Caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children OVC in Africa: An Integrated Model in Mozambique

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Caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)
in Africa An Integrated Model in Mozambique
Namibia

• Andee Cooper, Project HOPE

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Presenter Disclosures
Andee Cooper

• (1) The following personal financial
  relationships with commercial interests relevant
  to this presentation existed during the past 12
  months

No relationships to disclose
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OVC in Africa

• Almost 12 million children in sub-Saharan Africa
  are orphans due to HIV/AIDS
• Effort to keep children in their own communities,
  with extended family members

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OVC Needs

• Families already struggling with poverty and
  unemployment are supporting additional children
• The needs of the OVC are tremendous - Many are
  coping with loss of a parent or parents or
  helping to care for sick family members
• Some are also sick themselves
• Many face stigma and discrimination

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Caring for OVC in Africa

• Seven established domains of OVC care agreed upon
  by the international community

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Rationale Caring for OVC is an Economic Issue

• Majority of OVC care is through informal
  fostering (relative non-relative families)
• Poverty a significant barrier to achieving even
  the most basic needs of OVC
• Expanded household size increases basic needs
  requiring more financial resources
• HIV contributes to reduced economic productivity
  while assets are liquidated for needs
• Vulnerability of children is linked to economic
  resources available

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Percentage of Project HOPE Micro-credit Clients
Caring for Orphans
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Project HOPEs Program

• Sustainable Strengthening of Families of Orphans
  and Vulnerable Children in Mozambique and Namibia
• USAID Funded project
• April 4, 2005 to April 2, 2010
• Aim Improve economic status and quality of life
  of 45,000 OVC and strengthen the capacity of
  families to provide care and support to 75,000
  OVC

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Program Area
Gaza and Zambezia Provinces, Mozambique
Omusati, Oshana, and Ohangwena Regions, Namibia
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Integrated Model
OVC Caregivers require economic strengthening and
an increased ability to provide comprehensive
care support leading to improved well-being for
children

• Focus on OVC caregivers
• Economic strengthening
• Health education/ parenting skills
• Community outreach

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Economic Strengthening

• Families in our current program care for an
  average of 3.5 OVC
• Micro-credit loans are provided to OVC
  caregivers, primarily women, to start or expand
  businesses
• Enables caregivers
• with the means to implement the lessons learned
  in health education parenting skills training
• with greater financial resources
• with expanded self-sufficiency
• So they can better provide
• for needs of their families

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Economic Strengthening Group Based Focused on
Caregivers

• Self-selection of participants creates
  peer-pressure for performance
• Formal management structure reinforces roles
  responsibilities, develops leadership skills

• Self Management gain capacity to overcome
  problems
• Emphasis on solidarity to help each other
• Safe environment to explore issues

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Economic Strengthening Micro Loans Savings
for Income Generation

• Loans start small grow upon repayment
• Invested in productive activities
• Collective guarantee (all are responsible if one
  doesnt pay)

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Education/Training for Caregivers

• Responsible Parenting
• Preventative Health
• Family Nutrition
• Child Development

• HIV/AIDS
• Psycho-social needs
• Protecting Children child rights
• Linking and increasing access to services

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Follow-up Support for Caregivers OVCat Home

• Community volunteers are trained
• Weekly home visits are conducted
• Status/conditions of children and housing is
  assessed and reviewed

• Develop household improvement plan
• Provide appropriate training as needed
• Referrals to services resources needed

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Community Gardens

• Volunteers in Mozambique started community
  gardens
• Caregivers involved with working gardens
• Food provided to OVC families sold
• Profits used to buy school materials clothes
  for OVC

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Measuring Program Success

• Tools to measure program success include our
  Member Profile
• Economic indicators
• Child-level data
• Baseline after 1 year in the program
• New low literacy Parenting Map for use at
  household level recently developed implemented
  to measure impact at the child level across all 6
  domains

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Results Caregiver Economic Impact Namibia
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Results Caregiver Economic Impact Mozambique
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Results Child-level Impact HealthNamibia
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Results Child-level Impact EducationNamibia
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Results Child-level Impact ProtectionNamibia
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Results Child-level Impact Shelter
CareNamibia
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Parenting Map
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Results Across the 6 Domains
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Data Collection Results
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Conclusion and Lessons Learned

• Innovative sustainable
  approaches are needed to
  address
  the needs of OVC
• Economic strengthening is shown
  to be a valuable
  component of
  comprehensive OVC care and
  support
• Interventions need to accommodate a social and
  not only financial relationship
• Follow sound principles and well-established
  procedures
• Integrated OVC-focused training is critical to
  foster changes in care and support

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Success Story

• By strengthening economic capacity with
  teaching skills to care for OVC, HOPE is helping
  families and communities help themselves.

Marta Gavilela, is a treasurer of VHB named
Malanguizo that is in the process of receiving
their 5th cycle loan in Milange. Marta is caring
for 7 orphans and 5 of her own children. She says
that she used the money received in the first
cycle to bake biscuits to sell with tea at the
central market. When the group received the 2nd
cycle loan, she moved into a prepared food
business, and with the loan received in the 3rd
cycle, she was able to start a new business of
selling capulanas (womens wraps also used to
carry babies) and did improvements in her stall.
I am happy because now I can feed my children
and buy them clothes. I see my life improving,
and I thank Project HOPE for that.