Welcome to the United Nations
Service and Research Institute on Family and Children (SERFAC) innovative policy and action is geared to developing ‘Family Centred Practises’ as an effective tool for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals for poverty eradication, women’s empowerment and education because of the value of investing in human resources and supporting the efforts of all types of families to achieve economic independence.
The strategy recognises the inclusion of men because it enables ‘family as a social entity’ meet the challenges they face whether economic, social, sociological, psychological, spiritual, religious and/or cultural. It builds a world order that is just and accepts a stable family as a strong foundation for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.
This Family centred practise was developed by SERFAC and is based on the Family Life Cycle and Erik Erikson’s Epigeneric Model-Stages of development
This practice is based on a radical set of principles, values, beliefs which recognizes the critical role of family as an essential component in social wellbeing. It recognises the strengths, builds on resources within the family, takes cognisance of human needs during the development stages from infancy to adulthood. This practise is also an aid in developing collaborative partnerships, which reduce the asymmetry between rights and responsibilities and creates balance in family life.
This is how it happened:
Rubi and Kannan were married and selected for skills training in the first batch of trainees in 2001.They were selected because they were a young couple with two children. Kannan worked as a mason and Rubi stayed home because she was only educated up to sixth grade. Their daily income was 400 Indian Rupees and they had to care for an aged mother as well.
They accepted six months skills training which consisted of a regular syllabus: training in sewing and tailoring for women and carpentry, plumbing and electrical training for men.
During the first two months Rubi and Kannan went through skills training, language and social education. After a while, when they were able to work independently, SERFAC found an internship for them at in nearby businesses where they could be supervised and return for social education sessions, literacy and language classes.They received a stipend for their work.
After the third month they continued their internship and social education which was integral to the syllabus. The following sessions were held for women and men as one group:
Family economics: human resources, finance budgeting, home management.
Family Education: Reproductive health, parenting, sanitation, nutrition, gender, family values, sexual education, substance abuse, domestic violence.
Civic education: Field visits: post office, banks, police station, registering births/death.
During training Rubi and Kannan received the skills below, along with supportive group supervision:
| Impacts/Outcome | Indicators | Assessment |
| Skills acquisition in tailoring/carpentry /plumbing, electrical work. | Understand and remember the skills gained. | Performance report is maintained weekly.
|
| · Ability to read and write
· Finding employment |
Hand writing, communication and confidence improves.
Takes initiative/ responds to daily needs of family. |
|
| Stable family life.
Ability to cope with pressure, parenting and educating their children. Saving money for purposeful needs. ·
· |
Attitude, beliefs, family values and communal harmony.
Confident in contributing to the development of society.
|
Baseline information received and post training evaluation - indicates change in attitude and behavior.
Ability to save money. Positive handling of gender issues. Shared work in the home, and handling a bank account.
|
Rubi and Kannan were part of a therapeutic counselling group and received a Certificate of Competence at the end of six months.
Sustainable Development Process:
Lessons learned: From the family unit as consumers to the family becoming providers and contributors to economic growth and sustainable development due to:
- Family members become architects of their own empowerment;
- The family offers the first experience of social and economic security;
- The family is the first place to experience gender equality;
- The family is a key actor for sustainable development. The family encapsulates a futuristic orientation and places this foundational unit at the center of sustainable development.
Recommendation for the future: Policies, projects and practices which are family-centered are capable of achieving concrete and measurable results in time, and become self-generating.