Activities within the cluster care programme

Mon, 28 September 2009

“I thank God for bringing SA Cares for Life into our lives. I have moved from a two roomed tin house into a four roomed brick house. I am very proud of the fact that I even have a toilet – I would like all my visitors to see it. Thank you SA Cares for Life.” Ma Joyce, Mabopane.

Final Report: Providing services and support for families of vulnerable children

SA Cares for Life has been delivering services to vulnerable communities since 1993 with the aim of increasing their capacity to care for their children. 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 in order to improve conditions and care for the children. Employing a Cluster Care model, identified households within walking distance of each other are grouped together into clusters of 30, with each cluster serviced by two trained, community-based care givers. SASIX supported one of these clusters (Cluster 5), enabling SA Cares for Life to provide services to 30 vulnerable families.

Cluster 5 is located in the township of Mabopane, which is about 50 kilometres north-west of Pretoria. Mabopane is a poverty-stricken community with high rates of unemployment and HIV/AIDS. These conditions have led to a high number of AIDS orphans and otherwise vulnerable children in the community. Families supported through the Cluster Care project have an insufficient income to meet their children’s basic needs, and some have no income at all.

SA Cares for Life uses the services of care workers to support the families in the Cluster Care project. The care workers do the initial identification process as they are members of the community. Each care worker talks to families about their needs and assists in identifying their most important and urgent needs. They then submit a report to the Cluster Care Manager. Provided that these needs fall into the categories that SA Cares for Life can cater for, the manager then decides how to implement the intervention, taking into consideration the needs of the family, the recommendations of the care worker and affordability.

The special needs identified and supported included sending children to the Early Learning Centre, providing food parcels and nutritional supplements, making minor repairs and renovations to homes, organising appointments with social workers and optometrists and purchasing school uniforms.

Activities

During the period under review, SA Cares for Life registered families and established an Early Learning Centre. Two care-workers were employed to implement the project in Mabopane. They serviced 30 families with 153 adults and 227 children with a workload of 15 families per care worker. Family size varied between five and 16 members. Most of the project’s activities (including early learning, skills development and counselling) are undertaken at the Lesedi Centre, which was established by SA Cares in 2004 to offer services to the community, under the supervision of the centre manager. The families were assisted in the following ways:

• 403 food parcels were distributed to 31 families a total of 153 adults and 227 children.
• All families received psycho-social support and HIV/AIDS and life skills education on a monthly basis.
• 20 families’ situation improved and they were exited from the programme creating space for 20 new families and increasing the number of families helped to 51.
• 1460 contact visits were made to the families.
• 51 families have received education and information about HIV/AIDS as well as ARV treatment
• 51 families received assistance in starting the process to apply for ID’s or birth certificates as needed.
• 15 families have been involved in establishing and maintaining small food garden.
• 31 families received SEJO porridge (For those infected by HIV/AIDS) – there is at least one HIV positive person in each family.
• 31 families received B.O.L Vitamin supplements for those infected by HIV/AIDS.
• 31 families in need received school stationary & clothes.

Impact

• Care givers and parents are given training and guidance on how to deal with their children and how to be sensitive to their emotional needs. As a result this intervention and the involvement of care workers with the families, the children receive improved emotional care and support.

• The distribution of food parcels and establishment of food gardens ensures that children are better nourished.

• The Early Learning Centre has helped to prepare children for formal schooling, as well as allowing care givers the time to develop skills and attend school. Parents were successfully encouraged to send their children to the centre. The centre accommodates 60 needy children from the community. SA Cares for Life paid fees of R300 per month per child for 15 children over a period of 12 months.

• SA Cares for Life works through different means to assist families to exit the programme and to achieve sustainability. This includes the establishment of food gardens, skills development programmes and involving individual donors in the project to maximise the value of the support.

• The Cluster Care project is supported by an individual sponsorship project, through which an individual donor within the same community can sponsor one specific family on a monthly basis over a period of twelve months. The donor receives an initial intake report and bi-annual feedback reports on the specific family and children. This enables SA Cares for Life to expand its services to other communities while encouraging community members to look after one another.

• The assistance from care workers in obtaining birth certificates and identity documents has made it possible for some families to gain access to government grants (where applicable).

