1.ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION:

Christian Aid (CA) is currently implementing a Track 1 OVC project that began in FY 2005. CA is a UK

based international development agency with over 40 years of experience supporting more than 550

indigenous non-governmental and faith-based organizations in 60 countries. CA is working with a mutually

supporting network of three sub-partners in Uganda to respond to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS

Relief (PEPFAR): AIDS Care, Education, and Training (ACET), Concerned Parents Association (CPA), and

Youth With a Mission (YWAM). By the third quarter of FY 2007, CA and the sub-partners supported a total

of 8,621 OVC (4,767 boy and 3,854 girls), 3,995 with three or more services. In addition, 2,514 caregivers

were trained to provide improved care and support for these same OVC.

The expected impact of the CA Track 1 project for Uganda for FY 2008 is to improve the quality of life for

9,000 OVC residing in 11 sub-counties in northern Uganda. The outcomes that will be worked towards to

support the achievement of this impact are: 1) OVC have sustainable access to essential services such as

education, food and nutrition and psychosocial and income generation support; 2) OVC protected from

stigma, discrimination, exploitation, violence, and sexual abuse; 3) capacity of sub-partners and community

institutions developed to support quality OVC programming; and 4) lessons learnt, models, and best

practices shared and replicated. It is expected that the project will reach at least 9,000 OVC in Uganda in

FY 2007. In FY 2008, Christian Aid and its partners will provide care and support to these same 9,000 OVC

- of which at least 7,200 will benefit from three or more services. In addition, 2,800 caregivers will be

trained to provide improved care and support to these OVC. (The same 15 sites that were supported in FY

2007 will continue to be supported in FY 2008.)

To achieve the expected impact and outcomes, the project will continue to roll-out and strengthen its

innovative and organically developed community-based model to provide OVC with holistic and sustainable

care and support. In particular:

1.Representatives of priority OVC households in the Ugandan sites will continue to be mobilized into

Savings and Loan Associations (SLAs). Here, the members save for several months until their savings

become significantly large, thereby, allowing the members to draw small loans, which they use for income

generation activities, school fees and uniforms, etc. To complement this economic strengthening work and

bolster their food and nutritional security, the groups are also supported with self-help projects in agriculture

and complementary sectors, e.g., seed and livestock multiplication.

2.OVC between the ages of six to 11 years of age whose guardians are attached to the SLA groups

participate in Kids Clubs activities on a weekly basis. Trained peer facilitators take the children through a

structured manual informed by material developed by the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative

(REPSSI). In this way, these children receive quality, structured PSS.

3.Older OVC - those between the ages of 12 to 17 years of age - are mobilized into youth clubs and

participate in the program's life skills sessions on a weekly basis. The sessions are also facilitated by

trained peer educators by material informed by Population Services International (PSI) and other national

and international reputable material. Through the life skills sessions, these older OVC benefit from both

healthcare support (i.e., reproductive health) and PSS.

4.Within the SLA groups, child protection Monitors are appointed. The Monitors are responsible for visiting

the homes of each of their fellow SLA members at least twice per month. Here, they spend time with the

OVC, thereby, providing adult mentorship support, as well as ensure they are not being physically or

mentally abused, stigmatized, and/or discriminated against. When minor child protection cases are

revealed, they counsel the guardians in question to explore alternative ways of treating the children. More

serious cases are reported to the OVC Support Committees, child protection committees, and/or local

government officers/police for resolution. Through this mechanism, the project is working to ensure that all

the children are systematically monitored and, therefore, benefit from child protection support, as well as

one-one-one counseling support.

5.Despite the economic strengthening work that is being undertaken, there are still many OVC that are

unable to attend school, particularly at the secondary level. Given this, rigorous targeting is undertaken with

the OVC Support Committees and SLA groups to identify older OVC in most need of secondary school

support, and this is provided. In addition, older OVC that cannot be integrated into the formal education

system, i.e., those that do not even possess a basic educational foundation on which to build, will be

provided with vocational training through local training colleges.

Through the above community-based model, the participating OVC will access most, if not all, of the

following core services: economic strengthening, PSS, healthcare support, food and nutrition, protection,

and educational support. This will, thereby, ensure that they receive comprehensive, quality support.

Furthermore, by channeling support and capacity building through the SLA groups, CA will ensure that the

services provided to the OVC are family focused and sustainable, as it is highly likely that these groups will

continue to operate in the post-implementation period. The larger OVC Support Committees who they are

apart will also continue to be linked to local government structures and other sources of support. In

addition, by ensuring that the Kids Club and Life Skills activities target younger and older OVC, respectively,

CA will ensure that the interventions are age appropriate. Gender sensitivity is additionally promoted by

ensuring that there are both male and female peer educators to support direct work with the OVC. The life

skills activities will furthermore build the capacity of OVC between the ages of 12 to 17 to avoid contracting

HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as well as preventing them from succumbing to

unwanted pregnancy.

The above interventions are directly informed by and in support of the National Orphans and Other

Vulnerable Children Policy and the National Programme Plan of Interventions for Orphans and Other

Vulnerable Children 2005/6 - 2009/10. In particular, the former document's guiding principles - including

those related to the rights based approach, ensuring that the family and community is the first line of

response, focus on the most vulnerable children, and community participation and empowerment - lay at

the very foundation of CA's project. Moreover, Uganda's goal of ensuring the realization of the rights of

OVC is directly in line with the project's goal. The project will also ensure the realization of the objectives of

Uganda's OVC policy by supporting the development of a more protective environment for children in the

participating communities, ensuring that OVC access essential services and that resources for OVC

programming are used strategically and efficiently, and that the capacity gaps of guardians, local leaders,

and community institutions are addressed to ensure that they can support the realization of the rights of

OVC for the long-term. CA will also ensure that the program is effectively coordinated with and mutually

Activity Narrative: reinforces the work of local government by ensuring that the sub-partners attend district-level coordination

meetings, as well as the timely submission of programmatic reports on a quarterly basis.

2.CONTRIBUTIONS TO OVERALL PROGRAM AREA:

As explained above, CA's project focuses on ensuring that OVC access the core program areas of support,

as spelled out in the Guidance. The vision is to ensure that each OVC receives a holistic package of

support based on his or her own particular needs. Moreover, this Program Area's Guiding Principles are

being closely followed. This includes: focusing interventions on the family unit and the community and not

only on the affected child; developing the capacity of OVC households and communities to provide better

and sustained support to OVC through the promotion of SLA groups and OVC Support Committees;

ensuring the meaningful participation of children in the program through their representation on the OVC

Support Committees and integration into monitoring and evaluation (M&E) processes; and reducing gender

disparities by ensuring both girl and boy OVC are closely monitored and protected from exploitation, abuse,

and discrimination and by empowering both boy and girl OVC with vital life skills.

3.LINKS TO OTHER ACTIVITIES:

Through the SLA groups, specific interventions will continue to be undertaken in FY 2008 to encourage both

the SLA members and even the OVC under their care access local voluntary counseling and testing (VCT)

services, so they, if necessary, can be effectively linked to HIV treatment providers such as the Joint Clinical

Research Center (JCRC). In fact, specific training materials will be developed and delivered to the groups

to this effect. Finally, efforts will continue to be made to link the participating households to other

developmental organizations in the districts, so they can access complementary forms of support in the food

security, economic strengthening, and water and environmental sanitation sectors.