Tutela Feed Sept 2023

October 2023 / by Jonny Wakely

Until recently, whenever I would hear someone say the word ‘safeguarding’, I would shudder and feel a rise of trepidation and discomfort within me. I’m fairly sure I’m not alone in this reaction. The mention of safeguarding in a discussion can cause one to shrink back, look away and hope the topic changes soon. It’s not a fun or light-hearted topic and doesn’t generate warm and cosy connotations when we approach it. Sometimes, it is easier just to keep your head down and try not to get hit by the radar beam of the safeguarding experts. When we open ourselves up to the issue of safeguarding, it inevitably involves the realisation that the care and support we are giving isn’t good enough; it could be better. If we are looking for nice and easy things to wrestle with, then perhaps safeguarding is not the one to go for.

Thankfully, my approach is now significantly different to what it used to be. Since the first days of launching our foster families in Maputo, there has always been a strong desire to provide good quality care, and we have implemented lots of training for our carers and helped them to strive for good standards in all they do for the children. And whilst this is important to do, it isn’t enough. The training is really needed, but it is only part of a wider understanding of what safeguarding is all about. This is what I’ve come to realise more deeply in recent times, and my change of heart has happened through being captivated by a bigger vision of the kind of world I want to live in.

It isn’t about trying to tick all the boxes

When it comes to safeguarding, I now realise that it isn’t about wading through a mountain of protocols and regulations to appear as if we have ticked all the ‘required boxes’. It is actually about wanting to be a part of a world in which everyone around us is thriving and loved. This is something I can whole-heartedly sign up to and pursue without needing any persuasion.

It is this kind of world that excites and motivates me - people everywhere knowing they are valued and cherished, and being consistently treated with the kind of dignity that we only want for ourselves. There is a basic principle behind such a vision - if I hope that my own life should flourish and thrive, and if I expect to know a consistent love from those around me, then it is very fair that I put into practice for others exactly what I want for myself. I guess this should be the motivation behind all approaches to safeguarding - a willingness to pursue for others the kind of life we hope to have ourselves.

It is from this place that my attitude to a safeguarding culture, including its procedures and practices, has shifted. No longer do I see a dry, stale piece of bread to chew on. The shift has changed from feelings of inadequacy and ‘not good enough’ to a really positive desire for a better world that I can shape and influence. I really want the children in the foster families to thrive and be loved. I also want the whole Tutela team to experience a strong culture of dignity and flourishing. This kind of world really excites me - I mean, who wouldn’t want this?!

The reality of making this happen is admittedly easier said than done. I am currently on this journey to create the steps for the Tutela team to become more oriented towards a safeguarding culture. I recently completed a five hour seminar on how to do safeguarding in an international context and the main message that I came away with was the importance of taking the whole team on the safeguarding journey together. A better culture cannot be created by simply writing a nice new policy; it has to happen in the minds and hearts of all involved. It requires all of us to look at the risks, the challenges, the practices and the attitudes and ask ourselves how we can better position ourselves to provide stronger care.

Assumptions are the termites of relationships

Another thing we have to do is to address our own assumptions about how other people may or not behave in any given situation. The children in our foster families have all come out of very neglected and sometimes abusive home situations and therefore they are not likely to have a strong sense of their rights or of what human dignity should look like. We may assume that they know and can speak up when something about their care isn’t going well, but sadly this assumption is totally false. It seems obvious to state it, but children often do not have the courage or voice to speak up.

The actor Henry Winkler, the guy who played The Fonz on the Happy Days was quoted as saying “Assumptions are the termites of relationships”.

Termites are a great analogy here, those tiny little ant-like creatures that eat any untreated wooden furnishings, devouring our precious belongings. Becky and I experienced the power of termites first hand when they burrowed into our storage room in Mozambique and had free rein on our stored furniture for two years. When we eventually came to recover our things, many of our shelves and boxes were reduced to dust! This is exactly what happens when we let assumptions have a free ride on our relationships.

A good, strong safeguarding culture does not let assumptions lead the way. Instead, we strive for strong communication channels throughout every aspect of our work, pro-actively creating room for the children to talk in a safe setting, empowering them and the whole team to be open, transparent, held accountable, unafraid to own mistakes, willing to grow and above all, being captivated by the vision where everyone can thrive.

This kind of culture should be central to who we are

This is where I want Tutela to get to. We still have a lot of work to do get to a place where all the team become champions of safeguarding. One way of knowing the culture of an organisation is by observing the everyday life - ie the way things are done around here. If the desire for everyone to thrive is threaded through all that we are and do, then we will be well on our way to a better place.

It is an exciting and daunting task - and at least now there is a fire in my belly that replaces the previous misconceptions of what safeguarding is all about.