• SA Cares for Life has established a skills development programme where it encourages families to become self-sustaining by learning skills that will enable them to find work or to create their own work where possible. Items produced through this programme include beadwork and shoes. The Touch for Life “shop” where these goods as well as second hand clothes are sold to the public has been established.

• According to SA Cares for Life, the organisation has grown tremendously over the past three years. The focus is now placed on organisational development, to allow SA Cares to increase its capacity in order to replicate the model into different areas.

Description	Total Budget	Total Expenses to date	Under-spent / Over-spent	Reason for Variance
Food Parcels	72 000	75 168	- 3 168	Deviation as food prices increased considerably
Care Workers	36 000	38 400	-2 400	R2,400 received from other donors
Specific Family Needs	102 000	98 913	3 087	Spent less to make up for deviation with food parcels
Admin	6 000	6 900	-900	R 900 received from other donors
TOTAL	216 000	219 381	-3 381	Difference received from other donors

SA Cares for Life overspent by R3,168 on food parcels because there was an increase in food prices. They made up for that by spending R3, 087 less on family specific needs. The family specific needs included minor repairs and renovations to houses – particularly to leaks in tin houses – as well as stationery and uniforms for the children. In addition, some children were taken to private optometrists or specialists for various needs because of the delays and difficulties in getting assistance through the public health system.

Challenges

• The care workers struggled with the government department workers as most of them are overloaded and cannot get to all the cases. SA Cares for life made contact with the community care workers and established positive networking meetings with them on a monthly basis. The care workers have also networked with other organisations in the area to maximise the services that can be offered to the clients.

• The families on the programme became attached to the care workers and dependent on the programme which made it difficult for the organisation to exit them.

• The skills development component has not worked well and is still a work in progress. This is largely because most of the families are headed by elderly people who are not able to use the skills learned to provide for their families. In addition, while the Touch for Life shop has been established, it is not profitable at this stage.

• The supervision of the care workers on an emotional level has been challenging. The care workers visit families on a daily basis and they are faced with family violence, abuse, poverty and hopelessness. At times, these situations become too much for the care workers to bear and many of them feel overwhelmed by the dire need that they see. To combat this and increase the care workers’ emotional strength, SA Cares for Life has included weekly supervision and sharing sessions for care workers. During these sessions, the care workers have the opportunity to debrief and to share their difficult stories with each other with the help of a psychologist and trained counsellor.

• The number of orphaned children is increasing in rural communities where SA Cares operates. In the past, community members and extended family took care of each other’s children. This system is disintegrating because of HIV/AIDS: many care givers die or are too ill to provide care, and the additional burden is often too much for extended family, many of whom are already care for many children and are themselves ailing. This has meant that some children have had to be placed in unfamiliar communities. To address this, SA Cares for Life is establishing Community Foster Homes within the Mabopane community where care givers will be able to care for a maximum of six children. The homes will have house parents or a house mother caring for the children so that it is as close to a normal family experience as possible.

• SASIX observation during the site visits is that the organisation has room for improvement in terms organisational development and professionalism. It is always difficult to get hold of them over the phone and even when messages are left they never return calls. They also take long to respond to requests for documents.

Monitoring and Evaluation

In the Cluster Care programme, care workers complete written reports on all visits to families. Each family has a file and these reports are stored in their file. The Cluster Care manager holds monthly sessions with the care worker to discuss every family individually. Every month care corkers complete formal, comprehensive feedback reports on every family. The managers of Lesedi Centre had close contact with all care workers and met with them regularly to provide guidance and support.

Care workers had input into activities involving children and could monitor children and how they are treated by adults. Care workers liaised with schools and the Early Learning Centre to improve school attendance. They also spent much time with parents and care givers, teaching them parenting skills and how to communicate with their children and treat them with respect.

SA Cares for Life had an external consultant compile an overall evaluation on the impact of its model in the community. The assessment was very positive and showed how the projects influence the families’ lives. As a result of the evaluation, the model was replicated in another disadvantaged community in Pretoria. This evaluation lacked balance, as it focused mainly on beneficiaries who were dependent on SA Cares for Life for support, and had not had not received assistance from the government or any service provider other than SA Cares. There is a plan to commission an extensive evaluation in 2010, which will interview all stakeholders and partners.

Conclusion

SA Cares for Life has been successful in the implementation of the project in Mabopane. This was verified through the reports submitted to SASIX as well as a site visit conducted by a SASIX evaluator. The success of the project can be attributed to the community involvement and the appreciation of the support they get through the care workers.

