This activity relates to other track 1.0 OVC projects, RAPIDS HKID, and HCP HKID.

The Breaking Barriers (BB) is a track 1.0 Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) project that began in

2006. Funding for BB was sourced by Plan USA on behalf of the Hope for African Children Initiative

(HACI), an initiative which was made up of the following organization; CARE, Family Health Trust, PLAN,

and the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa-Zambia, World Vision Zambia and the Zambia Interfaith

Networking Group on HIV/AIDS. Following the closure of HACI on 30th June 2007, Plan Zambia has taken

over the management and implementation of BB.

Plan International is a child-centered development organization with no religious or political affiliations which

has been in existence in Zambia since 1995. Plan envisages a world where all children realize their full

potential in societies which respect people's rights and dignity. The organization's work is focused on

working with the community to enable them meet the needs and rights of children.

The goal of the Breaking Barriers' project, over a four year period, is to expand sustainable, effective,

quality OVC programs in education, PSS and community-based care for children and families affected by

HIV and AIDS, using an extensive network of schools (both formal and informal) and religious institutions as

a coordinated platform for rapid scale up and scale out. This goal will be achieved by expanding

sustainable, effective and quality OVC programs in education, psychosocial support and community- based

care for children and families affected by HIV/AIDS, using an extensive network of schools (both formal and

non formal) and religious institutions as a coordinated platform.

BB will be implemented in Mazabuka and Chibombo District in 12 communities where RAPIDS or any Track

1 USG partner has no activities; hence there will not be duplication of work. In these communities BB aims

to scale-up OVC access to education, life skills, psychosocial support (PSS), and by strengthening existing

educational, religious and community institutions, resources and infrastructures. BB will further reduce the

incidence of orphanhood at an early age of the child's life by prolonging the child-parent relationship by

linking them to home-based care and ART and by providing physical and emotional support to

parents/guardians of the OVC. The program builds on the expertise of Plan Zambia, government

infrastructure, and the resources of both secular and faith-based communities all of which are exceptionally

positioned to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS.

In FY 2007, only 2,031 OVC were reached with supplemental direct services compared to the planned

target of 10,000 because funding was withheld pending an external audit which has since taken place. In

FY 2008, BB will reach at least 12,000 OVC (6,500 girls and 5,500 boys). Of the 12,000 OVC, 5,000 will be

primary direct while 7,000 will be supplemental beneficiaries of integrated program activities focusing on the

provision of a comprehensive package of education through school improvement and support with learning

and teaching material, psychosocial support, HIV/AIDS prevention through training of youths as peer

educators, home care services and advocacy for children rights. BB will train 180 OVC volunteers in

referring for palliative care and ART services and succession planning/will writing, 48 youths in peer

education and 60 community and religious leaders in stigma, denial and discrimination reduction will

achieve this.

Forty Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) caregivers from 8 centers will be trained in

psychosocial skills and childcare. This will improve the service delivery to children in their care. Eight

Center Parent Committees will be assisted with small scale farming inputs (seed and hoes) to scale up their

nutritional support to the ECCD centers. To ensure that the life of the mother is prolonged, Plan will link

their OVC services with Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) and Community Health Workers trained in the

Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT). This will work in two ways. When the mother of a

household with OVC is pregnant, she will be referred for PMTCT. Also, when a PMTCT client has OVC in

the home, the trained TBA and health workers will refer the children for OVC services.

To ensure effective service delivery and volunteer retention, caregivers will receive non-cash incentives and

tools for work in form of bicycles. BB will train sixty community and religious leaders in children's rights as

stipulated by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which Zambia is a signatory. Training

leaders in child rights will ensure the creation of a supportive environment where children are able to realize

their full potential in order to serve their communities as responsible and productive citizens. Two

documentaries advocating the rights of children will be aired on two national days (World AIDS Day and

Day of the African Child). The BB program will develop, print and distribute 5,000 pamphlets and 200

posters advocacy messages on rights of children.

BB will train Community Care Coalition (CCC) groups in project management, resource mobilization, and

community based M & E. School Improvement Program (SIP) committees will be trained in management,

record keeping and OVC care. The composition of SIP committees which includes children allows the

views of children to be heard and form the basis for future programming. This approach is also designed to

ensure that programs are sustainable at the community level.

Selection/identification of OVC is done by community structures such as Resident Development

Committees, SIP and the church, who work in liaison with the Plan Community Development Facilitators.

However, in schools where learning and teaching aids will be supplied, it will be difficult to disaggregate the

children according to PEPFAR requirement because the supplies will not be given to individual children but

to the schools. In addition, BB will provide small animal husbandry to OVC/PLHA households for livelihood

household security.

Plan will continue networking with civil societies such as the Young Women's Christian Association

(YWCA), Women, Law and Development in Africa (WiLDF) and Ministry of Community Development and

Social Services and the Global Movement for Children Zambia Chapter through advocacy related activities

and collaboration. This will ensure that the rights of children continue to be protected. Plan will also work

with other USAID OVC partners through the USG Zambia OVC Forum including bilateral OVC projects to

share lessons and prevent overlap of activities. Plan will also work closely with the Government of the

Republic of Zambia through the District Orphans and Vulnerable Children Committee and the District

HIV/AIDS Task Force.

The Breaking Barriers' project M&E plan will track process, outputs and outcomes to measure the success

Activity Narrative: of BB in education, psychosocial support, home-based care in OVC households, capacity building, and in

promoting an enabling environment for PLWHA and OVC. The Plan M&E plan will track process, outputs

and outcome to measure the success of Breaking Barriers' Program in education, psychosocial support,

home-based care in OVC households, capacity building, and in promoting an enabling environment for

PLWHA and OVC. M&E will be coordinated by a team that will include M & E, Program Unit Managers,

Program Unit Program Coordinators, Advisors and other partners. This team will meet quarterly to review

progress towards program objectives and share best practices. In addition, the M&E Coordination team will

refine the program M&E frameworks and tools. They will also develop a joint Program Monitoring Plan that

will include quarterly monitoring visits in which progress will be ascertained, changes identified and

appropriate recommendations made. The M&E plan will incorporate required PEPFAR indicators for OVC

Programming and Program and System Strengthening feeding into the BB and other National indicators.

Tracking tools which disaggregates all OVC reached and other OVC by gender, status and age group will

also help measure progress of the project towards attaining the objectives.

BB will actively participate in the USG OVC forum on a regular basis to prevent duplications and overlaps

and share best practices. In order to ensure sustainability of the services, Plan will continue to strengthen

the capacity of communities and households to meet the needs of OVC.

All FY 2008 targets will be reached by September 30, 2009.