Services and support for families of orphaned and vulnerable children

VISION

SA Cares For Life works to positively change the destiny of children and families affected by the AIDS pandemic. Our approach is the holistic support of families so that they are empowered to nurture their children into productive adulthood. We know that you cannot help a child without helping the family. We believe in acting in the best interests of the child, and therefore deliver services that enable community-based care of orphaned and vulnerable children.

OVERVIEW

This project enables SA Cares for Life to provide services to 30 vulnerable families in the township of Mabopane, 50km outside Pretoria. This disadvantaged community is adversely affected by high unemployment and high incidence of HIV/AIDS. There are families with no income, and many with insufficient income. There are also many AIDS orphans in the community, and most of the children are vulnerable due to the poverty-stricken circumstances of their families. SA Cares for Life has been delivering services to vulnerable communities since 1993, in order to increase the capacity to care for children. They make use of a proven Cluster Care model which is rooted in the premise of serving the best interests of the child.

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

• The project identifies orphaned and vulnerable children in households at risk and in distress. The needs of each household are assessed and multiple interventions are put in place to address these, so as to improve conditions and care for the children. 30 vulnerable households in walking distance from each other are grouped in clusters and serviced by two trained community-based care givers.
• Households benefit from focused, needs-based interventions; as well as from being part of a defined community support group.
• The project is rooted in the premise that the best interests of the child must be served.
• Capacity is built in vulnerable households with the goal of self-reliance.
• This project works to ensure that orphaned and vulnerable children receive proper care so that they can grow up in a safe family environment. The intervention recognises that parents and families need to be empowered in order for them to meet the needs of children.
• The project is a replicable model that enables the community as a whole to take responsibility for their children.

EXPECTED LIFE CHANGE

An investment of R231 100.00 enables SA Cares For Life to support 30 families in their Cluster Care system for a year. Services to these families in distress are delivered through weekly home visits by trained community care givers; they include psycho social support, HIV/AIDS education and prevention, food parcels, assistance in income generation, the provision of essential resources and child care.

• 30 families will be supported in the Cluster Care system and receive ongoing services aimed at improving health, child care and income generation.
• 240 people in these households will benefit directly, including approximately 100 orphaned and vulnerable children under six years of age.
• Direct life change at a cost per life of R963.00

This project has breadth, depth, intensity and permanence in that it has the potential to impact positively on the economic, social, psychological, physical and vocational aspects of the beneficiaries' lives.

THE NEED

There is a majority of households in distress in Mabopane. Impoverished families live in shacks. There is a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and ill health prevents parents from working and hampers their capacity to care for children. People living with HIV/AIDS are often stigmatised and isolated in the community, exacerbating their distress and undermining their capacity to cope. In these households in crisis children suffer from neglect and some times, abuse. Many children are traumatised by witnessing the physical deterioration, and even the deaths of their parents. The physical, emotional, psycho social and educational development of these children is severely compromised.

STRATEGY

SA Cares for Life has been working with the Mabopane community for the past 13 years. They have established the Lesedi La Batho Community Centre which includes an Early Learning Centre, the Libra Baby Nursery, a counselling centre, an HIV Information and Education Centre, a skills training centre and the Lesedi Factory. The Cluster Care system is an outreach programme that targets families affected by HIV/AIDS that include vulnerable children under 6 years of age. A network of trained community-based care givers provide a wide variety of services and support to these homes. There are currently 252 families registered in clusters through the Mabopane district. Approximately 1000 children are reached by the project. Over the past years, a number of families have become sufficiently self-reliant to 'graduate' from the Cluster Care system making way for other vulnerable families to be included in the project. As this programme expands its reach, household by household, it enables the community to develop a network of aware and capable households that provide proper nurturing to orphaned and vulnerable children.

Identification and organisation of households in crisis - Vulnerable families affected by HIV/AIDS are identified and registered as part of a 30-household cluster where the homes are in walking distance from each other. The specific needs of these families are investigated and services are tailored to meet those requirements.

