Educating Caregivers working in orphanages

In this chapter, we aim to give you insights into the top three challenges faced by caregivers, obtained from our direct involvement and experience alongside them.

One of the most profound challenges revolves around the emotional toll these caregivers endure.
The task of forging meaningful emotional connections with a multitude of children is quite demanding, impacting the depth of relationships they form with every individual under their care. Moreover, the continual exposure to the traumatic experiences of these children can significantly contribute to caregiver burnout, compassion fatigue, and emotional exhaustion.

The second biggest limitation are financial constraints of the institutions that lead to staffing shortages: Understaffing leads to increased workloads, reduced individual attention, and compromised care quality.

The last big challenge we would like to mention is lack of training.
Insufficient training poses a significant challenge as many caregivers lack adequate preparation in trauma-informed care, child psychology, and specialized caregiving techniques, affecting their capacity to meet the unique needs of children under their care. Additionally, the absence of counseling services or peer support worsens the stress and challenges faced by caregivers.

Addressing these challenges requires a flexible plan that includes improved training, better support systems. By recognizing and addressing these challenges, we can empower caregivers and, ultimately, improve the well-being of children under their care.

With our program, we're taking steps to address these challenges, yet we recognize that these are just the surface of deeper issues. We're committed to ongoing efforts, continuously striving to provide as much support as possible to the caregivers who dedicate themselves to this crucial task.

Adoption is a life-altering decision that not only affects the adoptive parents but also the child they bring into their family. Adequate education and preparation can significantly enhance the adoption experience and ensure the well-being of all involved parties. This is why, for the first time,  we have started providing training to parents who wish to adopt children from care centers that are part of our program. Our aim is to ensure that these parents are well-prepared to provide a loving and caring home for the children they adopt.

We are also delighted to share that our program is now operating in four additional care centers and one institution. This means we are supporting a total of 83 caregivers out of which, some are attending online workshops and with some, we mix presential and online program.

Taking into account the valuable feedback received from participants who graduated from our program in the last three years, we have made improvements to the training. So far, we have covered seven essential topics, and the participants have reacted positively to the training.

Previously, we used to start with learning about children's development and especially the problems in development that children and adolescents at risk face, and self-care was the last topic. Now, it's the other way around. The feedback given by caregivers at one of Panama's biggest orphanages is that using tools to manage stress helps them remain calm when children misbehave and cope better with losses.

Additionally, during the self-care training, where depression was discussed, two caregivers mentioned that the training motivated them to start a university career as a way of taking care of themselves and achieving their goals.
We hope, by the end of this year, we will be able to share more examples like this!

Until next time where we will talk more about the adoptive parents

Thank you,

Your TaV Team