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.