During the visit, three families with at total of 15 adults and 25 children were visited. Two of the families are still on the programme, and the other family was discharged in 2008. The support they received ranged from counselling to food parcels and supplements to assistance in obtaining official documents from government departments.

The Monares – a family of 16 – live in a three-roomed tin house in Itsoseng, an informal settlement in Mabopane. Despite government’s promises for water and electricity, the people of Itsoseng still have to fetch water from the river and collect wood to make fire. The two parents are unemployed with 8 children and 6 grand children. The family survives on one disability grant received by their HIV positive daughter and 3 child support grants which 3 grandchildren receive from the government. Because of the size of the family, they receive two food parcels per month. The food parcels contain sugar, rice, mealie-meal, beans, salt, soup, sunlight washing powder and sunlight bath soap. The family also receives other services including counselling. Without the support of SA Cares for Life this family would not be able to survive. SA Cares for Life has secured individual sponsors for the children and is in the process of training the mothers to be able to provide for themselves. The 3 child support grants were secured with the assistance of SA Cares for Life, and while these have made a substantial difference to their lives, the money is insufficient to sustain the entire family. The parents are due to receive government grants when they turn 60 in 2010. Until then it is likely that they will remain on the Cluster Care programme. The Monare family cannot have a food garden because of the lack of water in Itsoseng.

Ma Joyce, also visited during the evaluation exited the programme more than 6 months ago. When she was admitted onto the programme, she had 8 children and was unemployed. She lost 3 children in 2006 and received emotional support from SA Cares. At the time, she lived in a two-roomed tin house with all of her 8 children. Through the assistance of care workers she successfully applied for an RDP house with water and electricity. She also received food parcels every month and was discharged when she started getting child support grants for her grandchildren and an old age grant for herself.

The SASIX evaluation has found that despite having a lot of room for improvement in terms of administration and professional organisations, SA Cares for Life has been successful in implementing this programme in Mabopane. The beneficiaries of this project have seen significant improvements in their quality of life and future prospects, and the high number of people progressing from the programme is a very positive sign.

SA Cares for Life provides support to 31 families in Mabopane

Thu, 26 February 2009

“I had a baby in the nursery that was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. She was very sick and her family lost hope that she would live again. I gave her SEJO porridge and she started to get stronger. After only three days she started standing in her cot and calling ‘Mama’. She is now healthy and her family were happy to take her back.”

REPORT 2: Providing services and support for families of vulnerable children

This project enabled SA Cares for Life to provide services to 30 vulnerable families in the township of Mabopane, 50km from Pretoria. This disadvantaged community is adversely affected by high unemployment rates and a high incidence of HIV/AIDS. Many families have insufficient or no 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 their capacity to care for their children. They make use of a proven cluster care model which is rooted in serving the best interests of the child.

Impact

The two careworkers who were employed to render services to the families received ongoing training and supervision during the year. They have continued to work with the families on the programme, with a special focus on the needs of the children.

Through the intervention and involvement with the families, the following impact was achieved:

• Children received adequate emotional care as caregivers/parents were trained in how to deal with their children and how to be sensitive to their emotional needs.
• Children received good nutrition through food parcels and the establishment of food gardens.
• Children were protected from harmful situations as the careworkers could identify risks and act proactively with the parents to avoid them.
• Children attended the Early Learning Centre and thus received educational stimulation to prepare for formal schooling.
• All individuals in the families received information and counselling about HIV/AIDS.

Activities

31 families, comprising 147 children, in Mabopane Cluster 5 received food parcels, psycho-social support and HIV and lifeskills education on a monthly basis. During the last six months, from July to December 2008, the following support was provided:

• 31 families received food parcels, psycho-social support and HIV and lifeskills education on a monthly basis.
• A total of 217 food parcels were handed out.
• Each family received 24 visits from the careworkers, with a total of 744 contact visits made.
• 31 families received education and information about HIV/AIDS, as well as anti-retroviral treatment.
• 31 families (comprising 147 children) received assistance in applying for IDs or birth certificates.
• 15 families were involved in establishing small food gardens.
• Families received SEJO porridge (recommended for those infected by HIV/AIDS).
• Families received B.O.L vitamin supplements (recommended for those infected by HIV/AIDS).
• Families in need received school stationery and clothes

Expenditure

The cost of the project was R 216,000, which has been paid in full.

