Mr Mazibuko (Facilitator) and young mothers
Young Mothers feeding their babies during a break
What it is
Partners in Parenting is a project designed to cater to the development gaps in young children due to the lack of father involvement in their lives. Through years of serving the children in the community in our various programs, we’ve realised that 46% of the households are led by single women. The project brings together the mothers and the fathers (80) and or father figures through a series of workshops and monthly meetings where they are capacitated on how to raise children in a collaborative manner. This ensures that children will be raised in a holistic environment and also lessens the burden on the women, who end having to carry these families alone. Activities:
Family Planning Services
Bethany Clinic Family Planning Nurse on Service Day
- Monthly Parenting Workshops
- Homestead visits for monitoring
- Family Planning Services
Bethany Head Nurse facilitating a session.
The Context
In the past young boys & girls were informally trained to become responsible fathers and mothers. (This practice was called: egumeni; grandmothers capacitating girls on how to be a good woman and esangweni; grandfathers capacitation boys on how to be a good man). Many parents and grandparents have died, due to HIV/AIDS. Its ramifications have created a gap that took away these traditional structures. Many of the children are now raised by mothers 46% (MC survey, 2020). The 2016/17 Eswatini Households Income and Expenditure Survey indicated 49.4% of female headed households
Moya Director, PIP Manager and SAHEE’s Cyril
Brainstorming Session