Relatives Support Programme

Orphans and at-risk vulnerable children are referred to us by the Ministry of Social Welfare, and our priority is to try and find surviving relatives with whom they can be placed. When we can locate a family member, who is willing and able to take the child in, the family joins our Relatives Support Programme. If we have siblings, we try to keep them together.

The Ministry of Social Welfare also requests our help where families have fallen on very hard times (typically with the death of a parent). In these cases, a child can remain with the family (often a grandmother) and we will provide RSP support. In this case, it is not necessary for the child to come to the Reception Home before receiving our support.

Participants of the Relatives Support Programme bring their children to our Reception Home in Dar es Salaam twice a month to collect packages of staple foods, toiletries, school necessities and sometimes clothing. This is an opportunity for parents and the children to meet each other and for our staff to assess the children’s welfare. Our staff also make a monthly visit to their homes where they check the welfare of the children, ensuring that they are being well treated, are healthy and are prospering at school. We also provide health insurance for each child.

The Relatives Support Programme is at the heart of our mission, supporting and resettling children within their wider family and rebuilding family bonds. We currently support over 100 children this way.