Description	Budget	Expenditure
Food Parcels	72 000	75 168
Care Workers	36 000	38 400
Specific Family Needs	102 000	98 313
Admin	6 000	6 900
TOTAL	216 000	219 381

The difference between what was spent and the original budget was funded by various other donors supporting SA Cares for Life.

Challenges

SA Cares for Life workers have found that people are becoming more open about talking about their HIV status. The organisation is very positive about this, as it means that more people have the right information and resources. However, although people are aware of the reality of HIV, they are afraid of contracting AIDS. Talking about having the virus and experiencing full-blown AIDS seem to be far removed from each other. Although this can be seen as a positive prevention aspect, most of these clients are already infected with the HIV virus. They are faced with the responsibility of focusing on the medication that is available and ways that positive living can influence their health. This is a challenge in South Africa, as the community is aware that hospitals sometimes run out of medicine. To help the community deal with these challenges, SA Cares for Life provides education and hope to the support groups.

The careworkers are working with the counsellors to teach people how to live positively with AIDS and how to effectively manage their illness.

Another challenge that SA Cares for Life faces is an in-house one. As they appoint workers from the community, they face the reality of their staff dying of AIDS. This is a great loss to the team and difficult for everyone, as they lose friends.

Monitoring and evaluation

Careworkers completed written reports on every visit made to families and each family has a file where these reports are stored. The cluster care manager held monthly sessions with the careworkers to discuss each family.

During August 2008, careworkers completed formal, comprehensive reports on each family. Project managers had close contact with all careworkers and met with them regularly. Managers compiled three-month reports.

SA Cares for Life had an external consultant compile an evaluation on the impact of the model in the community. The assessment was very positive and showed how the projects have influenced the families’ lives.

Conclusions

The success of this project is evident in the lives that have been positively impacted in the Mabopane community. SA Cares for Life is working hard to ensure that this project is sustainable beyond the term of this grant. Some of the measures that they are putting in place include:

• The cluster care model works with an individual sponsorship project. In this sponsorship project, a donor can sponsor a specific family on a monthly basis. Most of the families in Cluster 5 have been registered with individual donors. This enables the organisation to expand into other areas.

• SA Cares for Life has a skills development programme which encourages families to become self-sustainable by learning skills that enable them to find work or create their own work. SA cares for Life has established Touch & Trade as a “shop” where these entrepreneurs’ goods are sold to the public.

• SA Cares for Life has started to develop food gardens, which will provide nutritious food to the families without ongoing assistance from SA Cares for Life.

• Many of the families are not aware of the resources available to them. Careworkers assist families to get IDs and birth certificates and to register for government grants where applicable.

• Many families are without hope and very negative about their HIV status or poverty levels. Often when families are educated about HIV and the treatment available, it impacts on a mental level and they are inspired to live again and do something about their situations. Often a family is in crisis, but through the project, they are supported and overcome it.

• Families leave the project as their situations improve and their funding is then used to assist another family, as the need in the community is so great.

Activities within the cluster care programme

Tue, 5 August 2008

Special needs

SA Cares for Life has identified areas that represent the biggest needs in the community, taking into consideration the implementation and administration of such processes and the focus area of the organisation.

SA Cares for Life care workers do the initial identification process as they are most in touch with the needs of the families who they see on a daily basis and they live in the community themselves. Care workers compile reports with each visit, detailing the situation of the family. Each care worker discusses the needs within the families with the families themselves and they identify the biggest need. Once a month they compile a larger report focussing on aspects needing attention within the family. This report is submitted to the Cluster Care Manager. The care worker then has a consultation with the Cluster Care Manager and they together decide on the need to be addressed, according to the recommendation of the care worker and finances available. If a family has a need that does not fall into the above categories, it will be considered and options will be discussed.

Cash is never given to families. Service providers are identified who can provide what is necessary.

The main need areas that were identified are:

Assistance with Early Learning Centre attendance

Many young children are unsupervised at home during the day and are often then subjected to neglect and abuse. At many homes in the community, older siblings stay at home during the day to care for younger children, thus missing their own formal education. By assisting with Early Learning Centre attendance during the day, we ensure that the children are safe, cared for and are also receiving educational stimulation before their formal schooling. This also enables older siblings to attend school.

