New homes for child-headed households

VISION

Child-headed families require secure homes on their family land to prevent children, already traumatised by the death of their parents, being forced to seek adequate shelter- which often results in them being split apart as a family. With this building of new, basic homes comes the rebuilding of lives and families. Apart from ensuring their physical protection, it will give hope and encouragement to children who have experienced extreme hardship, poverty, ill health and bereavement. They will face a more secure and their self confidence will grow as they supported in rebuilding their lives.

OVERVIEW

Scattered, remote settlements stretch out from the town of Ingwavuma, in the far North of KwaZulu-Natal. This area is deeply rural, poverty-stricken and hard hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The deaths of parents have left children in the care of frail grandparents or their elder siblings. The skills of building and maintaining the traditional mud, stone, wood and thatch dwellings have been lost. As a result, the original homes of more and more orphan and grandparent-headed families are falling apart. Many times, inadequate shelter forces siblings to separate and seek shelter in other homes, abandoning their rightful land. Ingwavuma Orphan Care provides comprehensive services to these widespread communities including home-based care, income-generating projects, food gardening, HIV prevention education and orphan community care.

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

• The project is a significant intervention to ensure the physical protection of vulnerable children in orphan-headed homes.
• The project is based on the premise of protecting and supporting children within their community; and meets the rights of children to be properly sheltered.
• By establishing new, low maintenance homes on the families' rightful land, the project protects orphaned children's inheritance rights.
• The project includes support strategies to strengthen child-headed families' capacity to manage their own households and stay together in their community.
• The project fosters substantial community care for orphaned and vulnerable children.
• Supporting child-headed homes and increasing their capacity to care for themselves, reduces the burden on this impoverished community.

EXPECTED LIFE CHANGE

An investment of R78 550.00 enables Ingwavuma Orphan Care to new build homes for 12 child-headed families whose homesteads are derelict.

• 30 children in child-headed families will be provided with low-maintenance houses on their rightful family life ensuring adequate shelter and physical protection.
• Each house includes a rainwater tank that increases the households' access to water enabling them to develop their own food gardens.
• Children who are old enough will receive training in basic life skills, home management and food gardening.
• Direct life change at a cost per life of R2,618

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

NEED

The Ingwavuma district, which includes the town and three surrounding tribal areas, is seriously affected by HIV/AIDS. There are an estimated 3000 orphans. There are shockingly few productive, income-generating adults maintaining families and homes. The deaths of parents have resulted in the skills to maintain traditional homes, made of mud, stone, wood and reed, not been passed onto young adults. The homes of children in child-headed homes are increasingly derelict, leaving them physically exposed to the elements and unacceptably unprotected in their communities. As the situation worsens, especially due to inclement weather conditions in this mountainous area, children are forced to seek shelter elsewhere, often resulting in splitting up traumatised siblings who want to be together. The abandonment of the family homestead also leaves them vulnerable to losing their rights to their family land.

STRATEGY

Ingwavuma Orphan Care has operated extensive community-based programmes for the past 6 years. Their services include home-based care, skills training and income-generation projects, as well as a community based orphaned and vulnerable children. They are significant development force in this district, employing more local people in their income generation projects than any other Ingwavuma organisation except for the hospital.

Community capacity-building in the care of OVCs - One of Ingwavuma Orphan Care's key strategies is to work intensively with communities to build capacity to keep orphaned and vulnerable children safe, protected and cared for in their own homes. Community members will be employed in the construction of the houses. The "Building for Families" project entrenches the premise that orphaned and vulnerable children have a right to their secure place in the community, and are deserving of the support and care of their communities. This project builds the communities' capacity to attend to the holistic needs of its children.

Construction of low-cost, low-maintenance houses - 4 affordable, two-roomed, easy to maintain houses have been designed to replace derelict traditional homes and ensure the protection and security of the children. The building plan includes rainwater harvesting tanks for collecting rainwater from the roofs so that children have on-site access to water to irrigate household food gardens, thus increasing their self-reliance.

Provision of training and support - Ingwavuma Orphan Care will provide the beneficiaries will training in basic life, skills, home management, food gardening and livestock management. They will monitor and support these orphan-headed households on an ongoing basis.

ACTION PLAN

Preparation

4 child-headed households will be selected on the basis of the direst need. Ingwavuma Orphan Care's builder will mark out the sites and contract local labour. The necessary suppliers of materials have been identified. Materials will be ordered, purchased and delivered to the sites.

Implementation

Under the supervision of the Ingwavuma Orphan Care builder, the local community-based team will execute the building plans, including the installation of water tanks. Over 12 months, the 4 households will be trained in basic life skills, household management, food gardening and livestock management. These child-headed households will be monitored and supported by Ingwavuma Orphan Care in the long term.

Monitoring

The Project Co-ordinator will oversee all aspects of the project and provide monthly progress report to the Director. Construction will be monitored according to the building plans, budget and deadlines. These child-headed households will be monitored and supported by Ingwavuma Orphan Care over the long term.

RISK PROFILE

Key Strengths

• Concept: The provision of homes addresses the threat to the physical safety of the children, and ensures that child-headed families can remain as family unit, preventing additional hardships and trauma. The concept of building much-needed homes for child-headed families is aligned to the best practice of keeping orphaned and vulnerable children safe and protected in their communities. The low maintenance design of the houses ensures that the children can more easily upkeep their homesteads. The communities are empowered to help child-headed families rebuild their homes. Ingwavuma Orphan Care has strong relationships with the relevant Tribal Authorities that have agreed to rebuilding of homes and the securing of the child-headed households' rights to their family land. The analogy of building homes and rebuilding families infuses communities with the ethos of integrated community development and child care. The provision of training and support, as well as on site access to water, helps to build the capacity of child-headed households to better care for themselves.
• Design: Ingwavuma Orphan Care has 6 years of intensive implementation of interventions in child-headed households, and this project is a natural progression to developing the holistic, integrated community capacity that is required to properly nurture children into adulthood. It has wide experience in community building projects, having built 9 large buildings in the past 6 years. The house building design is simple and minimal ensuring that each home build is a small, manageable project. The provision of ongoing support to these child-headed homes is consistent with the organisation's past and current activities.
• Capability: Ingwavuma Orphan Care has strong, committed leadership with sufficient depth and expertise to execute this project.
• Control: Ingwavuma Orphan Care has strong, accountable governance and financial controls.
• Sustainability: The building of these homes secures the rights of child-headed households to their family land, and entrenches their place in their communities. New, more secure homes will provide adequate shelter for these children in the foreseeable future. More long-lasting, low maintenance houses are assets to these child-headed families.

Key Risks - Low

• Capability: There is an inherent risk of leading staff resigning and leaving the project. However, Ingwavuma Orphan Care's leadership has a strong commitment to the longevity of the organisation.
• Sustainability: 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.