In this episode of Conversations on Care, Amanda Griffith, CEO of Family for Every Child, speaks with Anderson Selvasegaram from SUKA Society in Malaysia about supporting children who arrive in Malaysia unaccompanied and separated from their families.

SUKA works to identify caregivers in children’s own communities – including kinship carers and other trusted adults. Anderson explains why maintaining connections to language, culture, identity and community can be particularly important for children who arrive as adolescents.

The conversation explores SUKA’s approach to:

• Identifying and assessing caregivers within refugee communities
• Using kinship care, extended family and trusted adults where possible
• Preparing and supporting caregivers before and during placements
• Providing case management and wraparound support for children and families
• Supporting education, healthcare and mental health needs
• Preparing young people for independent living as they approach adulthood
• Working towards family reunification, resettlement or safe return where appropriate
• Advocating for greater protection and systemic change for refugee children in Malaysia

Anderson also discusses the wider challenges facing refugee communities, including limited long-term pathways, the need for government responsibility and the impact of xenophobia and misinformation.

The conversation highlights an important principle: community-based care is not simply about where a child lives. It is about preserving relationships, identity, belonging and connection while ensuring children and caregivers have the support they need.

En este episodio, Ron Gutiérrez, Director Clínico de Servicios Legales para Niños y miembro del consejo de Family for Every Child, habla con Denisse Pérez, coordinadora de proyectos en Paicabi, sobre el proyecto Wara, una iniciativa única en respuesta a los incendios forestales de 2024 en Chile.

Si bien la ayuda inicial se centró en viviendas y necesidades básicas, Paicabi reconoció que la verdadera recuperación de los niños también implicaba sanación emocional. El Proyecto Wara, llamado así por la palabra quechua que significa "amanecer", trajo esperanza y renovación mediante el arte, la narración de cuentos y el juego para ayudar a los jóvenes sobrevivientes a expresar y replantear sus experiencias.

A través de actividades prácticas y la construcción de memoria colectiva, niños, familias y profesionales convirtieron las historias de trauma en pilares para la resiliencia, impulsando conversaciones más amplias sobre cómo la respuesta a emergencias debe centrarse en el bienestar de los niños. Escuchamos lecciones sobre innovación, comunidad y el poder transformador de la creatividad en la respuesta a desastres.

In this episode Ron Gutierrez, Clinical Director at Legal Services for Children and Family for Every Child trustee speaks to Denisse Perez, Project co-ordinator at Paicabi about the Wara project, a unique initiative responding to the 2024 wildfires in Chile.

While the initial aid focused on homes and basic needs, Paicabi recognized that true recovery for children also meant emotional healing. The Wara Project, named for the Quechua word for "dawn," brought hope and renewal by using art, storytelling, and play to help young survivors express and reframe their experiences.

Through hands-on activities and collective memory-building, children, families, and professionals turned stories of trauma into building blocks for resilience, sparking broader conversations on how emergency response must centre children’s wellbeing. We hear lessons on innovation, community, and the transformative power of creativity in disaster response.

To mark Kinship Care week 2025 Amanda is joined by Dr. Braden Clark, Founder and CEO of Relate Services and co-author of Family’s latest publication; Strengthening Kinship Care in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Kinship care is the most widely used form of alternative care globally. And can lead to better outcomes in health, education, and emotional well-being than other forms of alternative care, yet it is often under resourced and poorly supported.

Amanda and Braden discuss the limitations of current child protection systems, and highlights the urgent need for culturally inclusive, community-led solutions which reflect the lived experience of kinship carers and the children they care for.

To find out more about Kinship Care week visit: familyforeverychild.org/global-kinship-care-week

And sign up to our community of practice at: changemakersforchildren.community/landing-page/kinship-care-community