ICDP developments started in 2008, when an ICDP core group was formed and the implementation of the ICDP program started to take place through the Caversham Centre, near Pietermaritzburg.
In Pietermaritsburg, ICDP developments have taken place through cooperation between Dlalanathi, the CINDI Network and ICDP. The CINDI Network became involved in ICDP developments in 2010. They organized an ICDP introductory workshop in Pietermaritsburg, from the 16th to 18th of November. The CINDI Network (see website www.cindi.org.za ) has 150 member organizations (CBO’s and NGO’s). Of the 150, approximately 93 are CBO members working in communities in and around the KwaZulu Natal Province. Members are congregated in 4 districts – 1.Umgunglovu & Sisonke; 2.Ladysmith, Escourt & Newcastle; 3. Majuba; 4. Mkhanyakude.
The November workshop was conducted by Karsten Hundeide and was attended by participants from 10 different organizations from the psycho-social support cluster. The scaling up of ICDPin KwaZulu Natal was planned to take place in two phases:
Phase 1 – Training of Facilitators: This includes training of keypersons selected by each organization who will form a “core group” for the province.
Phase 2 – Training of Trainers: From the initial training of facilitators a group will be selected to represent each organization in Trainers training.
Due to the high interest in ICDP training workshops continued in 2011 and 2012. There is a group of 20 certified facilitators, and they belong to different organizations working in the psychosocial field.
ICDP in Gamalacke:
ICDP in cooperation with RBUP and Gamalacke Development Centre (GDC), developed an ICDP initiative in the township of Gamalacke, in the province of Natal. Gamalakhe is a township in the south-eastern region of Kwazulu Natal, and has a population of 12.000 people, mainly Zulus. There is a high level of unemployment and 30% of the population is illiterate. Kwazulu Natal is the epicentre for HIV/AIDS, and many children have lost one or both of their parents. In Gamalacke there are many crèches which offer care and food for children. When the GDC started working in this region they realized that there was a need for competence building and for increasing the knowledge base about psychosocial development of children, both in the township and its surrounding areas. GDC decided to implement the ICDP programme, because it is simple and easy to integrate into different cultural and social contexts.
Since 2010, there have been 3 ICDP competence building seminars per year, for the staff from the local crèches. A total of 40 ICDP facilitators were formed and 250 caregivers have participated in the sensitization process. ICDP materials were translated into Zulu.
2013: In November 2013, a trainer level seminar was held for a selected group of 15 facilitators, from both areas. The future objective is to create a strong gorup of ICDP trainers who can sustain the ICDP work.
EVALUATION
An evaluation of the results of the ICDP implementation was carried out by a master student from the University of Oslo, Norway; the results were very positive. Parents who had attended ICDP courses (N=50) were compared to those who did not (N=34) on their pre and post scores on parenting, psychosocial health, and child strenghts and difficulties.
Parents who had attended the ICDP course showed positive changes in their parenting strategies and in their perception of the child’s difficulties. There was a significant decrease in the punitive parenting strategies, from 80% to 58%, as well as lower scores on the statements that attributed negative intentions to the child. Parental mental health difficulties decreased significantly.
There were few significant associations between parental reflective functioning and other measures before the ICDP course. After the course, parents reported an increased interest in the child’s mental processes and this was significantly associated with positive parenting strategies.
As such, parental guidance can help to change punitive parenting strategies, including physical discipline, even when these are embedded in culture. Parents who attended ICDP courses seemed to have integrated their actions towards the child with interest in the child’s thoughts and feelings in a different way after the course. The study raises new research questions about parents’ perceptions of the child as a mental agent and about cultural variations in child rearing.
2012 report