Budget: 15 children assisted for 6 months = R27,000.00

B.O.L Supplements & SEJO

At least one person/child is infected by HIV/AIDS in every one of the families that SA Cares for Life works with. Studies have shown that good nutrition plays a vital role in the management of HIV and by assisting families with BOL vitamins and SEJO (specifically formulated for people who are HIV+), SA Cares for Life improves their quality of life which, ultimately, improves the care that the children receive.

Budget: BOL & SEJO for HIV Positive people = R6,000.00

Renovation of homes

Most of the families in the community live in informal houses made of zinc or mud. Many times these houses are damaged and assistance is given to help repair them. The organisation also has blanket drives during winter for the families. During this time, they realised that many families were in need of mattresses as they were using the blankets to sleep on. So they also provide mattresses to families who need them, helping prevent sexual abuse because children and adults do not sleep in the same bed.

Budget: Fixing leaks and cracks, mattresses, help with electricity and water = R4,920.00

Visits to Psychologist/Social Worker

Some of the children in the project need therapy as they have been subjected to severely abusive and violent situations. SA Cares for Life networks with social workers for these services but most of them are overworked and do not have enough time to see the children. In serious cases, the services of other professionals are used.

Budget: Visits to Psychologist/Social Worker (2 per month for 6 months), including transport costs = R1,800.00

School Uniform / Stationary

Due to the economic circumstances of the families, some do not have the finances to buy school uniforms. These children face ridicule at school and sometimes are not permitted to attend without the correct school uniform. Stationary is also sometimes provided for those who need it for their formal schooling.

Budget:School Stationary = R 6,500.00; School uniforms = R2,600.00

Statistical Information about the special assistance to individual families

Activity	Amount of Units	Unit Cost	Cost per Month	Cost for 6 months
Early Learning Centre	15 Children	300	4 500	27 000
B.O.L (Supplement is free, only cost for transport to deliver it)	Transport Cost	0	0 167	0 1 000
SEJO	56 bags	15	840	5 040
Renovation to homes	3 Families Family A) Fix Roof Family B) Re-enforcing Walls Family C) Fix Roof	0	1 200 1 600 2 120	4 920
Visit from Social Worker	25 Children	Monthly Contractual Fee to Social Worker	300	1 800
School Uniform	2 Children	Various Items	Once Off	2 600
School Stationary	Stationary Packs, 65 Packs	100	Once off costs	6 500

Food Gardens

SA Cares for Life introduced food gardens within this project to empower the families to provide for some of their own needs within the community. This has been successful so far. The first two community gardens have been planted and a group of community members take responsibility for them. Several families have also been helped to establish gardens at their own homes. The families have been very pleased with this and it helps them in a very tangible way.

Self-reliance of families

One of the goals of the cluster care model is to prevent families becoming dependent on the organisation. Some families have left the programme as they were helped to obtain government grants or access other opportunities for economic survival. In cases where the economic situation has improved but there are concerns about the children, the care worker will still visit the family from time to time.

One of the greatest challenges remains that many of the families are headed by elderly people caring for young children. Some of these women are already ill and have little opportunity for self-reliance. In these cases, SA Cares for Life continues to provide a support net for the children and ensure that they receive adequate care.

SA Cares for Life’s main focus is the children within these families and although they try to assist the adults caring for the children, their main aim remains to ensure that the children receive adequate care and do not fall through the cracks.

During 2007, 30 families graduated from the programme in total. When a family reaches this mark the care worker will carefully assess and then plan with the family their way forward. SA Cares for Life also takes special note of the circumstances of the children within the family. Some families “exit” but still receive a visit once a month, in cases where we have some concerns about the well-being of the family. This happens mainly in families where the care giver is already very ill.

When a family “exits” the program, another family is identified to receive assistance. Many times the current families will help identify new families in need. This is a very positive aspect of the project as it is evidence of families taking responsibility for their communities.

Conclusion

SA Cares for Life uses a holistic, cluster care approach to helping orphaned and vulnerable children in the community. Their activities have been developed over the years with the active participation of the families and the care workers within the community.

The organisation periodically re-evaluates their services to ensure that they are still effective in the community and making a real difference to the lives of its children.

Support for families improves the lives of 135 orphaned and vulnerable children

Wed, 18 June 2008

“Thank you, you have given me hope that the future can be better. Thank you for helping us to care for our children.”

