SUMMARY:

Starfish will use PEPFAR funds to provide a holistic package of basic services to orphans and vulnerable

children (OVC), including increased access to educational support and social services through community-

based programs in six provinces. Major emphasis areas for the program are human capacity development

(training) and local organizational capacity building. The program's specific target population is OVC.

BACKGROUND:

Starfish Greathearts Foundation (Starfish), a South African NGO, uses a multi-tiered capacity building

model that focuses on partnerships, the ability to replicate or scale-up programs and sustainability to ensure

necessary care and support services reach as many OVC as possible. Starfish acknowledges the

invaluable role that community-based organizations (CBOs) and caregivers play in the care of OVC, and

supports and capacitates Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and CBOs through training and

mentorship to provide direct OVC services to OVC. The Starfish program is aligned with the South African

National Plan of Action for Orphans and Other Children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS and the

Department of Social Development's (DOSD) Policy Framework.

With FY 2008 funding, Starfish will increase and expand its range of services and reach to OVC following a

three-pronged strategy: (i) qualitatively improved programming for improved training to CBOs; (ii) quality

care and services to OVC and; (iii) organizational, managerial and technical competence to support

improved programming and service delivery. This strategy will continue to strengthen Starfish's Mentoring

and Training Program (M&TP) which builds capacity of CBOs providing direct services to OVC. PEPFAR

funds will train, mentor and support 48 CB0 and their caregivers and workers in the following provinces:

Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West and the Western Cape. The program will

continue to partner with a number of preferred Service Providers, especially Heartbeat. In particular,

Heartbeat's child protection training modules are widely used. Starfish will also continue to work with other

Mentoring Service Providers (MSP) in the following provinces: Unsung Heroes (Gauteng Province),

Barnabas Trust (Eastern Cape), CHOICE (Limpopo), Seboka and Ragoga (North West) and Narcosa

(Western Cape).

ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTED RESULTS:

ACTIVITY 1: Local Organization Capacity Development

Central to Starfish's scale-up strategy is a sustainable CBO training and mentoring program. Partner CBOs

are trained and mentored for an 18-month period in OVC care and support as well as in developing and

improving their organizational capacity. As the number of trained and strengthened CBOs increases

nationally, more OVC can be reached more cost effectively and brought into a safety net of care in a

sustainable manner. CBOs are provided with the skills to access and implement services provided by the

Departments of Education, Home Affairs, Department of Labor (learner ships for 18 year old OVC and those

graduating from OVC categorization due to age including those OVC who are heads of households) and the

Department of Social Development (DOSD). Starfish also assists CBOs with the development and

implementation of work plans, their monitoring, and use of data collection tools, methods of good quality

data collection and overall monitoring and evaluation of their programs. Skills, methods, tools and strategies

acquired during these workshops combine to add value to the work of CBOs in their OVC Care programs. In

addition, good quality programs allow CBOs to solicit additional funding from other sources. The value

added to the work of these CBOs is achieved with PEPFAR funding.

ACTIVITY 2: Human Capacity Development (HCD)

The HCD program provides skills in practical management and organizational governance which would

include topics such as: vision-building, planning and evaluation which covers following eight steps of

planning: delegation and participation, problem solving, planning and implementation, strategic planning,

administration, personnel, leadership, legal registration, managing money and fund raising. Fund raising

includes: financial systems, bookkeeping, developing a finance policy, budget reporting, conflict mediation,

linkages and partnerships and establishing relationships with local government departments and local

service providers.

OVC care and support topics covered in the CBO training include; identification of OVC, establishing OVC

selection criteria, children's rights, models of care for children, parenting skills, minimizing discrimination

and stigma, HIV prevention education; The training will also cover; promoting gender equality and child

protection, the roles of community development facilitators and child care workers. Caregivers will receive

training on identification of OVC who are particularly vulnerable, abused, sick and HIV-infected The latter

are linked to CBO networks of trained caregivers who regularly visit OVC in their homes. Special care

programs and mechanisms for referral are then put into place. The caregivers also serve as points of

contact for OVC and ensure that linkages and referrals are made to provide OVC with the necessary

services. Training in OVC care will also be provided to Granny support groups who create a network of

caregivers supporting each other, reducing the individual burden of care and providing a forum for sharing

information.

