Today we hear from Liliana Rotaru, CEO of CCF Moldova, our partner organisation, who shares her views on being a female leader, her biggest achievements and the crucial importance of listening to women’s voices when implementing childcare reform.  

What year did you join Hope and Homes for Children? 

I joined Hope and Homes for Children in 2005 when Hope and Homes for Children and CCF Moldova, where I’m CEO, started a strategic partnership. 

What does International Women’s Day mean to you, as a leader of an organisation working to ensure every child has a safe family home in Moldova? 

While supporting families to look after their children in a loving and nurturing environment, I have noticed that most families are relying on women to care for the family, look after them and solve problems. It’s even truer in the case of single mothers. 

I have witnessed what a woman’s love and courage can do for a child. Even when all circumstances are unfavourable, most mothers will fight till the end for their children.  

When the women feel “it’s them against the world”, we are proud and privileged to be in their corner. 

A strong and loving woman in every child’s life (and sometimes it’s an aunt or a granny or a foster carer) can change that life by bringing into it hope and light. 

What is your biggest achievement or proudest moment as a leader since you joined HHC? How did this make you feel? 

My colleagues, who work directly with families in Moldova have many of these moments. 

I remember a single mum whose two young children were taken to an institution for babies while she was working abroad.  

When she came home, she could not get her children back as she did not have a place to live or a job with sufficient income. She was also illiterate.  

It was a vicious circle as she lost her mum as a child, and was placed from family to family. She felt unloved, and not wanted. 

We met with her and, after some time, we were able to buy her a small house. I have never met a person so proud of her little house – it was clean, smelled fresh and had used but washed and ironed curtains on windows.  

Her children were back with her and they celebrated her 6-year-old girl’s birthday for the first time. 

She said she is going to learn to read so she could help her children do well in school. She had dreams for her children to become a nurse and the village mayor and she knew they needed to stay in school.  I was most impressed when she said that when she will receive her first salary, she plans to help a family in need just as she was helped and supported. 

Why is it important that women’s voices are included in decision-making around childcare reform in Moldova? 

Both men and women have a voice, a unique experience and a perspective on childcare reform. The more diverse and complementary these opinions are, the better childcare we are going to have in Moldova. The social work field in Moldova is mostly represented by women. However, more decision-makers are men than women. 

How do community services and access to childcare help break the glass ceiling for women in Moldova?

Education and skills development, awareness, actions to develop daycare and free daycare for single mums. An example of this best practice is the social nursery concept that we have been promoting since 2011.

Women should have access to leadership skills, grants, entrepreneurial skills development, coaching and mentoring, day care services and financial services. 

Employability skills and income-generating activities for women reduce the risks of gender-based violence and poverty. We need to do more of these to help break the glass ceiling. 

What message or words of encouragement do you have for aspiring women wanting to make positive change in the world? 

I encourage all women who are able to fight to change the problems they see in the world – to start working for that change and start mobilizing support. Especially now, in the digital era, it can be fast, cheap and easy and BE THE CHANGE. 

The post “Be the change” – Liliana reflects on Women’s History Month appeared first on Hope and Homes for Children.

Today we hear from Halyna Postoliuk our Ukraine Director, who shares her views on the importance of International Women’s Day in Ukraine, what she feels most proud of and her advice to women wanting to inspire change.

What year did you join Hope and Homes for Children? 

I’ve known about Hope and Homes for Children since 1998 when a representative from the charity came to visit Ukraine. During that time I was working in the Kyiv regional authority as a Head of Service on Children’s Affairs and, later, in the Ministry of Family and Youth.  

In 2000, I started my professional career at Hope and Homes for Children and, in 2001, I officially registered the representative office of Hope and Homes for Children in Ukraine. 

What does International Women’s Day mean to you, as a leader of an organisation working to ensure every child has a safe family home in Ukraine? 

I was born in a soviet time when International Women’s Day was always perceived as a day when men give women flowers, cook breakfast and do housework. 

Not long ago, Ukraine realised that this was actually perpetuating the discrimination of women in society – creating just one day a year when men pay attention to women and help them in the household.  

Today, the day is an acknowledgement of a women’s role, voice, and achievements in all spheres, especially when it’s about children’s well-being and their right to grow up with the love and safety of a family. 

