Some important rules:
- Confidentiality (Nobody may disclose any group member's status to a
person outside the group)
- Acceptance of each other
- Respect each other
- Honesty
- Respect different opinions
- No 'verbal traffic' (one at a time must speak)
- Give everyone a chance
- Mutual support
- Cellphones: Switch them off or switch to silent
Do not forget to discuss:
- Attendance
- Punctuality (being on time)
- Participation
- All must help to clean up after lunch and must make list themselves
- If possible, SMS or phone your facilitator when you are unable to attend a group session
- Only own children may be part of the group (not any neighbour's child, friend or cousin)
- Please don't recruit new mothers to the group
Important: The group must decide what their action would be if any of the rules are broken. The facilitator must mediate the actions
proposed, so that the punishment imposed is not too severe.
ROLES
At this stage it is a good idea to discuss with the group your role as the facilitator. As a group, what they must expect of you as the
facilitator, and follow this up with a discussion of what you expect of them. Refer to the introduction for more information on roles.
Focus of the intervention: Assisting mothers to enhance their child's resilience
Discuss the aim of the intervention, resilience, the children's groups and the mother's input
The aim of the intervention is to help mothers to help their children feel better about themselves and to give them greater strengths
and abil ities to cope with stresses. This is called building resilience.
Ask the group what they think resilience is?
Resilience is the ability to cope in difficult situations arising from disease, death, abuse, crime or other challenges. Key points regarding
resilience in children and young people are as follows:
1.
Resilience is the ability to cope with adversity (difficult situations). Children and young people are naturally resilient and are
2.
Resilient children and young people have the ability to understand a difficult event. They believe they can cope, because they
able to cope with very difficult circumstances.
have some control over what happens.
3.
Resilience comes from what the child has, who the child is and what the child can do. The first of these is called external
resources. The second and third are internal resources.
4.
It is possible to build resilience in children in many ways. These can increase a child's internal or external resources to deal
5.
The key place for a child to develop resilience is in his or her family.
with adversity.
Resilience is described as: (Refer to the rubber-band metaphor: the rubber band is used to show how a child can 'bounce back' with
the right kind of support.)
HIV
Intervention Programme for the ENHANCEMENT OF CHILDREN'S RESILIENCE
13