THE EXPERIENCE OF SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION FROM A CHILDREN’S HOME TO INDEPENDENT LIVING

Abstract

The research explores the experience of growing up in a children’s home, as well as the experience of having to make a transition from a children’s home to society. It wants to know from individuals who have lived this experience, what they believe aided them in attaining success and what has hindered their strivings. In consultation with SOS Children’s Villages, the researchers chose to follow a positive ethos similar to Cooperrider’s Appreciative Inquiry (Hammond, 1996). Appreciative inquiry is a theory of organisational change that focuses on “what works” rather than traditional “what is broken” models of problem solving (Hammond, 1996). The underlying assumptions of appreciative inquiry are (1) “in every society, organisation or group, something works” and (2) “what we focus on becomes our reality” (Hammond, 1996:4). Consequently, the present research is aimed at learning, “what works” from the experience of those that have grown up in their villages.

Keywords

• children’s home
• sos children’s village
• case study
• independent life
• orphanage
• orphan
• sos adults