The Turengere Abana program works to improve the health and social & economic well-being of OVC and their families through sustainable community-based programs for prevention, care & support. The program is implemented by a local CSO named François Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Rwanda, which graduated from FXB International and can now receive direct funding from USAID. Turengere Abana works with local authorities to identify & reach vulnerable populations with need-based service provision and strengthening of referral systems.

The 3-year goal for this program is to improve the social & economic well-being of 85,000 adults & children, including OVC & their families, affected by HIV/AIDS in 8 districts of Rwanda. Key activities include: livelihood grants & training; nutrition support; health behavior change training; access to health insurance, education support, child protection services & psychosocial counseling; safe water & hygiene; intensive case management; and mentorship & technical assistance. The program also seeks to strengthen household resilience through health, economic & social service provision, nutrition & education support, child protection, and GBV prevention services. In COP 13, Turengere Abana will continue these interventions, targeting 30,000 individuals to be reached with need-based, age-appropriate services. Turengere Abana will reach as many CBOs and households as possible with quality service provision while using fewer resources, as a way to be more cost-effective. To achieve this objective, project staff, in collaboration with local authorities, will provide TA & mentorship to CBOs, other groups & households. Program M&E activities are planned and results will be measured on a semi-annual & annual basis, as well as over the lifetime of the award.

In COP 12, the Turengere Abana program started implementing community-based health prevention, care and support; social and economic strengthening interventions for households; nutrition support including kitchen gardening; as well as other related interventions targeting HIV/AIDS infected and affected populations vulnerable to malnutrition. The psychosocial care and support will mainly focus on individual sessions of counseling for HIV positive clients, adherence to care and treatment for HIV positive beneficiaries, positive living, and secondary prevention. The program will reach out to OVC and their families, as well as other vulnerable households in selected districts, supporting them to access and effectively use safe water and promoting hygiene practices including hand washing. In this area, TA is tailored to different activities that includes nutritional education, kitchen gardening and demonstration, hygiene and sanitation, education sessions on family planning, and promotion of income-generating activities through ISLGs and other activities.

In COP 2013, Turengere Abana program will increase its level of implementation of these same activities, where 30,000 adults and children will be provided with need-based care services, including provision of basic household assets, food and nutritional support to vulnerable households; health care and support including payment of mutuelles; as well as referrals to health facilities and other supportive institutions. In collaboration with the Rwanda National Police and other institutions, the program will also support beneficiaries in need of legal support. To achieve these goals, 380 community volunteer care providers will be trained to support beneficiaries on a day-to-day basis; additionally, 1,120 households will be supported with access to financial and agricultural extension services.

The Turengere Abana program collaborates with local authorities and other CBOs to validate lists of OVC, following the OVC guidance approved by the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion. In this area, Turengere Abana supports and ensures that OVC in selected districts have access to educational and vocational training opportunities. The project supplies tuition, uniforms, and other supplies to 3700 OVC in primary, secondary, and vocational training schools based on their needs and ages. Young people who cannot continue their formal education will be eligible for enrollment in community vocational schools. The project will provide tuition fees, supplies, and tools to each student over two years. The program is planning to have 16,000 OVC reached with need-based services in COP 13. Project social workers will monitor students attendance and performance each semester for those in school and will also follow up on all vocational training courses, as well as other services provided to OVC and their families.

The Turengere Abana program will continue to support technical and vocational training, in accordance with priority GOR strategies in this area, and towards market-based employment skills recommended by the Rwandan Workforce Development Authority. Tuition fees (for meals, accommodation and other boarding expenses) will be paid for OVC in boarding schools far from their homes. Special consideration will be given to paying the fees of children that pass their O level exams and are posted to schools as a way of motivating them. Interventions will build on the existing platform of program models, curricula, tools and other local resources, targeting basic education, including primary and secondary education, as well as vocational training.

In addition, Turengere Abana program will support these OVC with payment of mutuelles and provision of health education including hygiene, adherence to treatment, and HIV prevention, including voluntary counseling and testing. Through peer education, the program will also support basic education about reproductive health, child rights and protection, GBV prevention, and psychosocial care and support, as well as referral to different facilities and institutions for those in need. In FY 2013, Turengere Abana will also continue to support child-headed households through health care support and social and economic strengthening, including psychosocial support, nutritional education including kitchen gardening, child rights and protection, prevention messaging against HIV and GBV as well as referrals when needed. The promotion of youth ISLG will be supported to help them build resilience for a better future.

Turengere Abana provides trainings on social protection, child rights, and prevention of HIV and other common diseases to CBOs, local government partners, teachers, police, and health care workers. Existing local associations and community-based groups will be identified by the project, including ISLGs, youth clubs, OVC protection committees, and anti-GBV committees; new community based groups of the same kind will also be initiated and will subsequently receive organizational development support. These services will be provided to 1,120 most vulnerable households in the catchment areas. Through these groups, Turengere Abana program will continue to build the capacity of the vulnerable group members with access to essential health and social services, and to build more resilient families through economic and social coping mechanisms. The community caregivers will be empowered to provide continuous TA and mentoring to enable groups towards sustainable development.

In COP 13, Turengere Abana program will implement prevention interventions and will collaborate with CBOs to provide HIV and other disease prevention messaging, targeting 30,000 OVC and their families as well as other vulnerable households across selected districts. Prevention interventions among beneficiaries include behavior change message to prevent HIV, STIs and other diseases as well as unintended pregnancies. HIV prevention activities include community sensitization and VCT among youth and other beneficiaries. VCT clients are tested through community-level outreach strategies, or will be referred to health facilities. In addition, training focused on prevention will be provided to CBOs and households in the program catchment area, going beyond HIV to include GBV prevention and family law, including succession rights as well as child rights and protection. Activities will also include access to safe water sources and hand washing; provision of nutrition skills including childrens growth monitoring and nutritional status evaluation for vulnerable adult beneficiaries; kitchen gardening; and education on maintaining a balanced diet to prevent malnutrition.