This activity relates to other Track 1.0 HKID projects and the RAPIDS HKID.

The Community-based Care of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CBCO), a Track 1.0 orphans and

vulnerable children (OVC) project, began in FY2005. Christian Aid (CA), the prime partner, 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 the following sub-

partners in Zambia to respond to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR): Catholic

Diocese of Ndola (CDN), Copperbelt Health Educational Program (CHEP), Archdiocese of Lusaka (ADL),

and Family Health Trust (FHT). These sub-partners work with CA to implement quality OVC programming

in impoverished areas of Zambia, hard hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These locations include both rural

and urban areas of Zambia's Copperbelt region and marginalized peri-urban areas of Lusaka and in rural

areas of Zambia's Central, Eastern and Southern Provinces.

The goals of the CBCO program are to improve the quality of life for over 16,000 OVC by ensuring that

OVC have sustained access to essential services and are protected from all forms of abuse, to develop the

capacity of sub-partners and community institutions to support high quality OVC programming, and to share

lessons learned, models, and best practices for replication of successful approaches. CBCO served a total

of 8,642 OVC from FY 2006 to FY 2007 and 845 caregivers have been trained. In FY 2008, CBCO and its

sub-partners will provide support to approximately 16,000 OVC and train at least 3,000 caregivers.

Many CBCO households are not in a financial position to send the OVC under their care to school. As

such, CBCO will continue to provide support to OVC that are either not going to school or are on the verge

of dropping out of school, by paying for school fees, uniforms, and other scholastic materials. A rigorous

targeting process will be undertaken by sub-partners with the participating communities to identify eligible

OVC. Some of the older OVC that are either long-term school drop-outs and have difficulties integrating

into the formal educational system or who have already completed secondary school and have significant

potential to go further in their studies will be assisted to identify their interests and current skills, and link

them to relevant and quality vocational and tertiary training programs, provided they commit to supporting

their younger siblings.

The majority of the CBCO beneficiaries live in rural and peri-urban areas, and either greatly or considerably

depend on agriculture for both food and income. As a long-term capacity building strategy for such

households, significant efforts will continue to be directed at increasing both the food and nutritional

security, and household income by training caregivers in high-impact sustainable agricultural technologies,

who will identify the most vulnerable OVC guardians through the already established Savings and Loans

Associations (SLA), train and provide them with quality agricultural inputs. CBCO will train caregivers and

the OVC guardians in best nutritional practices especially for under-five OVC. This will include cooking

demonstrations using locally available foods. The program will continue to implement the livestock

multiplication project that started in FY 2007, using the "Pass a gift" model, through the organized SLA

groups.

In FY2007, CBCO directed significant effort to providing quality Psychosocial Support (PSS) to OVC that

have undergone traumatic experiences or unusual hardships. A review of existing materials from Regional

PSS Initiative (REPPSI), and other organizations was conducted, and supplementary facilitation materials

for guardians, and kids clubs were compiled. The program formed Kids clubs for OVC aged 6 to 12 and

also delivered PSS for guardians during weekly SLA meetings for easy reach. Further CBCO delivered Life

Skills for OVC aged between 12 and 17 years through youth clubs. In FY 2008, CBCO will mobilize more

Kids and Youth Clubs, and ensure that all SLAs have on-going PSS for guardians. CBCO will further train

OVC guardians in early childhood development skills in order for them to adequately engage the under-five

OVC and ensure quality child growth.

CBCO will continue to promote the protection of OVC rights and to reduce stigma and discrimination. In FY

2007, more effort was directed towards strengthening continuous monitoring of OVC for protection against

the various forms of abuse by zoning each site and placing OVC mentors who regularly visit OVC

households to identify and manage cases of abuse. In FY 2008, the program will continue to ensure that

these structures are operating as envisaged and also ensure that the trained mentors properly manage both

minor and major abuse cases through established community-based systems like the Child-Protection

Committees, community leader, and the Victim Support Unit respectively.

In FY 2007, CBCO trained SLA facilitators and supported them to mobilize and train/mentor SLAs in their

respective sites in order to strengthen the capacity of OVC households to generate income and access to

credit. A good number of SLA groups were formed, saved significant amounts of money, commenced the

loaning process, and engaged in income generating activities (IGA). In FY 2008, this intervention will be

scaled-up to ensure all OVC households belong to SLAs. CBCO will develop extra materials training SLA

members in entrepreneurial skills to equip them with practical skills in business planning and management.

SLA groups will continue to be sensitized to time their liquidation of savings towards important yearly events

such as the onset of the agriculture season or beginning of a school year, so that they could be able to use

their portion of savings on other household expenses.

The program will continue to support community-based responses for providing care and support to OVC.

CBCO will roll out a referral system with clinical facilities and other OVC support programs like PMTCT,

ART and HBC. Further, the program will continue to integrate its activities in sub-partner existing programs

and structures, and encouraged the leveraging of funds from other sources. CBCO will continue to

participate in the OVC forum for coordination, and prevention of overlap and duplication. The program will

also support linkages to the food security, micro-finance, and educational sectors by involving the Ministry

of Agriculture in trainings; referring matured SLA groups to fully-fledged micro-financing institutions and

soliciting for bursaries from government and other programs for some OVC requiring tertiary and vocational

training.

The program developed an OVC tracking system for use by all sub-partners for easy reporting. The system

aims to avoid double counting at program level, and identify essential service gaps by monitoring the

targeted OVC in all six core areas, annually. All the data is gender-disaggregated to ensure equity in all

project interventions. Further, the system has incorporated quality assurance monitoring, involving; OVC

guardians, non-beneficiary household and youths aged between 13-17 years, as part of beneficiary

participation. The program will also ensure this age group has representation in the community OVC

Activity Narrative: Committees. Finally, the experienced Program staff will continue to support the sub-partners to implement

interventions that adhere to PEPFAR OVC programming guidance, national, and international standards.

Christian Aid will endeavor to promote sustainability by building its sub-partners' capacity through training

and mentorship in various aspects of program management for effective program implementation.

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