USAID awarded the Gimbuka program at the end of FY 2012 to Caritas-Rwanda, a local civil society organization which was previously a sub-grantee to CHF international, and which has since developed and strengthened its capacity to receive direct funding from USAID. The overall goal of the project is to 1) improve the nutritional status of mothers and children, especially those under two years of age, through community-based nutrition interventions, and 2) improve the well-being of OVC and their families affected by HIV/AIDS. The program covers 14 districts for OVC interventions and 9 districts for nutrition activities, serving a total population of 36,070 OVCs, including their families; 43,200 children under five years; and pregnant and lactating women for nutrition. Gimbuka uses cost-effective, community-based solutions like internal savings and loan groups (ISLG), Farmers Field Schools and the Positive Deviance Hearth (PD Hearth) model. Gimbuka is improving the well-being of OVC and their families affected by HIV/AIDS. Through this program, emphasis will be placed on resilience and empowerment through economic strengthening, food security, nutrition and hygiene, and increased access to health services. To become more cost-efficient over time, the program will continue to seek resources both locally and internationally through its existing networks and partners to achieve its full potential. The program will build upon the successful and functional systems established under CHF International and other projects to ensure a robust approach to monitoring and evaluation. Caritas will collect data on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies will be used.

Gimbuka will promote increased household savings through greater participation in existing internal savings and loan groups (ISLG). The program will work with well-organized and established cooperatives which serve as models for more nascent business groups. The program will not establish new ISLG; rather, it will continue to consolidate the existing groups by strengthening them and supporting their evolution towards functional business groups, where relevant and feasible. ISLG members will be encouraged to save money for health and education costs for their households. Gimbuka will link them to formal banking institutions such as Umurenge savings and credit schemes (SACCOs) and micro finance institutions (MFIs) as a means of accessing credit.

Gimbuka will target OVC household members with moderate malnutrition and living with HIV/AIDS with appropriate community-based nutrition services. They will be recruited into PD hearth groups to benefit from cooking demonstrations, nutrition counseling and feeding on highly nutritious foods prepared for them and grown locally. These activities will improve the nutritional status of the beneficiaries, and improve their adherence to ART. The project has established strong linkages from community to health facilities to refer cases which are not responding to treatment, with opportunistic infections and severe malnutrition.

In COP 13, Gimbuka will strengthen the economic capacity of OVCs and their families by increasing the capacity of parents to contribute to the education needs of their children. To ensure sustainability, parents will be trained on saving for payment of health insurance and educational costs for all family members. Services will be extended to the families/households by promoting the use of ISLG, income generating activities and provision of saving kits (boxes, rulers, pencils, pens, registers, padlocks, etc.) in addition to being linked to MFI services. Gimbuka will focus on targeted savings for use towards education and health costs to support OVCs in the households, support and monitor the pre-existing ISLGs, and report on quarterly progress.

Gimbuka will provide scholastic materials to OVCs in primary, secondary and technical and vocational education training (TVET) schools. The program will monitor each beneficiarys school performance to ensure that the maximum number of enrolled OVCs complete their studies and advance to the next school level.

Psychosocial support services will be extended to OVC through established networks of community-based caregivers. Gimbuka will increase the capacity of these caregivers to support targeted OVC to be successful and healthy in schools, and to recognize signs of trauma and sexual gender based violence (SGBV). Child protection in communities will be promoted, via increased sensitization of community leaders and members on child rights. Meetings will be organized with children to promote better understanding of their rights.

In COP 13, Gimbuka will strengthen capacities of community based organizations (CBOs), cooperatives, associations, child care committees, and ISLGs as well as community health workers (CHWs). With new knowledge and skills, CBOs will be able to pass on skills to help their members build sustainable social and economic development through existing psychosocial support groups, ISLGs, FFS, and Positive Deviance Hearth Groups for economic empowerment and sustainability.

Gimbuka will build the capacity for CHWs who, in collaboration with Gimbuka staff, will closely follow the implementation of monthly growth monitoring and promotion for early detection and prevention of malnutrition among under-fives. The interventions will mainly focus on training community caregivers and other capable group members on providing disease prevention messages like HIV awareness, improved hygiene practices, access to and use of safe water, kitchen gardening, messaging to fight against GBV, and training on social protection including human rights, with a special emphasis on childrens rights.

Gimbuka will support HIV prevention interventions to reduce the risk of HIV transmission to uninfected partners and children. These interventions will include information/counseling on risk reduction including condom use, limiting number of sexual partners, reducing alcohol use, support for safe disclosure of HIV status to partners, and safe pregnancy counseling.

This program will reach out to youth and sensitize them on HIV prevention through peer education and outreach. Peer outreach will rely on local community members to reach key populations with HIV prevention information and referrals to important services. Peer education and outreach will be accompanied by risk reduction counseling and information linking beneficiaries to appropriate services. Gimbuka will raise HIV awareness by encouraging the youth and families with whom they work to access HIV testing and counseling.

Gimbuka will help communities establish Anti-AIDS clubs to increase awareness of dangers posed by HIV and to help communities make appropriate decisions on risk behaviors. Anti-AIDS clubs will also be extended to the youth in schools and those out of schools. Gender committees will also be established to help fight gender based violence (GBV) in the districts where the project operates.