Organisational care and psychological treatment of vulnerable children in Maputo, Mozambique : A Minor Field Study

Sammanfattning: Many children are vulnerable in Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in the world. The ones considered most vulnerable, so called orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), often live in particularly vulnerable situations that often cause creating psychological distress and traumas. Most of them live in kinship care, but many are supported and cared for by organisations working in several fields, providing, for example, basic needs care, education, psychosocial support and reintegration to their families and communities. The aim of this qualitative study has been to investigate and describe organisational resources, approaches and methods to implement and conduct care and psychological treatment for vulnerable children in Maputo, Mozambique. The study has also aimed to explore how the various interventions correspond to existing models of care and need interventions, and to discuss possible improvements of elements according to theory. Twenty staff members at eight organisations were interviewed with a semi-structured interview guide. The results describe the various organisations’ work directed towards the heterogeneously vulnerable group of children. Views regarding work as well as recommendations are given from the separate organisations and from describing theoretical models and literature. Recommendations can be summarised as requests for e.g. increased co-operation with authorities and donor organisations,  as well as for growth of internal organisational structures. Scarce financial resources are often regarded as the main obstacle affecting the magnitude and impact of the organisations’ work. Other noted recommendations included the need to provide for a higher ratio of teachers and caretakers with psycho-social and special needs knowledge, and an increased presence of psychologists and support staff at the different organisations, in order to give adequate support to the children. A literature recommendation emphasised further monitoring and evaluation of programs to increase the knowledge of interventions for vulnerable children.