THIS IS AN ONGOING ACTIVITY. THE NARRATIVE IS UNCHANGED EXCEPT FOR UPDATED

REFERENCES TO TARGETS AND BUDGETS.

1. LIST OF RELATED ACTIVITIES

This activity relates to activities in Counseling and Testing (#8760, #8976, #8777), PMTCT (#8734, #8729,

#8738), ARV Services (#8774, #8765, #8826) and Palliative Care: Basic Health Care and Support (#8928,

#8936, #8931).

2. ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

Plan USA is the prime for Breaking Barriers, a Track One Centrally Funded program, among a consortium

of Hope for African Children Initiative (HACI). The partners in Kenya include Save the Children (HACI

member), World Conference of Religions for Peace (HACI member), Pandpieri Catholic Center, Rangala

Child and Family Development Program, St. Johns Community Center and the Inter-religious Council of

Kenya (IRCK). Program activities are concentrated in the urban areas of Kisumu (Nyanza Province) and

Nairobi and in rural parts of Siaya district in Western Kenya. The program will emphasize expanding OVC

access to school and school-based services such as HIV awareness, prevention and psychosocial support;

home-based care and nutritional support for OVC and families and in engaging religious groups and

PLWHA in combating stigma and discrimination. Over 120 OVC households in rural Siaya will receive farm

inputs, while over 100 OVC households in Nairobi will receive IGA training and support. IRCK will also train

1300 religious leaders on advocacy and stigma reduction, support 6 PLWHA groups in psychosocial

support (PSS) and 6 organizations in capacity building. The project will make substantial strides towards its

strategic objective to expand sustainable, effective, quality OVC programs in education, psychosocial

support and community-based care for children and families affected by HIV/AIDS, using an extensive

network of schools (both formal and informal) and religious institutions as a coordinated platform for rapid

scale up and scale out. Intermediate results are threefold. The first is to improve the education,

psychosocial support, and community-based care services for 12,500 OVC and families affected by

HIV/AIDS. Education, life skills training, and HIV-prevention will be accomplished by supporting formal and

non formal school options, which expand OVC enrollment and attendance and promote teacher and child

knowledge of HIV/AIDS and behavior change skills to prevent HIV infection. PSS will be promoted in

schools through teacher training, development of new curriculum and organization, support of child

counseling, recreational activities and peer support groups. FBOs and other groups will be strengthened in

their efforts to provide referral, counseling and spiritual support for children and families, identify unmet

basic material needs and increase access to resources to meet them. The second intermediate result is

building capacity and mobilizing resources for care and support to OVC and families. This result will

increase the capacity of vulnerable children, families and communities to mobilize and manage internal and

external resources needed for quality care and support for children and families affected by HIV/AIDS. This

goal is accomplished by building the capacity of local organizations in skills such as needs assessment,

strategic planning, project design, resource mobilization, community organizing, program management, and

monitoring and evaluation. Building capacity of individuals will be done by training 1,200 community

resource people (teachers, caregivers, religious leaders, and children) in improved methods for provision of

education, psychosocial support, and community based care. The third intermediate result is to create a

supportive environment for OVC and their families. This entails creating an environment in which children,

families and communities working with the government, faith-based organizations and civil society advocate

for the provision of essential services, and reduce stigma and discrimination related to HIV/AIDS. Religious

leaders trained in stigma reduction and advocacy skills will campaign, in collaboration with PLWHA,

community leaders and children, with positive messages to raise HIV/AIDS awareness. Non-discriminatory

school policies, positive environments, and activities that reduce stigma and empower OVC through a

collaboration of children with teachers and administrators will be designed and implemented.

3. CONTRIBUTIONS TO OVERALL PROGRAM AREA

Breaking Barriers seeks to increase OVC access to education, psychosocial support and home-based care

for both children and their caregivers. Thus, access to education shall be increased both directly, by

eliminating common barriers keeping OVC from school, and indirectly, by addressing their psychosocial and

physical health needs and those of their families, and by addressing HIV/AIDS-related stigma. The program

will reach 12,500 OVC and train over 1,200 individuals in caring for OVC.

4. LINKS TO OTHER ACTIVITIES

This activity will be linked to health facilities in the area on issues of Counseling and Testing (#8760, #8976,

#8777), PMTCT (#8734, #8729, #8738), HIV/AIDS treatment: ARV Services (#8774, #8765, #8826) and

Palliative Care: Basic Health Care and Support (#8928, #8936, #8931).

5. POPULATIONS BEING TARGETED

Target population will be children and youth, OVC and their caregivers, HIV affected and/or infected

children and their families and people living with HIV/AIDS. This activity will also reach street youth and out

of school youth, religious leaders, volunteers, policy makers, teachers, health care providers, community

and faith based organizations and rural communities.

6. KEY LEGISLATIVE ISSUES ADDRESSED

Issues addressed will be volunteers, stigma and discrimination, and education.

7. EMPHASIS AREAS

Major emphasis area is community mobilization/participation and minor emphasis area is information,

education and communication and local organization capacity development.