Provision of support - Two trained community care workers work in a cluster, each delivering life-supporting services to 15 families on a daily basis. These services include monitoring and assistance to orphaned and vulnerable children, HIV education to all family members, psycho-social and emotional support and counselling, assistance in accessing orphan grants, assistance for unemployed adults to engage in income generation projects, as well as the provision of monthly food parcels. Families are monitored on a regular basis to support their progress towards living independently.

ACTION PLAN

Preparation

As this is a further stage of an ongoing project, the required community mobilisation and organisation is well in place. The beneficiaries have been identified, and their needs have been assessed.

Implementation

This project will provide the means for two care givers to deliver support and services to the beneficiaries on a day-to-day basis for a period of 12 months.

Monitoring

The needs, issues and progress of the households are monitored and assessed by the care givers on a day to day basis. There is a structured reporting process, and care givers give ongoing feedback to management.

RISK PROFILE

Key Strengths

• Concept: The project keeps orphaned and vulnerable children in the community. Community networks of support for families in distress are established and developed. Basic needs such as food security, adequate shelter and health are addressed. There is ongoing contact and monitoring of the orphaned and vulnerable children in these households.
• Design: This project is consistent with past projects in the Cluster Care system that have yielded the expected outcome of families "graduating" to self-reliance.
• Capability: SA Cares For Life's leadership is strong and they have extensive child care expertise. There is a strategy in place that is decentralising the leadership structure and empowering community members to take on leadership roles within the organisation.
• Control: SA Cares For Life has an independent Board, as well as formal systems with appropriate controls in place.
• Sustainability: The intervention is high in intensity and takes into account the holistic needs of the households. The Cluster Care system empowers vulnerable families and enables them to participate in systemic community-based care for the children. For example, there have been instances where a family will take in children when parents of another family in the cluster die.

Key Risks

• Concept: There is a risk of households failing to become self-reliant and depending on the project over the long-term. There is awareness of this risk and an effort to define and implement future strategies that increase self-reliance.
• Design: There is a risk of families staying committed to the programme and of their capacity to network within their cluster to strengthen the overall community capacity.
• Capability: In order to transform the project from high care giving to the sustainable development of households, greater strategic understanding of establishing income generating projects will need to be harnessed.
• Sustainability: Dependence on the support provided through the Cluster Care system is a risk. The independence of all families in the clusters will require further interventions, especially those that are job-creating and income-generating so that the enduring poverty is relieved. This risk is mitigated by a high awareness of the need to incorporate further sustainability interventions. The holistic, integrated care of orphaned and vulnerable children in their communities is a long-term endeavour that will require ongoing interventions tailored to meet the needs of growing children.
• External: There is an inherent risk with regard to the health and welfare of the care givers who may suffer 'burn-out' and ill health.

Project Profile OVC-GP-MAY-0054

Organisation: SA Cares for Life

Sector: Vulnerable People

Project Duration: 12 months

Project Budget: ZAR 231 100

Shares Issued: 4622

Shares Available: 0

Risk Assessment (0 to 5)

Concept: 3

Design: 3

Capability: 2

Control: 1.05

Sustainability: 4

External: 3

Organisation Rating (0 to 5)

Purpose: 4.1

Planning: 4.21

Performance: 4

Resources: 3.6

Governance: 4.61

Sustainability: 4

Project Budget

Project Sector

Vulnerable People

South African society includes a disproportionately large number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs). This demands unprecedented efforts from government, civil society and the business sector to strengthen and support communities so that they are able to meet the physical, emotional and psychosocial needs of all our children. Importantly, these efforts to mitigate this social crisis need to be sustainable into next decades, enabling the children to grow into productive adults.

