What are the similarities and differences between Railway Children’s family work in Tanzania and in India?
The main reasons children end up on the streets are the same across both countries – abuse, neglect and poverty. When I visited India though, I also saw that online dating and early marriage also often cause children to run away. That doesn’t happen so much in Tanzania.
The families I visited while I was in India were very welcoming and open to our support – much as the families in Tanzania are. And, of course, in both countries our family workers are respectful, empathetic and passionate about what they do.
Families are families wherever you are – the approach we have to our family work makes a difference whatever context you are working in.
Why is it so important to share learnings between the different countries where we work?
In Tanzania, we’ve been using a therapeutic model for our family work for many years, and it’s seen great results. In India, family work is an area that is still developing. So, after the India team visited our work in Tanzania and saw our family work in action, they were keen for colleagues in India to understand and replicate this approach. By visiting each other’s projects and sharing our experiences, we’re more effective than if we worked alone.
First, we build a relationship with the family and carry out an assessment to ensure we fully understand the family’s situation. Often, parents will have experienced trauma which affects their experience of parenting.
After the relationship has been built, family workers can help set goals to support family members and process their experiences. After that, it’s about helping the whole family heal, build positive relationships and support each other, and to come up with goals they can meet together.
We recognise that, to effectively support children and young people, wherever they are, it’s vital to strengthen the families or family-based environments they are a part of.
That’s why, as well as sharing insights across India and Tanzania, we’re also developing our family-based work in the UK, because we know that, the more positive relationships are at home, the happier children will be – enabling them to build a future in which they can thrive.