What is your biggest achievement or proudest moment as a leader since you joined HHC? How did this make you feel? 

Thousands of children in Ukraine are growing up in families, whether their biological families or new families, rather than in orphanages. I feel proud that we have played a critical role either in the prevention of family separation, or searching for a new family. 

I’m also proud that we have created a number of innovative childcare and family services which became a key part of state policies, and developed the evidence to influence childcare reform in Ukraine. I feel proud of the team and it gives me energy for the future. 

Why is it important that women’s voices are included in decision-making around childcare reform in Ukraine? 

It’s important that women’s voices are included in decision-making in all the reforms, including child care and protection.  

Historically, the majority of those working in the social care sector are women. It’s a fact that childcare reform is often left behind in the political agenda due to an under-representation of women in power.

Women need to unite and fight to prove what is best for children and what changes, and actions are needed. 

How do community services and access to childcare help break the glass ceiling for women in Ukraine?

Services in the community are vital for mums who have to earn money and care for their children, especially those who are single mums, have young children or have children with disabilities.  

External community support is crucial to preventing family separation. Community support can build parents’ confidence, help deal with daily difficulties and offer external support.  

What message or words of encouragement do you have for aspiring women and girls wanting to make positive change in the world? 

My advice for women and girls who want to make or influence the change – be brave, patient and ready for hard work. Have big ambitions accompanied by subject knowledge and experience. Have strong beliefs and allies. 

The post “Be brave, patient and ready for hard work” – Halyna reflects on Women’s History Month appeared first on Hope and Homes for Children.

Today we hear from Lourenza Foghill, our South Africa Country Director. Lourenza reflects on International Women’s Day, the power women hold to create change and the need for governments, services, social care provisions to give women the support they need to thrive.  

What year did you join Hope and Homes for Children? 

I joined Hope and Homes for Children in 2008 as a Communications Officer. Very soon, I became much more involved in programmatic work, leading the Witbank project in the Mpumalanga Province, which was funded by the mining community.

As a team, we implemented the ACTIVE Family Support model in communities in South Africa, focused on strengthening families in Malenge, KwaZulu-Natal (deep-rural); Moretele Hammanskraal (peri-urban) and Witbank, Mpumalanga Province. 

I left Hope and Homes for Children in 2011 to pursue personal interests and was then approached by the organisation in 2015 to lead the South Africa Care Reform work. I am now Country Director for South Africa. 

What does International Women’s Day mean to you, as a leader of an organisation working to ensure every child has a safe family home in South Africa? 

International Women’s Day is a celebration of the power, resilience and courage of women working every day to keep their families safe, strong and happy in the face of ever-decreasing socio-economic and socio-political well-being.  

In my work across Africa, I have focused on highlighting the countless selfless acts of courage I have seen from thousands of women. These included orphaned girls dropping out of school to care for their younger siblings, young mothers working two or three jobs to keep food on the table, and older women steadfast as the anchor of their families.   

In South Africa, women of all ages are at high risk of abuse and murder, usually perpetrated by their partners. In a largely patriarchal society, it is even more difficult for women and girls to realise their inalienable, constitutionally guaranteed human rights.   

What’s more, ‘choice’ is not given to women in South Africa, and beyond. Millions of women have to bear the brunt of choices made for or imposed on them by others.  Yet they survive and thrive, creating warm, loving and safe homes for their families, even under the worst living conditions. 

Personally, International Women’s Day serves as a reminder of the responsibility I have to give meaning to the sacrifices and hard work of the many generations of strong women whose blood flows in my veins. 

I have the opportunity to make a real difference – to catalyse change in a country that many have described as a failing state.  

For me, my role is more than a job. I believe it is imperative to work and lead on critical systems change and to advocate for a four-way partnership between communities, NGOs, government and businesses to support children and families. 

This path is the only way forward in order to open up critical development pathways for children and women in South Africa. Through this, we can give meaning to the realisation of human rights. 

What is your biggest achievement or proudest moment as a leader since you joined HHC? How did this make you feel? 

There are many ‘critical moments of change’ that I am very proud of and that give me the courage to continue on this journey.  

If I had to select the two most meaningful moments of change, these would be the design and implementation of the AFS-KHUSELA Community Prevention model that places agency back into the heart of communities, and the opportunity we had to share our learnings on influential global childcare reform platforms, including the invitation to participate in the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung webinars and working groups. 