It is widely accepted that the world-best models of care for OVCs are to be found within their own communities. Institutionalising orphans is particularly cost-intensive, and in our current situation, the vast number of orphans has already overwhelmed the viability of institutional, residential and foster systems. It is also well-proven that it is far better for an orphan to remain in familiar surroundings, connected to their social network. The largest numbers of South African orphans are to be found in the most under-resourced communities, and so South Africa's poor are bearing the largest brunt of the orphan crisis. While many communities have responded by absorbing orphans with resilience and compassion, there is much evidence that families are increasingly struggling under the strain and failing to provide fully for the children's needs. Currently, home-based, community-supported care of OVCs is exacerbating the poverty of many households.

Although the response to the OVC crisis is growing, it lacks the necessary urgency, speed and focus. Many community-based models of OVC care have been implemented by communities themselves, non government and faith-based organisations, but the challenge remains to undertake an affordable, effective effort that matches the scale and longevity of the crisis. There is a great need for cross-sectoral partnerships employing systemic strategies to address the needs of South Africa's OVCs. The government has particularly called on the business sector to play a significant role in supporting the nation's efforts to care for OVCs.

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SASIX Evaluation Metrics

The organisational rating

In partnership, Trialogue and The Funding Site developed an expert organisational capacity diagnostic test, which has been further refined by GreaterGood South Africa based on its consultations with Geneva Global and others active in this area. The result is a comprehensive evaluation and verification tool that GreaterGood South Africa uses to assess the capacity of non profit organisations according to both qualitative and quantitative metrics. The tool encompasses the purpose, strategy, performance, resources, governance and sustainability of the organisation and its activities. GreaterGood South Africa project managers are employed in the field to conduct the evaluations with the organisations implementing SASIX projects. The results of their findings are assessed through a peer review process, and then coalesced into the organisational ratings presented on the front page of each SASIX Project Profile.

The project risk assessment

In consultation with Geneva Global, GreaterGood South Africa uses a comprehensive risk assessment tool to evaluate target projects - a tool that encompasses the project's concept, design, capability, control, sustainability and external factors that will or may affect the successful implementation of the project. At the completion of the project, GreaterGood South Africa will issue a Project Performance Report that compares the actual life change with the expected life change forecasted on the front page of this profile. This report will also include the key lessons learned.

GreaterGood South Africa Services

Project identification - Through wide, expert consultation and screening processes, GreaterGood South Africa identifies top South African non profit programmes that address the greatest development needs in the country.

Site visits - In order to become a recommended SASIX project, GreaterGood South Africa's project managers must have seen the project first-hand and undertaken the necessary evaluation interviews with the project's implementer(s).

Desk research - International best practices and other references are used as benchmarks to measure the projects.

Peer review - Information gathered and project profiles are assessed through a peer review process.

Deal structure - GreaterGood South Africa's project managers work closely with the project implementers to establish the parameters with regard to the expected results, time-frames, monitoring processes, use of funds, budget and final evaluation.

When you invest in a SASIX project, GreaterGood SA will:

Document the agreement - Before funding is supplied to a project, GreaterGood South Africa concludes a Memorandum of Agreement with the organisation which covers expected results, timelines, reporting frameworks and acceptable uses of funds.

Assist with funds transfers - GreaterGood South Africa will assist with the necessary transfers of funds, according to the funder's requirements.

Obtain receipt of funds - GreaterGood South Africa confirms when the funds arrive with the project implementer.

Check progress - At around 3 months, GreaterGood South Africa confirms that the project is proceeding according to plan. The project managers are available to project implementers for advice and consultation on an ongoing basis.

Measure results - After the conclusion of the project, GreaterGood South Africa collects the necessary data and compiles a Project Performance Report which includes an analysis of the outcomes and the lessons learned. Each funder of every SASIX project receives the report.

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To fund this project

Please contact: SASIX
Tel + 27 21 794 0580
Fax: 27 21 794 2239
Email: sasix@ggsa.co.za

Postal address: Postnet Suite 293, Private Bag X16, Constantia 7848, South Africa