Activity 3: Identify home visitors
Before looking at the qualities that a CCC should look for in an individual home visitor, it is important
to explore the role of the home visitor in the wider community context. The broad aims of home
visitor identification and training follows a transformational agenda, that is, they seek to empower
communities with the capacity to cope with, support and sustain themselves in the face of adversity
and trauma; and to help re-establish and strengthen the social networks and support structures that
will enable communities to do this.
This transformational agenda aims to:
Empower community members with the knowledge and skills to care and support OVC
and their families at community level.
Empower and equip households and communities caring for OVC to:- Ensure the survival of orphans and other highly vulnerable children.
- Enhance access to healthcare and basic education for OVC.
- Provide psychosocial, spiritual and emotional nurturing for OVC.
- Ensure sustainable household livelihoods and enhance the capacity of OVC
to earn a future livelihood. - Protect OVC from abuse and exploitation.
Empower and equip orphans and other highly vulnerable children to:- Care for themselves, their siblings, their aged guardians, and other vulnerable
members of their household and community. - Protect themselves and others from HIV infection.
- Serve as agents of transformation in the present and the future.
The home visitor is the key transformational agent in this process and should understand the full
responsibility of their position. Some broad qualities that a home visitor should have include:
Commitment to the care and support of orphans and vulnerable children
Commitment to children’s rights and to protecting children from exploitation and abuse
Commitment to behaving ethically and acting as a role model within the community they serve
Being trusted by the children, perhaps being chosen by a child
Approachable, with good interpersonal communication skills and a willingness to listen
Ability to maintain the confidentiality of the children, households, guardians and CCC members
they work with
Willingness to work on a voluntary basis.
Give a copy ofMobiliser Reference 4: Identifying Home Visitors(see page 51) to the chairperson of the
CCC and ask him or her to facilitate a discussion with the CCC so that they may decide on the
necessary qualifications of a home visitor. The questions in this reference sheet should help the
CCC to think through many of the issues that will impact on the effectiveness of the home visitor
programme.
Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Unit 1, Module 2^45