REPORT 1: SA Cares for Life: Services and support for families of orphaned and vulnerable children

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 a 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.

Impact

Two Care Workers were trained and prepared to render services to families in need. The families have been identified within the service areas by the care workers and also with the help of families who are already registered. The combination of requirements for families to register is as follows:

• Child-headed households
• Households affected by extreme poverty
• Single mother households
• Granny-headed households
• Presence of orphaned and vulnerable children
• Presence of pre-school children
• HIV positive children and adults

30 Families were evaluated and registered into Mabopane Cluster 5. The families, comprising of 135 children, received food parcels, psycho-social support and HIV and life skills education on a monthly basis for the last 6 months. In this time:

• 205 food parcels have been handed out
• Each family received 24 visits from a care worker, making a total of 720 contact visits
• All the families received education and information about HIV/AIDS as well as ARV treatment
• All the families received assistance in starting the process to apply for IDs or birth certificates as needed
• 10 Families have been involved in establishing a small food garden
• Families with members who are living with HIV/AIDS received SEJO porridge and BOL Vitamin supplements
• Families in need received school stationary and clothes

Activities

The Care Worker Training was given and evaluated by an external trainer and monitored through written examinations and supervision feedback sessions. Additional ongoing training and supervision are in progress as this training course is presented over 12 months. The training sessions take place every Wednesday and will continue for the rest of the year. The care workers complete reports for every family visit as well as formal six-monthly reports.

Vulnerable families affected by HIV/AIDS have been 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.

All the activities as stated in the proposal have been implemented and are well established.

Expenditure

The cost of the project is R 216,000 with R 94,000 still to be received.

Description	Budget	Expenditure
Food Parcels	72 000	31 608
Care Workers	36 000	18 000
Specific Family Needs	102 000	49 820
Admin	6 000	3 000
TOTAL	216 000	102 428

Challenges

One of the biggest challenges has been the supervision of the care workers on an emotional level. The care workers visit families on a daily basis and they are faced with family violence, abuse, poverty and hopelessness. At times, these situations become almost too much for the care workers to bear and many of them feel overwhelmed by the dire need that they see. To combat this and increase the care workers’ emotional strength, SA Cares for Life has included weekly supervision and sharing sessions for care workers. During these sessions, the care workers have the opportunity to debrief and to share their difficult stories with each other with the help of a psychologist and trained counsellor.

Another challenge for the project is that the amount of orphaned children is increasing in rural communities. In the past, community members and extended family took care of each other’s children. This system is disintegrating because of HIV and AIDS: many care givers die and extended family cannot take in the children as they are also very ill or are already caring for many children. The challenge associated with this is that there are no suitable places of safety in the community for these children which means that they have to be placed in different communities.

SA Cares for Life is in the process of establishing Community Foster Homes where care givers will be able to care for a maximum of six children. The homes will have house parents or a house mother caring for the children so that it is as close to a normal family experience as possible.

Monitoring and evaluation

Care workers have completed written reports on every single visit made to families and each family has a file where these reports are stored. The Cluster Care Manager (previously the co-ordinator) held monthly sessions with the care workers to discuss every family individually.

During March, Care Workers completed formal, more comprehensive feedback reports on every family. This will be repeated in September. Project managers had close contact with all care workers and met with them regularly. Managers compiled 3-month feedback reports.

Conclusions

SA Cares for Life has had much success in the duplication of their cluster care model. The organisation is well known in the community and gets a great deal of support and thanks for their services. Evaluation has shown that the project is achieving the desired results.

As families receive assistance, education and support they begin to take better care of themselves and their children. As care givers understand the emotional development of their children, they are able to be more sensitive to their children’s needs and can help them to cope better. Although their focus is the children, SA Cares for Live has seen that by empowering the adult care givers, they are enabling them to care for their children.

Through the food parcels, children are receiving better nutritional care. Many of these children also attend the Early Learning Centre, where they receive two healthy meals a day.

Through evaluation, the organisation knows that they are combating child abuse and protecting children, as the care workers are involved in the children’s lives and pick up when any abuse is happening. They have worked with several families to get outside assistance to combat this problem. The project also contributes to the safety and well-being of children: SA Cares for Life has been able to pro-actively plan with parents who are very ill what will happen to the children when they die. And children who receive emotional support, understanding and assistance make changes in their behaviour, school performance and overall emotional well being.