The Hanover Park AFS-KHUSELA project is another huge moment of change. We were able to prevent 89 families from separation in one of the most violent and marginalised communities in the country where even the police and government officials are afraid to enter the community. I find this achievement hugely inspirational and motivating.  

The strong working relationship that we have built with the government is also a proud moment; able to withstand robust debate, but always working together to achieve the best interest of children. 

Why is it important that women’s voices are included in decision-making around childcare reform in South Africa? 

Women are the architects, nurturers, carers and backbone of society in South Africa.  Therefore, collectively, they have to hold the primary right to participate in all actions to catalyse systemic reform in South Africa. 

How do community services and access to childcare help break the glass ceiling for women in South Africa?

Women, as the primary caregivers and nurturers of children, are often caught up in the web of responsibilities and ecosystems characterised by the lack of basic services and specialist support. 

But, it is the legislated and constitutional duty of government to provide good quality basic service delivery, like housing, water supply, sewage reticulation, power supply, law and order, education and primary healthcare to families living in communities. 

Additionally, government and NGOs should, in terms of the childcare legislation, provide early childhood development centres, respite care and other childcare support services in local communities. This provision will enable mothers to access further training, and education and to enter into formal employment. Without these critical support services, millions of mothers will remain trapped and unsupported; sustaining a pernicious cycle of generational poverty and family breakdown. 

What message or words of encouragement do you have for aspiring women wanting to make positive change in the world? 

Nothing is impossible – you have the resilience, entrepreneurial skills, wisdom and heart needed to follow your dreams and make these real. Focus on what you want to achieve and do not be deflected from your vision and pathway. 

The post “Nothing is impossible” – Lourenza reflects on Women’s History Month appeared first on Hope and Homes for Children.

Today, Rukhiya Budden leads what she describes as a very blessed and lucky life, with a loving family and a beautiful home. But her life certainly didn’t start out this way. Rukhiya escaped a harrowing childhood in an orphanage in Kenya thanks to an inspirational foster father who helped her fulfil her dream to study and travel. Here, in the final part of her story, Rukhiya explains why she is now such a passionate advocate for an end to the use of orphanages worldwide:      

I came to London when I was 17 and, after lots of struggles and setbacks, I made a life for myself in the UK. I met my husband through work and today we have a beautiful home and a beautiful family, but I thank God every day because I know that I am one of the lucky ones. Most children who grow up in orphanages really struggle to build any kind of a life for themselves when they grow up. I know this for a fact because of what’s happened to the other children from the orphanage where I spent my childhood, including some of my friends and siblings, who I’m still in touch with back in Kenya.  

Becoming a mother really brought home to me the reality of what I had missed out on and that I didn’t really know how to look after a child because no one had shown me love and care when I was growing up.   

In 2011, I went back to Kenya to visit my foster father shortly before he died. I wanted him to meet my two oldest children and I wanted them to see the place where I’d grown up. And I went back again in May 2018 to make a film about my experiences for Hope and Homes for Children.  

The orphanage is still there and children are still spending their childhoods confined behind those high metal gates, suffering in just the same way that I did. It was very, very hard to walk through those gates again. But now I know what needs to be done. I’m not interested in making orphanages nicer places for children or giving them better clothes or school equipment. We need to get to the core of the problem. We need to eliminate orphanages.  

All children, whatever their needs, should be in loving families. I know, because that’s what my foster father did for me and it changed my life. 

And Hope and Homes for Children have proved that this is not only right but it’s also achievable. By helping countries reform their child protection systems, by setting up services that support vulnerable families so that they can care for their own children, they are succeeding in closing orphanages, either by reuniting children with their families or by finding a safe and loving foster or adoptive family for every child.  

I’ve seen the work of Hope and Homes for Children for myself in Rwanda where the government is committed to closing all the orphanages in favour of family-based care and I’ve met children from institutions who have been placed with loving foster families and will now grow up with all the care and attention that I was denied as a child.  

And that’s why I can stand here today and say children need families not orphanages and by supporting the work of Hope and Homes for Children you, like me, can be part of the growing global movement that is going to make orphanages unacceptable, that is going to make orphanages history within our lifetime.     

