
Fully 36% of households receive no external support at all, and almost none receive help of any kind from non-governmental organizations or religious institutions. Clearly these are opportunities for churches, community-based organizations, and the government, to provide all kinds of support to families and the community to care for orphans – school subsidies and scholarships; school feeding programs; expansion of the government cash transfer for orphans and vulnerable children, to name only a few.
Phase II of our study is investigating the effect of several possible mechanisms by which the resilience of children facing adversity could be strengthened – the quality of child-caregiver relationships, participation in organized sports, religious or civic activities, time spent in nature, among others. If we can identify what types of strategies being used, for example by the CCI’s that are promoting the better outcomes among the children living in them, then we can use this information to develop, adapt, and implement, evidence-based interventions.