Supporting grandmothers affected by HIV/AIDS

VISION

GAPA will, through educational and psycho social support programmes, develop the capacity of grandmothers who are affected by HIV/AIDS to cope with poverty and the affects of the AIDS pandemic in South Africa.

OVERVIEW

In South Africa, HIV/AIDS is often referred to as the “grandmothers’ disease”. Today, many grandmothers in impoverished communities are feeling the impact of the pandemic, nursing their sick and dying children and raising their orphaned grandchildren. According to Help Age International, two-thirds of people living with HIV/AIDS are cared for by their parents in their 60s and 70s. More than 60% of orphaned children in South Africa live in grandparent-headed households. GAPA is unique in its focus on providing support to grandmothers adversely affected by HIV/AIDS. GAPA started in 2001 as a self help project in Khayelitsha. The organization builds capacity and empowers grandmothers to cope with the effects of HIV/AIDS through programmes that:

• Improve grandmothers’ abilities to contribute to household income;
• Provide psycho social care;
• Provide education regarding HIV/AIDS, parenting skills, child-care, nutrition, healthy ageing, bereavement, household budgeting and Child Rights;
• Support grandmothers’ participation in a network of peer support groups;
• Provide workshops on skills training, income generation and food gardening;
• Engage and support grandmothers in income-generating projects;
• Train grandmothers to train others;
• Raise awareness of the role that grandmothers are playing in their communities;
• Assist grandmothers in accessing grants and securing their pensions;
• Increase grandmothers’ access to supportive community services.

This project focuses on expanding GAPA’s outreach programmes in the rural village of TikiTiki, Eastern Cape, so that they are able to respond to a greater number of grandmothers affected by HIV/AIDS.

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

• The project will expand the provision of much-needed services to grandmothers adversely affected by HIV/AIDS. The problem is vast and it is important to scale up solutions.
• GAPA’s two-pronged strategy of providing education and psycho social support to grandmothers caring for orphaned grandchild is building capacity in impoverished communities with the aim of improved child care.
• With meaningful support, GAPA has the potential to document a social model that can be replicated in other areas.

EXPECTED LIFE CHANGE

An investment of R120,350 will enable GAPA to expand its support of grandmothers in the Eastern Cape which in turn will improve conditions for the children in their care and make a positive contribution to strengthening the fabric of these communities.

• 300 grandmothers in the Eastern Cape will benefit from GAPA’s support and education programmes.
• Approximately 600 orphaned and vulnerable children will benefit from the capacity-building of their caregivers. Direct life change at an average of R134 per person per year.

This project has breadth depth, intensity and permanence in its positive impact on the educational, psychological, vocational, economic and social aspects of the beneficiaries’ lives.

NEED

As sole caregivers, grandmothers are faced with the daunting task of providing for themselves as well as their sick adult children and orphaned grandchildren at a time when their income and their physical energy are decreasing. Few grandmothers have the support systems in place to cope with their overwhelming grief and financial burdens. To make matters worse, grandmothers who are between 50 and 60 years old are not eligible for a state pension and are often financially very badly off when they have to give up work to care for sick family members and care for young orphaned grandchildren. Those who are over 60 years receive a small pension aimed at just supporting one. This doesn’t begin to cover the costs of growing grandchildren. In addition, many grandmothers have reached a time of life when it is exhausting having to care for small children. They often have medical problems of their own to cope with, such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

STRATEGY

Expanding and strengthening GAPA’s Eastern Cape outreach programme:

• Hosting 3 week-long training workshops in the Eastern Cape aimed at empowering grandmothers on issues related to HIV/AIDS, bereavement, accessing government grants, making a will, parenting skills, business skills and vegetable gardening.
• Establishing and supporting 10 peer-support groups each year consisting of a total of 300 grandmothers affected by AIDS.

ACTION PLAN

Preparation

GAPA is prepared for the implementation of this project. Grandparents in the Eastern Cape TikiTiki outreach programme have been identified.

