Integrated-Family-Aid-Program (IFAP)
“There are two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children :
One is roots, the other one wings”!
Our “IFAP-Families” are the main pillars of our organization, it is unique in Nepal, and this is what is making “SOS-Bahini” different from conventional “Children-Homes”.
Our children grow up in a safe, caring and harmonious family-environment. They live in individual houses, all of which are located in our “Eco-Village” where one Mother is caring for 8-10 children. All our mothers are widows with dependent daughters. These families are living semi-autonomously, the children join different schools or colleges, and they are making friends in school and in the neighborhood. They are bonding and they are naturally involved in social interactions. We are monitoring the right mixture of small, middle-aged and bigger girls and make sure that the chemistry in each family is right.
The mothers are receiving a monthly budget for food and sanitary items and they are responsible for shopping and all household chores. Moreover, the mothers are receiving an appropriate monthly salary for their personal use. Each family is provided an orchard and all are helping to grow and harvest organic vegetables.
Meanwhile they are living an autonomous life, they are fully under the umbrella of our organization and the TEAM is providing and monitoring anything from education, healthcare, dental-care, transport, recreational activities and the likes.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
We are approaching these challenges in a holistic way, which is pragmatic, direct to the beneficiary, un-bureaucratic, de-institutionalized and cost effective.
We are setting up our target groups in the midst of a community because we believe that this is the best way to reintegrate them back into society and to aid/prepare them to become independent and socially adapted adults. What we mean when we say ‘holistic’ is that we are considering all aspects of the human being and her inter-connectedness and inter-dependence, her constant interplay with her natural and social environment. We aim to treat the situational challenges by looking at the causes of the problems not just the symptoms.
Adaptability has always been the key for survival of the human race and this is the key for the success of our target-groups. Children have a strong ability to adapt to situations in order to survive. A child who has been institutionalized for a longer period might lose her ability to adapt, her creativity, and will become dependent. Children who are in institutions and orphanages may well have to leave when they reach the age of 16/18 and may
well not be prepared to cope with independence and the potential for ‘problems` that reappears and they could be faced with exploitation, abuse, violence, drugs and prostitution once again. Our approach aims to strengthen their ADAPTABILITY and to make them INDEPENDENT.
Six successive such Families have been established over the years and all the beneficiaries have benefited enormously. Being able to enjoy a safe, secure and loving family environment has done wonders for them all. They are filled with self-confidence and all are respected and appreciated members of their community, naturally integrated into the social-fabric of the community.
Once the beneficiaries have completed their education (SEE), they will be transferred to our “Cross-Road-House” for “Vocational-Training” & further study or directly to the community. In this way new beneficiaries can be admitted into the respective IFAP families. This natural cycle enables us to admit a number of new beneficiaries each year.
The beneficiaries are receiving free healthcare and counseling if needed. Our social workers are frequently visiting the families and schools. The mothers of each family are meeting with the management on a regular basis to discuss all issues with regard to the families and their needs. All the beneficiaries are regularly visiting the “HUB”” for recreational activities, tuition classes and awareness programs.
Each Saturday all our beneficiaries are joining the HUB for “Family-day”, this is a day of social interaction were all our beneficiaries are united. All are sharing lunch together and a number of recreational activities, like dance, art, games and the like are taking place.
This is day of fun, joy and social interaction were around 90 of our beneficiaries are united as “one-loving-family.
This too is an innovative project developed by “SOS Bahini” in our aim to educate and empower deprived girls and women with the skills and confidence necessary to live a life in safety and in dignity!
Without your support nothing of this would be possible. Only hand in hand can we do!