The Big Give 2022 - Update

How we are pursuing our goals from the campaign

The focus of the campaign was to raise funds to run parenting courses and explore launching the third foster family in Maputo to provide cluster foster care to more children.

Before we could use the funds from this campaign, the Tutela team needed to complete a period of evaluating the current foster care programme to assess the experience of the children growing up in care. Jonny’s visit to Maputo in August was to see this evalution to completion. It was then in September 2023 that we began preparing for the parenting course, which took longer than expected due to some health setbacks. However, we are excited to finally be running the course this month, December 2023.

In consultation with the charity trustees, it has been decided to focus on supporting existing families in the community for the foreseeable future, and to eventually explore other forms of foster care to compliment the model we already follow. Whilst we are proud of the impact that the current foster homes are having on the children, this approach involves managing large costs over a long period of time, and requires Tutela to be more financially viable if we want to consider establishing a third foster family. We are still open to the idea of a third foster family, but do need to be healthier in our finances first.

In terms of community work, we plan to run more parenting courses during 2024 and to get to know the families in our local community near where the foster homes are based. In doing so, we will be able to identify ways to better support the most vulnerable in our area - with practical and pastoral input. The idea is to do this without getting entangled in support that cause families to become dependent on Tutela’s aid.

When we get to the point of considering how to progress our foster care plans, we will consider a community based foster care model which would be a more viable approach financially. This is where only one or two children are placed in a family and there is less financial commitment on Tutela’s part. A number of childrens’ charities in Africa are already operating this approach in countries such as Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. It will take time to prepare properly and we want to do the best we can to provide care that is successful. Community foster care is a different model to what we have done up to now and it requires having a strong safeguarding approach and to be good at training the carers.

We are fully committed to reaching more children in vulnerable settings who need support; this is through our community work for now and eventually through more foster care. The steps we take now are crucial to have a long-term success.

The Tutela team remain hugely grateful for all the support raised to enable us to do such an important work. We believe we are laying good foundations in Maputo for a longterm future where children can be raised in safe and loving family homes.