Implementation

• An annual plan to co-ordinate the activities of the TikiTiki outreach programme needs to be implemented.
• A team from GAPA Cape Town consisting of GAPA staff and grandmothers who are trained as trainers will travel to TikiTiki to host 3 week-long training workshops in the Eastern Cape aimed at empowering grandmothers on issues related to HIV/AIDS, bereavement, accessing government grants, making a will, parenting skills, business skills and vegetable gardening.
• The grandmothers in the Eastern Cape meet on a weekly basis. The newer grandmothers in the programme meet in psycho-social support group while the more established groups have formed business cooperatives.
• GAPA will pay stipends of R400 per month for 10 GAPA support groups in order for them to be able to pay overhead costs (e.g. telephone and fax costs, travel costs, refreshments, etc.) and resources to be able to make the groups financially sustainable (e.g. seeds, chickens, etc.)
• Grandmothers that have received the training from the GAPA Cape Town office will go out in the surrounding communities to offer support and advice to other grandmothers who have been affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic.

Monitoring

GAPA’s management will monitor the outreach programme on a monthly basis by reviewing the psycho-social support and business cooperatives groups’ books that contain information relating to meeting attendance, minutes from meetings and finances. Two monitoring and evaluation site visits will be conducted by a member of the GAPA Cape Town office in TikiTiki each year.

RISK PROFILE

Key Strengths

• Concept: There is a great need to expand GAPA’s services and programmes to include more grandmothers adversely affected by HIV/AIDS. There is anecdotal evidence from GAPA’s beneficiaries that their access to ongoing psycho-social support through the GAPA groups is a positive life-changing experience for them. Building the capacity of grandmothers helps to improve the conditions for the orphaned and vulnerable children in their care. Extending the GAPA model to another area serves as an experience of replicating an effective social model which can inform future roll-outs.
• Design: The Eastern Cape outreach programme in TikiTiki village is a replication of proven effective methods of supporting and empowering grandmothers adversely affected by HIV/AIDS.
• Capability: GAPA has committed focused leadership supported by an active management committee of grandmothers who help to ensure that the organisation’s services and programmes are aligned to real needs. GAPA has a working succession planning that is building internal capacity for the future.
• Control: The organisation has demonstrated its accountability to past donors and has managed grants of this size before. The organisation has a track record of being accountable to its communities.
• Sustainability: There is strong anecdotal evidence that the organisation makes a lasting positive impact in the lives of their beneficiaries through their educational, vocational and psycho social support programmes.

Key Risks

• Concept: GAPA enjoys a good standing in its community but there is always some risk of adversity undermining a project.
• Design: There are no known risks to the expansion of the outreach programme.
• Capability: As its Board of Management is made up of beneficiaries, GAPA does not have this avenue available to access diverse, skilful individuals that could help to further organisational aims. As their succession plan is still at the capacity-building stage, the organisation’s leadership is somewhat vulnerable in the present and near future.
• Control: In the past, GAPA has been dependent on professional pro bono services that were limited to the preparation of un-audited annual financial reports. This project makes provision for GAPA to access external auditors to guarantee its financial oversight.
• Sustainability: Long-term sustainability of the organisation will require improved fund raising and organisational marketing skills. There is much potential to create greater awareness of the important social impact on South African grandmothers and to develop a GAPA model which can be replicated. It can be construed that the organisation’s difficulties in securing substantial long term funding is a possible blend of lack of capacity and that the organisation’s work is under-valued by society at large. As the problem of properly caring for orphaned and vulnerable children is long term, stretching into the next decades, it is important for an organisation such as GAPA to ensure its longevity so that it is poised to meet future needs.
• External: There is an inherent risk of conflict in communities that results in the derailing of worthwhile projects. This risk is somewhat mitigated by GAPA’s good standing in the areas where it operates.