ZAMBIA: Raise A Child In The Family
Sr Cecilia Nakambo Project Coordinator Catholic Care for Children in Zambia
By Mwenya Mukuka
Child Care facility is not the best place to raise a child, Zambia Association Sisterhoods (ZAS)’s Catholic Care for Children project Coordinator has said.
Catholic Care for Children is a project aimed at improving the wellbeing of children in Zambia by providing and promoting long term and positive family or family like care and protection.
Sr. Cecilia Nakambo has said in an interview that though the project is helping to restructure and help mend broken families, child care facilities is not the right place to raise a child.
“We want to see that children stay in their families. If a challenge comes, let’s solve it as a family. [Childcare] is not a place to solve problems. It is actually creating another problem because we will have a child that will be raised outside the family circle, will lose culture, will lose value and sense of a family,” she said.
“We are advocating that for the child to grow well, to develop is in a family not a [childcare] facility. It’s a right of every child to belong to the family not a facility. It is unfortunate that circumstance happened that a child was rescued to offer what the child needed even provided the minimum standard of care, every child in a facility at a certain should back to the family. If they don’t have, it is the task of the facility find alternative care,” added Sr. Nakambo.
She added that Children breaking away from the family unnecessarily should be avoided saying if there is need they can come in and help the family that is struggling and prevent the child from being separated from the original family.
And Sr. Nakambo has appealed for support as they put up measure in admitting children in the Childcare facilities.
This was in response on how some people are complaining that Childcare facilities are not taking in children at any time.
She said the considerations of legal procedures of admitting a children, are in a quest to protect children and for them to have a sense of belonging into the family.
The Zambia Association of Sisterhoods (ZAS) are responding to the needs of the Children across Zambia.
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