Cultural Parenting
Aziza Shafique / Joy Rurangwa
“Making a difference to Children and Families”
Oxfordshire Cultural Parenting Project
“Making a difference to Children and Families”
• Social isolation from within their community and wider community
• Stigma from within their own culture
• Cultural myths about having a disabled child, magic spell, a curse, or
punishment
• Mothers often get the blame for having a disabled child
• Families from minority ethnic groups caring for a severely disabled child
are even more disadvantaged than white families in similar situations for
the reasons above.
Oxfordshire Cultural Parenting Project
“Our Aim”
 To break down the internal barriers such as shame, guilt,
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embarrassment and blame
To overcome external barriers such as language, culture, religion,
race, poverty and disability
For families to access our groups and have a network of support
around them
To support parents to talk about their experiences of having a
child with a disability
To develop self-esteem and confidence and be able to access main
stream services
Oxfordshire Cultural Parenting Project
Tailor made services in community languages
 Outreach programme
 One to one support
 Working with extended families
 Short breaks
 Day trips for families
 Group Work
 Sign posting
 Referrals from other professionals
 Integration into other services such as Children's Centres, pre-
school services, Schools across Social Care, Education and Health.
Support Groups in Three Locations
 EHSAAS Group in Rose Hill Children's Centre Oxford
 EHSAAS Group in the Multi cultural Centre Woodgreen In
Banbury
 Support Group For African Families In Cuddeson Corner
Children's Centre Blackbird Leys Oxford
 Delivered in the Nine languages
Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Pashto, Bangladeshi, Swaheli, Lingala, Kinyarwanda
and French
Dill de Awaz
EHSAAS
‘The voice from our hearts’
Rose Hill – Oxford
Weekly support group
Social and Emotional support
Discussions
Advice and guidance
Eid celebrations
Shopping trips
Crochet
Facials
Massages
Dill de Awaz
EHSAAS
‘The voice from our hearts’
Cultural Centre - Banbury
Visits to Oxford Group
Working in Partnership with Other Agencies
Outreach - Children's Centre, Multi-Cultural Centre, Early Intervention
Hub, Home Support
Diverse Communities
“Hard to Reach Families”
Tailor Made Services
Similar issues to Oxford Group
Support Group for African Families
By Joy Rurangwa
Newly Established Group
 The families that we are working with are still going through the
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first stage of grieving for their child's (ren) disability
Similar issues of guilt and shame as the Asian culture
Mothers are often blamed for the child’s disability and therefore
feel angry.
Outside agencies are often seen as a threat to the families
Language and Cultural barriers make it harder to understand their
child's disability and access services
Weekly Group
Some of the Issues we Come Across
1. Supporting parents to talk about their
experiences of having children with
disabilities
2. Understanding the child's diagnosis by
inviting guest speakers to discuss some
of the clinical issues behind disabilities
3. Accessing our group and having a
network of support around them to
support them culturally and emotionally
Sharing Experiences
What do the women think about our
groups
“I am not alone I've met other women with children with cerebral palsy”
“I don’t feel guilty any more”
“I don’t feel judged”
“I feel important”
“It gives me an opportunity to socialise and meet new people”
“I've made new friends”
“I look forward to it all week”
“It’s a life-line”
Some More Comments
"I enjoyed today, It was so good and fun to know about parents
feelings and how as African we think“
"I loved the meeting, I know now it's not my fault or my mother's
fault if my son has special need. I'm not feeling guilty now”
"I love attending the meetings every week as I learn a lot. I need this
support from others mothers who are going through the same
experience as me.”
"I really learn a lot through the discussions, we talk about positive
thinking; how to work with schools and Parent Partnership to help
understand the Educational system"