“The program encourages people not to have a heavy heart”: a qualitative study of a family strengthening program in Kenya

ABSTRACT

There are millions of street-connected children worldwide, with thousands estimated in Kenya. Many child-serving organizations, including Agape Children’s Ministry in Kenya, aim to remove children from the streets, and provide rehabilitation and family reintegration. This study aims to elucidate barriers and facilitators of Agape’s Family Strengthening Program (FSP) and elicit feedback. Twelve children, 12 caregivers, and 11 staff participated in interviews. Salient child/caregiver themes include: (1) spirituality/religion, (2) reflections on the FSP, (3) reflections on Agape, and (4) family functioning. Staff themes were similar. Results amplify the voices of the participants regarding provision of and participation in the FSP.

KEYWORDS:

• Kenya
• sub-Sahara Africa
• street-connected children
• family functioning
• qualitative
• in-depth interviews

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) for their Research Challenge Grants program, made possible with funding from the UBS Optimus Foundation. We are immensely grateful to the staff and families of Agape Children’s Ministry who took their valuable time to share their experiences as providers or recipients of the Family Strengthening Program and without whom none of this work would have been possible. We would also like to thank Em Brandon, Meghan Chasar, and Richard Wren who assisted with transcript coding and data entry.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2024.2326435

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Ethics approval statement

The study was approved (#851622) by the University of Pennsylvania’s Institutional Review Board.

Notes

1. Family Strengthening Program refers to a crisis intervention program offered by Agape Children’s Ministry in Western Kenya. It is not related to the Strengthening Families Program, an evidence-based parenting skills, children’s social skills, and family life skills training program specifically designed for high-risk families in the United States.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Christian Alliance for Orphans Research Challenge Grants Program, with funding from the UBS Optimus Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Johanna K. P. Greeson

Johanna K. P. Greeson is an Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice and the Managing Faculty Director of the Field Center. Her published work includes scholarly articles and book chapters on natural mentoring and evidence-based child welfare practices. She received her PhD in Social Work from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

John R. Gyourko

John R. Gyourko is a PhD in Social Welfare student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice. John earned his BA in psychology at Virginia Tech and his Master of Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University. John’s research interests include public policy, service delivery, and adult outcomes of children and youth in foster care.

Sarah Wasch

Sarah Wasch is the Associate Director at the Field Center. She has held social service practice and advocacy roles for over two decades. Sarah holds a BA from Tufts University in Child Development and Sociology and a master’s in social work from the University of Pennsylvania.

Christopher S. Page

Christopher S. Page is the Kenyan Field Director for Agape Children’s Ministry. Chris and his family moved to the Agape Kisumu campus in 2011. Chris has experience in management and leadership roles both in the US Army and business.