Attachments
Introduction
In the past years, War Child Holland (hereafter referred to as War Child) has been developing its methodology for psychosocial assistance to children in war-affected areas, which is characterised by the application of creative means. In the light of a growing, wider recognition that programmes for war-affected communities need to include psychosocial aspects, it is time to look at the War Child methodology in relation to contemporary approaches. Of interest are both the types of interventions that have emerged as well as the evidence that has been found with regard to the effectiveness of interventions.
War Child put forward a specific request for comparative study, addressing the following questions:
- What are the key types of intervention for psychosocial assistance that are being applied to children in war-affected areas?
- What are the results of (scientific) research into the effects of the most relevant programmes?
- Which NGOs operate in this sector and what is their practical experience with specific methods?
- How does the War Child methodology relate to developments in the sector; what is known about the effects of War Child’s programme and how can these be measured? How will War Child work towards the development of additional evidence?
This paper aims to clarify the key issues, laid out in three chapters:
1. What are the main types of interventions?
- What are the different approaches for psychosocial assistance to war-affected children?
- Which other (creative) methods are applied?
- Which key organisations operate in this sector and what are their approaches?
2. What evidence of success is available?
- To what extent has the effectiveness of different approaches been studied?
- What evidence of success was found for each of these approaches?
3. What is the position and role of War Child Holland?
- How does War Child’s methodology relate to the identified approaches?
- To what extent is War Child’s approach successful?
- How is War Child measuring the success of interventions and what are its future intentions to contribute to this area of research?
In the final paragraph, the main conclusions and War Child’s future orientation are reviewed. The content of this paper is based on a study of literature, policies, evaluations and research documents produced by key policy makers, aid professionals, researchers and other leading experts in the sector. In addition, informal talks were held with colleagues in the humanitarian field.