TITLE: Program Support for OVC in Arusha and Manyara

NEED and COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE: The increasing rate of AIDS orphans, poverty, and lack of

access to essential services continue to strain traditional coping mechanisms thereby requiring Catholic

Relief Services (CRS) and its partners to expand their outreach and scope of work. Proposed activities are

based on assessments, monitoring, and evaluation conducted over the implementation of the FY 2007

Expansion Work Plan for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). CRS/Tanzania builds on years of

successful OVC partnerships with faith-based organizations (FBO), with extensive community structures

and locally based experience to address the social and development needs of poor communities and

HIV/AIDS affected families. CRS is an international development and relief organization with 65 years of

successfully implemented local partnership-driven projects to enhance protection, care, and development of

vulnerable communities. This Mission funding complements Track 1 funds.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: In FY 2007, through local mission economic growth funding, CRS made pioneering

gains in sustaining care and support services to 2,630 OVC. In FY 2007, OVC were provided the services

and support needed to address their education and vocational training needs in order to enable them future

access to employment opportunities and trade. Over 640 OVC received primary direct support, while 1990

received supplemental direct support. A total number of 171 caretakers were trained on providing quality

care to OVC.

ACTIVITIES: With additional funding in FY 2008, the CRS OVC programming will roll out in Arusha and

Manyara. CRS will provide a comprehensive package of interventions and support for OVC across seven

core program areas; education and vocation training, food and nutrition, health care, psychosocial, child

protection, shelter and care, and economic strengthening to additional 27,000 OVC and train 540

caregivers. The program has identified the following three interventions that will be monitored and provided

to all OVC receiving primary direct support:

1. Education and Vocation Training Support activities will include the provision of school materials,

uniforms, school fees, bus fares, and monitoring of attendance and performance.

2. Life Skills through Psychosocial Support Trainings: all OVC under direct support will participate in an

eight-hour "In Charge" life skills curriculum. OVC over 12 years of age with specialized needs will be

enrolled in a longer one to three month curriculum such as "Stepping Stones" complemented by a

reinforcement of values and faith approach for meaningful life and behavior changes. Other psychosocial

support interventions like grieving, youth clubs, and memory work will be integrated at different levels

depending on individual needs, culture, and context.

3. Health Care: All primary direct OVC will be guaranteed emergency health insurance to ensure, equity and

universal access to services. OVC and poor OVC guardians living with HIV/AIDS will have access to

antiretroviral therapy (ART) services through the provision of bus fares, linkages, and improved referral

systems. Insecticide treated nets will be provided to most vulnerable groups; (e.g., OVC under the age of

five, HIV/AIDS affected OVC, and other poor OVC extended families living in poor housing conditions) who

are especially vulnerable to malaria transmission.

Depending on individual OVC needs assessments, the following services will be offered as supplemental

direct support:

1. Child Protection activities include: formation and strengthening of community-based child protection

committees that act as paralegal support units; creation of awareness of what constitutes physical, sexual,

and emotional abuse; develop appropriate systems to protect children from abuse; and minimize neglect

and stigma. A portion of this education activity will include capacity to mobilize support for specific

workplace program requests.

2. Food and nutritional support through Emergency Plan funds and leveraged community support.

3. Shelter and care through Emergency Plan funds and community leveraged support.

4. Economic strengthening: Grandparents and older school-going OVC will be trained on business skills,

farming skills through the formation of Junior Farmers' school fields, establishing Savings and Internal

Lending Communities (SILC), and will be eligible to receive small grants or tool kits to access local

employment opportunities.

5. Support coordination and capacity building of the local government structures.

To ensure continuity and effective referrals, CRS will collaborate with the following entities on a quarterly

planning basis: local government councils; schools management committees; village authorities; and

representatives of business associations and local management of public and private health facilities. A

continuum of care will be provided to OVC living with HIV and AIDS by integrating the delivery of services to

OVC with ongoing home-based care and HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment Clinics.

LINKAGES: This activity also relates to Peace Corps, CRS's programs in TB/HIV, treatment, and PMTCT.

It relates to other OVC initiatives. Finally, as an OVC partner, this activity will link with all OVC implementing

partners through the Implementing Partners Group for OVC and the FHI OVC data management system.

CRS works closely with the National Implementing Partner Group and the Ministry of Health and Social

Welfare's (MOHSW) Department of Social Welfare (DSW) to forge opportunities for program integration,

and coordination. Partners will collaborate with the council multi-sectoral AIDS Committee, and Most

Vulnerable Children's Committees (MVCCs) in their operational sites. In Arusha, the project links to Seliani

and Mt Meru Hospitals, Karatu DH, Rhotia RC Mission Hospital and Medicine De Monde's mobile health

services. Likewise, in Manyara the project will link with five CRS/AIDSRelief District and Mission Hospitals

operating in Babati, Mbulu, and Hanang districts.

CHECK BOXES: Focus on primary school-aged OVC is emphasized since school withdrawal increases the

chances of children becoming homeless, victims of child labor, and (particularly for girls) victims of physical

and sexual abuse and childhood pregnancy. Desperate child and grandparent-headed households will also

Activity Narrative: be targeted. Human and institutional capacity building are also key to sustainability. Local partner training

on finance management and compliance procedures, program management, and trainings to address the

needs of frontline care providers will assure sustained capacity to deliver quality services to OVC.

M&E: CRS will support the implementation of the national Data Management System, and will use that

system for their own M&E system. They will ensure that information about OVC identified at the local level

not only feeds into the national system, but is also available to MVCCs at the local level for planning,

decision making, and monitoring. CRS' M&E framework, tools, and formats will encourage strong

community participation in the collection process in order to build community ownership and sustainability.

Tools will collect capacity building and quality OGAC and country-level program indicators. This information

will be processed and standardized to feed into the National Data Management System for OVC programs.

Indicator results will be shared with the beneficiary population across the core program areas and the

communities will engage in identifying and periodically monitoring their OVC using the "Well-being Tool."

To strengthen the participatory M&E system, CRS will train MVCC, parish priests, community volunteers,

and teachers, while full-time M&E focal persons will be recruited and deployed at partner level.

SUSTAINAIBLITY: Sub partner, local government structures and community capacity building impart skills

assuring mobilization beyond the intervention. The program strengthens locally based responses to provide

both immediate and long-term support to vulnerable households by sensitizing local communities and

leaders, to foster a dialogue on HIV/AIDS. This reinforces OVC issues in various government development

and poverty reduction strategies at all policy levels. Through sensitization, strengthening, and formation of

village advocacy committees, communities organize cooperative support for affected households by

leveraging locally available material and human resources to create a supportive environment for OVC.

This intervention will ultimately tip the social balance against stigmatization and abuse.