SUMMARY:

The National Association of Childcare Workers (NACCW) provides accredited child and youth care training

to community members in order to provide holistic services to family members of OVC. Funding will be used

in the emphasis areas of training and community mobilization, developing referrals and linkages, and

conducting needs assessments. Primary target populations are HIV-infected families and their caregivers,

and community organizations.

BACKGROUND:

NACCW is the only South African NGO focusing on provision of specialized, professional training in child

and youth care. NACCW has developed a unique community-based child and youth care response to the

HIV and AIDS crisis called the Isibindi Model. This program trains unemployed community members in an

accredited child and youth care course and provides an integrated child and youth care service to child

headed households and vulnerable families through partnerships between NACCW and community-based

organizations. This project is part of a larger initiative of the NACCW to replicate the Isibindi Model

nationally in partnership with the Department of Social Development (DOSD). Since 2004, PEPFAR has

supported 24 of NACCW's 40 Isibindi projects, providing direct services to 10 891 OVC and training for 430

child and youth care workers in 7 provinces in South Africa. The NACCW also offers this accredited training

to other PEPFAR funded projects. From FY 2007 PEPFAR funding has supported palliative care activities.

To promote the sustainability of the NACCW Isibindi childcare model, public-private partnerships will

support the program in selected provinces. Partners include De Beers Fund, Anglo America Chairman's

Fund, AngloGold, Royal Netherlands Embassy, UNICEF, ABSA Bank and the Impumelelo Innovations

Award Trust.

ACTIVITY 1: Clinical Services for Family Members of HIV-infected and OVC

Child and Youth Care Workers (CYCW) will provide information on clinical services and refer OVC and their

families for screening of pain and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment services such as TB or ARVs. CYCW will

regularly follow up to ensure that services are accessed and to provide adherence support for adults and

children on treatment. CYCW will be capacitated to identify children requiring clinical services or

hospitalization and to provide referrals to children and family members. NACCW will ensure each Isibindi

site is linked to a network of clinical care services and providers. The NACCW has a non-PEPFAR program

called Masihlangane: Make a Difference which focuses on securing funding for food parcels for the Isibindi

projects. Essential nutritional requirements through the food parcels will be provided to children and families

who are on antiretroviral treatment. This will complement the treatment process.

ACTIVITY 2: Psychological/Social Services for OVC and their Families

CYCW will assist family members of HIV-infected and OVC with a range of social and psychological

services. This will include providing information on and assisting caregivers to access disability grants and

other forms of economic support. CYCW will also provide family counseling and assist with succession

planning. This will include ensuring caregivers have wills, making arrangements for the care of children,

ensuring children have birth certificates and identity documents and providing support for disclosure. CYCW

will provide bereavement support and counseling and refer family members to social workers and other

support services. CYCW also ensure that families live in hygienic and safe home environments and assist

family members to maintain their households.

ACTIVITY 3: Training of CYCW

CYCW in Isibindi project sites will be trained by Bigshoes on a 5-day program focusing on providing

palliative care services to OVC and their families or caregivers with the aim of delaying orphanhood. This

will include providing referrals to clinical services, follow ups and providing social and psychological services

designed to support family caregivers and sick OVC. Monthly Regular mentorship will ensure that CYCW

are able to implement the services and provide quality care and support to family members of HIV-infected

individuals and OVC.

ACTIVITY 4: Care for Caregivers

NACCW will contract the services of registered therapists to provide support to CYCW in all Isibindi sites,

thereby facilitating deeper and more sustainable relationships with their clients. The less they are burdened

by their personal feelings and stories, the more emotionally available they will be for their clients. They

should also begin to develop a healthy discrimination for appropriate levels of involvement with their clients.

The support will include debriefing sessions, workshops and individual counseling in a structured six-month

program. It is anticipated that this intervention will reduce burn out, psychosomatic symptoms among

CYCW, increase the quality of services provided and improve the long-term sustainability of the program.

In all of the above activities, OVC will be counted only in the OVC program area. Palliative care to family

members of PLHIV or OVC will be provided in at least two or the five categories of palliative care services.

PLHIV will receive at least one clinical and one other category of palliative care service.

These activities will contribute to meeting PEPFAR's goals of providing 10 million people with care and

support, including family members of PLHIV and OVC.

SUMMARY:

The National Association of Childcare Workers (NACCW) provides accredited child and youth care training

to community members in order to provide holistic services to OVC. Funding will be used in the emphasis

area of training and community mobilization, developing referrals and linkages, and conducting needs

assessments. Primary target populations are OVC, HIV-infected families and their caregivers, and

community organizations.

BACKGROUND:

NACCW is the only South African NGO focusing on provision of specialized, professional training in child

and youth care. NACCW has developed a unique community-based child and youth care response to the

HIV and AIDS crisis called the Isibindi Model. This program trains unemployed community members in an

accredited child and youth care course and provides an integrated child and youth care service to child-

headed households and vulnerable families through partnerships between NACCW and community-based

organizations. This project is part of a larger initiative of the NACCW to replicate the Isibindi Model

nationally in partnership with the Department of Social Development (DOSD). Since 2004, PEPFAR has

supported 24 of NACCW's 40 Isibindi projects, providing direct services to 10 891 OVC and training for 430

child and youth care workers in 7 provinces in South Africa. The NACCW also offers this accredited training

to other PEPFAR funded projects.

To promote the sustainability of the NACCW Isibindi childcare model, public-private partnerships will

support the program in selected provinces. Partners include De Beers Fund, Anglo America Chairman's

Fund, AngloGold, Royal Netherlands Embassy, UNICEF, ABSA Bank and the Impumelelo Innovations

Award Trust. The NACCW has a program called Masihlangane Ngezingane Zetu: Make a Difference which

focuses on securing funding for food parcels for the Isibindi projects from various other donors and private

enterprises like Old Mutual, Independent Newspapers and Private Sponsorships.

ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTED RESULTS:

ACTIVITY 1: Training and Mentorship

Accredited child and youth care training at South Africa's National Qualification Framework (NQF) level will

be provided to child and youth care workers and selected volunteers in all sites. This training is the only

accredited basic child and youth care course in the country in the profession of Child Care Work. This

accredited training will allow workers to be registered as Auxiliary Child and Youth Care Workers with the

South African Professional Board for Child and Youth Care Work. This registration promotes professional

practice and ensures that workers function within a professional code of ethics. In FY 2008 expert

consultants and mentors will be provided to all 50 Isibindi Projects to ensure development of the project

staff and thus ensure provision of quality services.

ACTIVITY 2: OVC Outreach Services

NACCW will ensure that all OVC are visited regularly and provided with services within a child rights

framework. These services will include education on children's rights and assistance with access to

education, facilitating access to legal documents, food parcels, social security grants, ARV treatment for

children and health care, child protection, services for recreation and play, educational support and

bereavement and grief work. Health Care services will include general health care, health care for HIV-

infected OVC and preventive health care services. NACCW will ensure that OVC also receive child care

services including counseling, grief-work, age-appropriate developmental programs and assessment in the

context of ordinary daily events like bath-times, mealtimes, study times and playtimes. Lifespace work

(using daily events and routines like meal preparation, meal times, study times, play times etc

developmentally and therapeutically) will be offered in the community in homes, schools and drop-in centers

to build resilience and empower OVC to take charge of their lives. To respond to large numbers of children

requiring after school care services and less intensive support, the NACCW Isibindi projects will create safe

parks - safe places where children can play with access to child and youth care workers. The safe park will

provide homework supervision, health care assessments and HIV prevention and psychosocial discussions,

organized sports fixtures, free play, group discussions by age group and gender as appropriate, cultural

activities and the opportunity for children to connect with adults in a safe environment. This intervention will

be replicated in the communities and in the established Isibindi Projects; the additional components

serviced will be added.

ACTIVITY 3: Child Protection and Gender Equity

The NACCW program will focus on the identification, care, management and referral of children who are

abused and neglected. This will be a focus area of the NACCW project in FY 2008. Expert training and

support from other specialist organizations will ensure effective service from the child and youth care

workers according to minimum standards and practice procedure. Caregivers will be sensitized and trained

to actively identify and address gender-based violence in vulnerable households, particularly households

headed by young females. Children with disabilities will benefit from focused developmental and support

programs by trained child care workers including referrals and physical therapy. In addition, a gender

program for the protection and promotion of the girl child will be developed in the 50 PEPFAR supported

NACCW sites. This gender program will include women's development/leadership skills workshops for the

child and youth workers so that gender sensitivity, women's rights and protection will be integrated into the

ethos of daily activities and programs of the Isibindi project. A specific girl child program will be in place in

all Isibindi sites including career camps and bursaries for girl children who have passed their final exams

(grade 12) and are heading households; this will increase the economic security for the girl child and

siblings in the home.

In addition to NACCW's child protection and gender equity activities, NACCW will also implement

interventions designed to meet the needs of adolescent OVC girls and boys. CYCW will be trained on the

needs of adolescent girls and boys and activities will be mainstreamed into all household visits and at Safe

Parks. Activities will include information and education on reproductive health and teenage pregnancy,

prevention of gender-based violence and gender roles and role models. This gender program initiated in FY

Activity Narrative: 2007 will be ongoing in the sites that it was piloted in and new additional projects will be provided with the

program needs assessment. Ongoing follow up and support will be provided to sites that have already

started this program,

ACTIVITY 4: Advocacy

The Isibindi Model translates SAG policy for OVC into practice. By sharing better practices from the Isibindi

model with national and provincial government departments, NACCW will help inform national policy on

OVC. NACCW promotes the UN Children's Rights Charter, the South African National OVC policy and the

South African Draft Children's Bill as well as other national policy and legislation for the protection and

promotion of children rights and interests in the context of HIV and AIDS. The focused advocacy from the

NACCW in the consultations on the Draft Children's Bill has resulted in amendments for the inclusion of

child and youth care workers in the Bill in communities as a cadre of caregivers providing social services.

This will have significant impact on future of the Isibindi Model and the future security of the child and youth

care workers being developed. In FY 2008 NACCW will continue to target key stakeholders such as

magistrates, social workers, and officials in SAG departments such as Home Affairs (responsible for birth

certificates) and Education, at provincial local level through meetings and other forums to ensure that

government policy and legislation are implemented in the best interests of the child. In all Isibindi projects,

children who have been refused admission to school (for lack of school uniforms or nonpayment of school

fees) have all been successfully readmitted.

ACTIVITY 5: Care and Support for Disabled Orphans and Vulnerable Children

NACCW will conduct a needs assessment of each Isibindi site to identify OVC requiring care and support.

CYCW will network with health care facilities and service providers in each site to foster access to

specialized and disability services. A report for each site will document the number of children with special

needs, describe the identified needs (both in individual children and as a group), outline existing local

health/social service facilities, and articulate an action plan. NACCW mentors will meet with appropriate

rehabilitation departments at local hospitals or clinics. CYCW will refer OVC for services and follow up to

ensure services are received.

The NACCW activities and the replication of the Isibindi model to provide support to OVC will assist

PEPFAR in achieving it goal of caring for 10 million people, including OVC.