Educating Caregivers working in orphanages

According to the attachment theory, bonding emotionally with parents and/or subsidiary figures who are in care and protection of the child is of crucial importance for human development.

In an orphanage, a caregiver is that subsidiary figure that plays one of the main roles in the psychosocial development of institutionalised youth, but the issue is that they do not have the tools, education or mental preparation to play such an important role.

Statistics show that in orphanages 65%-85% of the youth may have disorganised attachment relationships with their caregivers. Living in an orphanage without the proper care can leave long-term consequences after as soon as 6 to 12 months. Higher rates of low mental performance, attachment problems and stereotyped behaviours are found in relation to the absence of proper care.

The type of work carried out by caregivers is psychologically and emotionally demanding. Working long hours, in many cases without a fixed schedule and many times with having only one day off. While in theory they should be in charge of a maximum of 4 children/young people, in reality is between 6 to 15 children/young people. On top of that the average salaries go between $400 and $800.

All this exceeds the capacity of the caregivers, leads them to burn out and develop hostility towards the children and young people in their care. It also contributes to the statistics of abuse in orphanages, where we have found that in 8 institutions 30% of children in orphanages had experienced physical or sexual abuse, 45% of the children were emotionally abused and 70% were emotionally abandoned.

We created a school for Caregivers to help them understand their protegees better, learn how to relate and how to handle the stress that comes with the job.

Stay tuned for more about the program,

Sincerely,

Your TaV team

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