ACTIVITY 3: Psychosocial Support (PSS)

Age-appropriate PSS programs will be provided by CBOs and caregivers working with them. Thee PSS

programs will include, play therapy and youth support groups, The focus will be on core themes such as life

skills, establishing and balancing gender equity by addressing cultural stereotypes held particularly by boys,

child protection with the view of reducing violence and sexual coercion. Sexual and reproductive health

especially for adolescent OVC forms part of the PSS program and it is aimed at preventing HIV infections

and providing reproductive health information. PSS programs will link OVC to psychological and emotional

care. A network of care workers will regularly visit OVC at their homes to provide follow up care at the

household level.

ACTIVITY 4: Educational Support

Activity Narrative: The Heartbeat training module will be used to train CBOs to address educational support topics. Starfish will

train and support its partner CBOs to ensure OVC are able to access to primary and secondary school

education. For example: In various participatory workshops, CBOs and their caregivers/workers contingent

are trained on how to secure school fee exemptions, how to apply for and access legal documents and

secure social grants etc. Caregivers will work with local schools to facilitate school fees exemption.

Caregivers will be assisted to form partnerships with local educators to assist OVC with their homework and

monitor on-going school progress. Starfish will also develop local partnerships to secure bursaries for older

OVC. Caregivers will provide advice on and enroll older OVC on learner ship programs offered by the

Department of Labor. Academic assistance and homework support will be facilitated at care centers and,

where possible, qualified teachers will be engaged to work alongside volunteers. Particular attention will be

given to English and Mathematics as these subjects are traditionally the most difficult. Starfish will identify,

via CBO partners, tutoring and homework after school centers where work can be conducted

simultaneously whilst providing a places of safety for OVC. Linkages to programs and services providing

school uniforms and stationary will continue to be made. This is an important intervention as it is known to

reduce stigma and discrimination and encourages school attendance.

ACTIVITY 5: Legal Assistance

Heartbeat's training module will be used in training CBOs to address topics in this area. The training module

covers: Children's Protection; Children's Rights and Child Protection Policy; Assessing and Minimizing

Risks; Prevention and Management of Abuse. CBOs will be empowered to ensure that OVC legal status

including their possession of birth certificates and identity documents are in place. This will ensure that

children are able to access social grants and other economic support services they are entitled to and will

assist government to fulfill its mandate as stipulated in the Department of Social Development's Strategic

Framework. Post-training activities by caregivers will include ensuring that all topics covered in the training

sessions are implemented.

ACTIVITY 6: Nutritional Support

CBO OVC care training will include modules that will focus on nutritional training courses. Trained

caregivers will be placed in areas within specified communities to ensure that nutritional education is spread

as widely as possible. Nutritional education training given to OVC-headed households and caregivers will

assist in improving OVC nutritional status. Training programs in this regard will include topics on healthy

food choices, food preparation and storage. The training will focus on CBOs who provide food parcels,

manage food gardens, run soup kitchens or assist grandmothers who receive social grants on behalf of

OVC. Provision of monthly food parcels is a wrap around activity funded through national and local business

partnerships. Soya porridge is distributed to severely malnourished OVC as part of an emergency feeding

scheme using non-PEPFAR funding.

Starfish donors e.g. Coca-Cola, Virgin Unite, Cell C etc. provide basic services to over 12,000 OVC through

PPPs.

Starfish's OVC activities contribute to the PEPFAR goal of caring for 10 million people including OVC, by

strengthening the community-based network for OVC care and support in a sustainable manner.