The post Women’s History Month: Rukhiya’s story – part 3 appeared first on Hope and Homes for Children.

Today, Rukhiya Budden leads what she describes as a very blessed and lucky life, with a loving family and a beautiful home. But her life certainly didn’t start out this way Rukhiya survived a harrowing childhood in an orphanage in Kenya to become a passionate advocate for ending the institutionalisation of children worldwide. In this second part of her story, she describes how finding a new family freed her from the orphanage and transformed her life.  

My sister and I lived in the orphanage for nearly ten years, just surviving day to day, never feeling safe, let alone loved or even seen. And then our salvation came in the shape of a very unlikely guardian angel. He was a former World War II Japanese fighter pilot called Tomiji Minigowa. He had ended up in Nairobi and was leading a kind of hippy existence there. We would pass his house on the way to the mosque and we became friends with him. He offered to sponsor our education but my sister and I said, “No! We want you to foster us. We want to live together like a family.” Tomji was horrified at first! He laughed and said, “No, no, no!” but we were determined to get out of that place. We persuaded the people in charge and they got social services to come and check Tomiji was OK. After that, we were allowed to move out to live in a rented apartment with him and our lives changed completely.    

We loved living with Tomiji because it felt like we were a family. We ate breakfast at a table for the first time in our lives, we watched movies together, he taught us how to make Japanese food and how to play mah-jong. 

Tomiji is my hero because without him I don’t think I would be where I am today. He is the first person who ever expressed a sense of the future to me: “You could do this, you could do that,” he told me. He encouraged us to try to make the best out of our lives. His goal was for us to be independent, to travel and study and eventually, with his help, that’s what we did.  

In the final part of Rukhiya’s story, she explains how her own experience of motherhood has made her more determined than ever to fight for the right of all children to grow up in families, never orphanages. Read it here.

The post Women’s History Month: Rukhiya’s story – part 2 appeared first on Hope and Homes for Children.

Today, Rukhiya Budden leads what she describes as a very blessed and lucky life, with a loving family and a beautiful home. But her life certainly didn’t start out this way.  In the first of three instalments, Rukhiya describes how her harrowing childhood in an orphanage in Kenya set her on the path to becoming a passionate advocate for ending the institutionalisation of children worldwide.     

I don’t know where or when I was born. My mum had a really tough childhood, growing up in a village in Kenya. She had her first child when she was barely a teenager and ended up on the streets of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, trying to care for me and my siblings. My Mum also had serious mental health issues and, when I was about five, she couldn’t cope anymore and took me and my sister to an orphanage on the edge of one of the largest slums in the city.     

The day she left us there is one I will never forget. I just had such a feeling of hopelessness. Everyone was crying and dirty, there were children with distended stomachs and there were flies everywhere. When my mother left, I was kicking and screaming. I just remember hoping and praying that she would come back and get me. I remember wanting someone to hold me and someone to hug me and someone to be there, to just say it’s going to be all right.  

I very soon realised that this wasn’t a safe place. I could see what happened to the older girls at the hands of the older boys and some of the staff.

My survival strategy was to be very quiet and to try to disappear.

I stopped eating. I wanted to be as small as possible, to be invisible. I became anorexic but this wasn’t diagnosed for years – not until I was an adult and wanted to have a family of my own.  

There are so many stories I could tell you about life in the orphanage and the neglect and abuse that went on there but there’s one that I think really brings home why these kinds of institutions are an unacceptable way to care for children.  

Every day, the younger children in the orphanage would have a bath all together in a big metal tub in the courtyard. The staff would fill the tub with boiling water and then add cold water to bring it down to the right temperature. We all had to line up to get in but one day a little boy near the front of the queue was pushed and fell in. He was no more than three years old. He suffered terrible scalding and later died from his injuries. The staff told us what had happened but instead of trying to console us, to help us overcome the trauma of witnessing this terrible event, they just said, “See what happens if you don’t behave? Let that be a lesson to you!” 

I lived in that place until I was fourteen years old and then my salvation came in the shape of a very unlikely guardian angel.

Read the second part of Rukhiya’s story to discover how finding a new family freed her from the orphanage and transformed her life.

The post Women’s History Month: Rukhiya’s story – part 1 appeared first on Hope and Homes for Children.