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C
onfronting
F
amily
P
overty
PFD runs International Federation for Family Development
courses in Kenya. Since 2006, PFD has collaborated with
CROWF in addressing the work-family balance challenge to
couples. There are six courses, including ‘Married Love’ (for
couples), ‘First Steps’ (for parents of children ages between
birth and three years), ‘First Letters’ (children aged four to
eight), ‘Adolescence’ (children aged 9-13), and the ‘Teenager
Programme’ (children aged 14-19). For unmarried profession-
als a course called ‘Maisha (life): the Personal Project’ is run.
PFD is currently running the courses in two major schools in
Kenya (Strathmore and Kianda School) reaching about 400
couples and close to 50 unmarried professionals each year. Its
revived vision since 2012 has been to run the courses in ‘every
school, in every village, in every town in Africa’.
To ensure that enough facilitators are prepared to help in
moderating the courses, PFD and CROWF have designed
a one-year course called ‘Managing Core People’, which
provides appropriate theory around the issues regarding
marriage, parenting and work-family balance.
In Lagos, Nigeria, the Institute for Work and Family
Integration (IWFI) was founded in 2005 by a group of profes-
sionals. Its mission is to provide solutions through research,
advocacy, training and advisory programmes that enable work
and family integration for better productivity at work and
home, towards a better society. In addition to running many
programmes for medium-size groups of people, IWFI is build-
ing up a database of resources to make knowledge accessible
to the many people who are not able to attend its activities in
person. Another objective is to reach out to lawmakers and
government officials in order to influence policy. Current
programmes include educators’ seminars, ‘Work-Life Balance:
an awareness workshop for HR professionals’, a work-family
integration couples retreat, and an Internet safety seminar.
Since 1985, families have been strengthened in Lagos
through the Nigerian Association for Family Development
(NAFAD). NAFAD has organized courses for parents of
primary and secondary school students, factory personnel,
banking industry executives, postgraduate business school
students and personnel, various church groups and mixed
groups of couples with children of various ages. Other than
Lagos, NAFAD is presently working in other cities includ-
ing Aba, Abeokuta, Abuja, Benin, Ilorin, Onitsha and Owerri.
It also collaborates with IWFI to train potential modera-
tors through the Postgraduate Certificate Family Advisory
Programme. Through running the courses in schools, NAFAD
is influencing almost 500 couples every year.
In Kampala, Uganda, Family Enrichment Uganda (FEU)
was set-up in 2004. FEU is a not-for-profit organiza-
tion that aims to contribute to a better society through
strengthening families through a professional approach to
family development and parenting. It currently reaches 100
couples every year.
Another initiative in Kenya since 2006 has been the
establishment of the Network of African Family Scholars,
a collaboration between CROWF and the (now) Doha
International Institute of the Family. Since 2006, three collo-
quia have taken place in Nairobi. The aim was to develop
scholarship in the areas of the family. Over 60 papers have
been presented in these conferences.
In Nairobi the Family Network International and the
Shani schools were established in 2004 by a group of
parents who wanted to promote family values and the
human and spiritual development of parents, teachers,
children and child-minders. In addition to its work for
children, Shani focuses on addressing parents and teach-
ers. For the parents, the school organizes seminars aimed at
promoting and strengthening the family unit by developing
a deeper understanding of the nature of marriage and the
family, as well as its potential for personal growth. Shani
focuses on teacher development programmes, enabling
A light-hearted moment during a Shani teachers’ seminar
Image: VOFA