The Granny Program

WHY A GRANNY PROGRAM?

The initial relationship between a child and their primary caregiver strongly predicts a child’s emotional and physical health.

Due to a lack of resources, children living in institutionalized settings are often deprived of individual care. This lack of human interaction is correlated to risks of lifelong developmental delays and challenges with healthy attachment.

Grannies are trained in child development and trauma-based care. Within just six months of participating in the program, more than 90% of children experience marked improvements in their motor, social, and cognitive development.

HOW HAS IT HELPED?

The Granny Program is a simple, direct, and cost-effective way to forever change the lives of children in institutions around the world with proven results.

Over 500 children are currently paired with Grannies. The program and its extensions currently benefit children living in orphanages in South Africa and Colombia, and will open in Ghana later this year.

As the Granny Program has proven to be a scalable, replicable model, Spence-Chapin is working to bring the program to more countries around the world who are seeking the great impact it has on the lives of those it serves.

WHO DOES IT BENEFIT?

Giving a child a trusted adult and attachment figure leads to startling improvements in development and attachment.

Children who could not sit on their own are soon rolling over and crawling. Little ones who were previously withdrawn emotionally now raise their arms to be picked up when their Grannies arrive for the day.

The Grannies also benefit from the program through the additional financial support they receive to help their families, and the renewed sense of purpose they feel in bonding with the children they serve and giving back to their communities.

Granny Program Donation Form

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$30- Provide a Child with a Granny for One Week
$50- Sponsor a piece of new playground equipment
$125- Provide a Child with a Granny for One Month
$1,500- Provide a Child with a Granny for One Year
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Donation Total: $125.00 One Time

"The bonding and attachment that I have with my children motivates me to continue with the Granny program. They told me that I should not go on leave because they miss me - this touched my heart. It also gives me strength to wake up every morning and go to work. The therapy that we get as Grannies from Ububele also gives me the confidence to continue giving love to my children."

Granny Lizzy

“I could write pages and pages about the impact our Gogo Beryl had on our sweet Levi. She started seeing him when he was about seven months old and she began taking him to physical therapy. The therapists taught her what exercises to do with him and she did. I have a pediatric physical therapy background and I know that without her interventions and dedication to completing the exercises with him, he would not have been as strong when we went to adopt him. He formed a strong bond with his Gogo - she showed him what love is and that attachment has transferred beautifully to our family.”

Jen, Mother of Levi

When Jordan* first met his Granny, he was two years old and completely non-communicative. His Granny began by sitting next to him and engaging him in play time. Everyday for the first week, she would come in and they would silently play with toys - stack blocks, roll a ball, color with crayons. By the second week, Jordan began pointing to the games he wanted to play with his Granny, indicating which he liked and which he didn’t. Since then, Jordan has begun to improve other skills as well, such as writing and properly holding a crayon.

*Name and photo changed to protect privacy

"These kids need love. They don't have parents, so I'm here for them, to give them love, to show them how important they are. I've been a Granny since 2015, and I hope I'll be here until the last day of my life!"

Granny Sasa

When Nkuli* met her Granny, she was almost three years old and could only mumble in baby talk. She grew close to her Granny very quickly and began imitating what her Granny was saying to her. She attends physio and speech therapies, and her Granny follows the exercises prescribed by the specialists to help Nkuli walk and speak. Together, they have made great progress, and Nkuli lights up each day when she sees her Granny arrive.

*Name and photo changed to protect privacy

In 2019, Spence-Chapin launched Project Play as a complement to the Granny Program to address the critical role of play in children’s lives. Due to a lack of vital resources, many orphanages around the world are not able to provide an area for children to engage in structured and unstructured play which is crucial in helping children reach developmental milestones.

Project Play allows Spence-Chapin to build playgrounds at children’s orphanages with state-of-the-art equipment and stations with much-needed play space to engage in sensory, creative, active, and group play. It also supplies birthday and holiday gifts and celebrations for children who so often never receive recognition on these special days.

Because of Project Play, brand new playgrounds have finished being built at half of the orphanages where The Granny Program currently operates.

The Step Up initiative within the Granny Program allocates funding for each child to go shopping and select their own new pair of shoes.

Children in institutionalized care are often recipients of handed-down clothing and shoes that are used and may not reflect their individual sense of style.

By giving them the precious gift of choice and allowing them to hand-pick their own shoes, Step Up increases the children’s confidence and sense of self.

In 2022, we created THRIVE, a program designed to equip young adults in the program with Technical skills, Higher education goals, Resources for navigating academia and job seeking, Independent living skills, Vocational skills access, and, ultimately, Employment.

Mentors offer one-on-one guidance in academic, educational, and leadership pursuits, preparing mentees not just practically but also mentally and emotionally for their transition to adulthood.

Further, THRIVE leaders provide connections to universities, internships, and future jobs, and offer stipends for youth actively participating in the program so they can learn the critical skills of independent living and budgeting with their mentors.