violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

208Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsfor them. In Zimbabwe, the Child ProtectionSociety reports that the biggest single reasonwhy families in Zimbabwe do not want tocare for their children is that they are worriedabout the cost of education. 173 Governments arerequired to invest in education for all children,and donors and NGOs should favour helpingfamilies or foster families with school fees ratherthan encouraging the use of orphanages orbuilding institutions. Where necessary, normalschooling should be supplemented with targetedassistance and outreach to specific at-riskchildren and their families (see the chapter onviolence against children in the community).Support for families of children withdisabilitiesWhere children have disabilities, family supportprogrammes which enable children withintensive needs to stay in their natural familiesrepresent an economically viable alternativeto institutionalisation. They provide familieswith various combinations of training,financial subsidies, and services. In the twodecades following the introduction of familysupport programmes in the USA and Canada,the number of children with developmentaldisabilities living in institutions decreased byabout 70%. 174 For this to work, parents withchildren who have disabilities need to be providedwith accurate information about howthey can care for their child and what servicesare available in their community. The same istrue of parents with disabilities or with chronicillnesses like HIV/AIDS.Boys and girls with disabilities have an equalright to education. In 1999, it was estimatedthat only about 3% of children with disabilitiesCase study: helping families to care for children at homeA family in Lebanon had four children between the ages of two and 12. The fatherwas severely disabled and required extensive care. The mother was active and healthy,but jobless and overburdened with her family’s daily needs. Although her three olderchildren were doing well in school, the mother was unable to pay their education fees.She approached an SOS Children’s Village, asking them to accept her children.Rather than taking the children into care, SOS made an agreement with the motherthat SOS would cover the children’s educational fees for one year, and approached theschool to reduce the school fees. The mother was also asked to prepare a business planfor an income-generating activity that she could carry out. SOS agreed to help withstart-up costs and provide a loan for her business. Within 15 days, the mother drew upa plan for a mini-bakery in a shop next to her house. As soon as she went into business,she began to generate income and to repay the loan to SOS. The family soon becameentirely self-reliant, with the children remaining at home with their parents. 176