FOUNDATION PIP
History of the PIP program
The Journey
The Foundation P.I.P (Puppet Interview Program) was founded in 2011 in Kisumu, Kenya to fill the gap for the practitioner by providing the PIP methodology focused on the well-being of the child and its family at large.
The founder, who has had a family counselling career that spanned thirty years in the Netherlands came to Kenya and volunteered her services with a street-connected children’s organization based in Kisumu. Her observations during this period made it clear to her that most street-connected organizations only provide the child with basic needs. She further realized that most of these children have undergone traumatic life experiences that makes them run from home and end up in the streets. Once on the streets, these children frequently have to fend for themselves in an unsafe and often criminally charged environment, which leaves them with even more emotional scars.
The main goal of the street-connected organizations is to reintegrate the child back into the community reunited with their family. However, many of the practitioners are faced with challenges of children’s relapse back into the streets as a result of unresolved issues at home.Upon deeper exploration in conversations with practitioners,it became evident that an essential part of the psycho-social guidance of the child and his family was lacking.
Success Stories
During the entire reintegration process, the negative psychological effects on the child being separated from his nuclear family cannot be over stated. Here in lays the challenge, both for the practitioner and the child.
In order for organizations and practitioners to accept the methodology as being feasible, Foundation PIP took charge of children from rescue centers and institutions, who come from disrupted families with the aim of reintegrating them back into their original communities and giving them the hope and vision of a possible brighter future.
The methodology which is designed for both the practitioner and the child specifically, is geared towards addressing the challenges that most practitioners encounter when counselling the different ‘individual’ cases.
Benefit for the practitioner: The methodology equips him with the skills of how to treat the complicated issues the child and family are confronted with.
Benefit for the child: The methodology enables the child to see that he is a part of the problems that has affected his situation from a multi-perspective view.
All the children that were supervised and supported financially by the Foundation PIP, were monitored during the entire reintegration process and their progress evaluated after every key step of the process.
This resulted in: Families taking back the responsibility of caring for their children; The children that had dropped out of school resumed their formal education; of the initial children, there are those who have acquired tertiary education or started their own businesses.
The invaluable lessons that have been learnt over the years from the feedback given both by the practitioners and the children, have contributed towards the further development of the methodology.
“Heartbreaking stories how these children were abused, exploited neglected, lack of school education, coming from broken families or without living parents, made me decide to help and support these children to be recognized in their struggles to overcome their problems and regain a better life”.
“It has become our mission to reintegrate some of them into their families using a methodology that PIP has developed as a preventive and curative measure for practitioners to help and guide the children and their families in finding solutions for their problems”.
PIP Foundation – Netherlands Board
Director: Charlotte Kolff
Chairman: Foeke Kolff
Treasurer: Julia Blauwkuip
Secretary: Anne Noordzij
PIP Foundation – Kenyan Board
Chairman: Apollo Athiambo
Treasurer: Sarah Vijzelman
Secretary: Alex Mbogo
Partnerships
Together we achieve more. That’s why we work together with different stakeholders. All with one goal: a better support the child, family and the community on their psycho social needs.
Please find below a list of organisations we work with.
