Resilience of the socio-educational afterschool and community intervention drop-in centre

Abstract

This study seeks to describe the socio-educational afterschool intervention programme run by a drop-in centre to fight poverty, strengthen and build resilience in families and school microsystems. Indigenous psychology is used as a theoretical lens to understand the school, family and community response to contextual challenges and how resilience is conceptualised. The study took place at a drop-in centre, working with families, schools and community organisations in the Pretoria township of Mamelodi, South Africa. Methods used to collect data included a focus group with community care workers (CCWs) (n = 10) employed by the drop-in centre and a participatory reflection and action (PRA) method with caregivers (n = 18) of schoolchildren attending the drop-in centre. The focus group and PRA workshop were audio-recorded and transcribed. The community intervention programme uses a systems approach to fight poverty, build capacity and sustainability in families and school systems. Findings suggest that caregivers view the educational success and achievement of their children as an indication of their own success and accomplishment of their dreams, with the aim to uplift and dignify the family standing in society and to alleviate or eradicate poverty. Socio-educational programmes for children and families serve to strengthen resilience in families and to decolonise the social programmes and policies. Furthermore, CCWs confirmed that to ensure sustainability, three systems of child development are considered, namely the family (home visits), the school (satellite centres within the school) and the individual system (life-skills programme).