessions that enhance their mental being.

The programme focuses on some key points:

• Increased skills and knowledge of members of targeted communities: the combination of child resilience groups, peers groups activities, and capacity building of community members will result in increased support skills among community psychosocial workers, life skills among peers, utilization of culturally-appropriate coping mechanisms and conflict management skills among community members, as well as increased sensitivity towards psychosocial needs of children among teacher and parents.
• Increased emotional well-being of children and parents in targeted communities: the combination of the revised classroom/community based intervention, counselling services and parental support will result in reductions in emotional problems and social-behavioral problems, as well as increased trust in others, self-esteem and hope for the future. 
• Increased social well-being of children and families in targeted communities: the combination of community awareness, community participation, parent-teacher relation development, family participation and strengthening of existing support structures will result in strengthened social support systems, increased family- and peer relations and resumption of cultural activities and traditions.  

The combined activities mentioned are joined in a so-called care package. The care package is completely offered/implemented within each targeted community. This means the collection of activities and services are linked to each other. This is done in two ways;

(a) Individual and/or sub-groups can be referred from one service to another within the care package (e.g. a child that participates in peer group activities that demonstrates signs of severe psychosocial distress/problems may be referred to a counsellors; if parent-teacher associations identify a particular family in need of support family support by community psychosocial workers can be initiated);

(b) Some of the activities and services of the care package are partly overlapping during implementation (e.g. football matches may be organized within or between school and the break time be used for community awareness raising; peer group activities may be linked to thematic psycho-education sessions).

In short all activities are integrated within a comprehensive system of care:

• Capacity building of community members / micro support to community infrastructure;
• Resilience groups: enhancing children’s and their environment’s capacity to prevent the negative impact of armed conflict and promote protective factors;
• Peer groups: child-to-child activities aimed at community mobilization;
• Community awareness: engaging community members around psychosocial impact of war;
• Mobilization of key figures and community mapping;
• Group psycho-education;
• Recreational and cultural activities;
• Formation of parent-teacher associations;
• Parental guidance and support: for family mediation, parental well-being and child-rearing;
• Classroom-based psychosocial intervention: group work with children in the school setting to reduce the psychosocial impact of war;
• Group and individual counselling: more advanced or individualized support for children with more severe or less transient problems;
• Mental health referrals and epilepsy treatment: case management for epileptic children and children with psychiatric problems;
• Supervision: maintaining service providers’ skills and wellbeing;
• Research: further development of evidence base and continued M&E activities.