Psychosocial Support Model: Addressing the needs of Adolescents working in the Informal Sector Julian Tracy Alum Head of Department, Social Work Africa Renewal University September 2015

Presentation Outline  Background  Key Terms  Case Example: Market Vendors AIDS Project (MAVAP), Kampala, Uganda  Push factors  Psychosocial challenges faced by children working in the informal sector  Psychosocial Support Model  Discussion (Question and Answer)  Recommendations & Conclusion

Key Terms Informal Sector  “consists of all economic activities outside the formal institutional framework” Women constitute about 92% of the informal sector (World Bank, 2005 )

Key Terms Child Labor  Any economic activity performed by a person under the age of 15 ( United Nations, 2008 ). Child Vendor  A child working in the informal sector ( MAVAP, 2011).  2.75 million children aged 5-17 years are engaged in economic activities (MGLSD, 2012).

State of Children in Uganda

Child Labor risk around the world

Market Vendors AIDS Project (MAVAP)  A Ugandan registered indigenous NGO  Established in 2004  Addresses health issues affecting workers in the informal sector  Conducted a baseline study about the situation of OVC in market communities

Push factors for children working in the informal sector  Poverty and hard conditions at home  Orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS  To meet basic needs  30.89% were either working for a vendor, friend or helping parents, siblings and relatives.

Psychosocial Challenges faced by Adolescents working in the informal sector Miss out on education Poor working conditions Physical Injury Emotional distress Sexual Harassment (Kajubi et.al, 2010)

Why Psycho-social Support  Essential element of healthy growth and development of a child and is needed by every child for a balanced psychological and emotional wellbeing, as well as their physical and mental development.  Builds resilience of children to positively cope with traumatic and difficult situations  Builds internal and external resources for children and their families (MAVAP, 2012).

Psychosocial Support Program Plan Training of 50 child mentors and 150 caregivers on positive parenting Identify and link children to psychosocial referral centers Conduct home visits Compile a child vendor’s journal by 2011 Hold 1 Christmas party for 200 children Refresher training of 50 child mentors in mentorship and psychosocial support (DII, 2012)

Process Evaluation Framework

Performance matrix for the OVC components Key ComponentsRating and score Excellent =4.0 Good = 3.0 Acceptable = 2.0 Marginal = 1.0 Poor =0.0 Education 4 Health 3 Socio-economic Empowerment 2 Psycho-social Support 3 Child Protection 1 Capacity building 4

Child Mentor-Child Vendor Relationship Strengths perspective (Gamble & Weil, 2010) Mentoring ∞ The vision for the Child vendors mentoring is, “to empower and equip child vendors to realize their full potential in the communities” ∞ Mentor Usually a trusted adult, supporter, role model, counselor (MAVAP, 2012)

How can we help Micro roles Macro roles  Conduct Psycho-social assessment  Link adolescents to individual & community resources  Lobby and advocate  Engage in Policy & programmes development  Conduct community asset-based mapping

Recommendations Closely work with children, families & caregivers Holistic Approach Strengthen existing networks

Thank you!!