SUMMARY:

Save the Children UK (SC), in partnership with The Center for Positive Care (CPC), supports the South

African local government (LG), Departments of Social Development (DOSD), Education (DOE) and Health

(DOH) and other NGOs in the Free State (FS) and Limpopo provinces to provide comprehensive care for

OVC. Activities include building community capacity by establishing, training and mentoring Child Care

Forums (CCFs), training home-based care (HBC) givers, helping schools to plan and implement care for

OVC and improving local, district, provincial and national coordination of OVC programming

BACKGROUND:

SC's OVC program in SA began in 2003 and has been supported by PEPFAR since 2004. SC works with

LG to rapidly roll out CCFs at ward level. In FY 2006 SC and CPC assisted 40,381 OVC. FY 2008 funding

will continue to strengthen the reach, quality and long term sustainability of care provided to OVC by

expanding ward level networks of support and extending these to additional municipalities. SC actively

seeks support of government, local business and FBOs for network activities. SC activities will be

implemented in underserved areas in the FS in Thabo Mofutsanyana District, a SA presidential poverty

area, and selected rural and underserved municipalities in Fezile Dabi and Lejweleputswa Districts. In

Limpopo, SC in partnership with CPC, will provide services in Vhembe district, a designated homeland

during Apartheid. In FY 2008 services will be expanded to incorporate the needs of very young OVC, OVC

with disabilities and OVC in farming communities

The project is in line with SA's National HIV/AIDS and STI Strategic Plan, Policy Framework for OVC,

National Action Plan for OVC and SAG policies. SC is a member of the National Action Committee for

Children affected by HIV/AIDS steering committee and participates in the development of national policy

and guidelines. SC coordinates the national Caring Schools Network of organizations establishing OVC

care through schools in South Africa

ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTED RESULTS:

ACTIVITY 1: Establishing and strengthening community structures

SC and CPC, with partner NGOs, establish and strengthen ward level networks comprising of a CCF, HBC

groups, schools, local business, faith-based and other groups, which are led by the ward councilor and the

Community Development Worker (CDW) in each province. SC establishes and strengthens CCFs, which

identify OVC, ensure OVC and their caregivers access services, mobilize community support for OVC and

their caregivers, actively support community initiatives for OVC, and keep records of OVC. CCFs monitor

the well-being of OVC (taking account of needs according to age and gender) and their caregivers, and

raise issues related to service delivery for OVC with relevant local authorities through the OVC Task Team

or other coordinating structures. SC will enable schools to plan and implement programs to care for OVC

and to establish children's groups to ensure that children are actively involved in all aspects of support. In

FY 2008 SC will extend community-based care for OVC to selected, underserved municipalities of in the FS

and to additional wards in Limpopo. SC and CPC will extend the caring schools component of the program,

including support for adolescent OVC, to additional schools in all districts in which the program is

implemented

ACTIVITY 2: Human Capacity Development

SC supports human capacity development by training CCF members, school-based youth facilitators (YF)

and community stakeholders in children's rights including child participation, HIV and AIDS, identifying OVC,

supporting access to essential services, psychosocial support and home visits and child protection. HBC

groups will be trained in health care for children in AIDS-affected households, with an emphasis on very

young and adolescent OVC, and support to children that are caring for ill adults. Organizational

development and OVC program training will be given to CBOs, FBOs and partner NGOs. All ward-based

CDWs will be trained in comprehensive child wellbeing and mentored to assume leadership of a ward

network to achieve child wellbeing. Additional training for YFs, CCF and HBC members on understanding

adolescents will be incorporated into the program. This will include; how to talk to and listen to adolescents

to help them to understand the changes in their bodies and how to initiate groups and activities that they will

participate in. YFs will be trained to initiate and support peer education activities for adolescent in school

OVC. All activities will include a focus on gender and gender roles in adolescent sexuality. Clinic staff will be

offered training and support by SC in working with adolescents and responding to their health needs

ACTIVITY 3: Care Services

With SC support, CCF members will identify OVC; facilitate access to birth registration, health care

(including pediatric treatment) and HIV counseling and testing, social security grants and protection: monitor

that services are delivered; make home visits and initiate children's and caregiver's activities to enhance

psychosocial well-being and provide or arrange for food assistance, school fee waivers, uniforms and

transport to government services. Schools are capacitated to support OVC improving access to nutritional

support, recreation, play and psychosocial support for children and their caregivers (both teachers and

family caregivers); extracurricular activities that encourage children to excel in different fields and that teach

children relevant skills; clothes and uniform banks; improved safety and protection for children; the provision

of other government services at schools; and linkages with community programs that support OVC. SC will

explore the role of gender and activities will respond to the needs of young girls and boys and caregivers,

including older women. Women will actively participate in decision-making while men and youth will play an

active role in community care and support activities. SC data for specific indicators will be recorded and

analyzed by gender and monitored to ensure gender-balanced outcomes

Adolescent OVC will be referred to clinics for sexual and reproductive health services and SC with the DOH

will ensure that the clinics are responsive to adolescent OVC needs. SC will start support groups for

adolescent OVC, in conjunction with resource centers in Vhembe district. Services will include support for

peer-led activities and services from trained adult caregivers. OVC will be supported to discuss and find

solutions to their problems, access information and services, and interact socially with each other in a safe

space supervised by trained adult caregivers. SC will expand the in-school youth peer education program

using existing best practice models, such as the RADS (Radically Different Species) life skills program

developed with Rutanang, in the Free State and Vhembe. Teenage mothers will be included in support

groups for positive mothers. (May be obvious but a word on the rationale may be useful)

In addition, in FY 2008, SC will utilize PEPFAR support to respond to gaps identified through SC's internal

impact monitoring process. Support for OVC under-five years will be introduced to respond to

Activity Narrative: recommendations from research into the strengths of different programs of home and community care for

young children that SC is currently conducting. This will include support for caregivers to stimulate OVC and

ensure health and nutritional support. In addition, approaches to supporting OVC in the sparsely populated

farming communities will be initiated and piloted. SC and partners will build on existing infrastructure, such

as farm schools and mobile health services for the development of support networks for OVC. SC will work

in partnership with farmers and farm worker unions to reach OVC currently not receiving services on farms.

Services for OVC with disabilities will be a focus area in all districts. Members of all CCF groups and YFs

will be trained in community-based rehabilitation for OVC with disabilities to ensure inclusion in all OVC

programs. SC will provide support to schools to enroll children with disabilities in schools where possible in

accordance with SAG policy

ACTIVITY 4: Advocacy

SC will continue to advocate for improved service delivery to OVC. A key element will be the collation and

sharing of data on service delivery with SAG. SC will refine its database and decentralize data collection to

ward level to generate reports on the status of service provision. These will be analyzed collaboratively with

LG and Home Affairs, DOSD, DOE, and DOH to design more responsive services including child-oriented

CT. OVC Task Teams will be capacitated to monitor OVC service provision. LG will be encouraged to

include children's issues in their integrated development plans. For long term sustainability SC will lobby

DOSD to ensure that all CCF members are provided with stipends and with DOE to include YFs in

programs that receive stipends. SC will extend the reach of the CASNET program through training and

active engagement of DOE at provincial level to expand OVC care through schools in all provinces. SC will

continue to actively support the national rollout of CCFs by NACCA

ACTIVITY 5: Improved Coordination

SC will support OVC Task Teams to coordinate services for OVC including hosting meetings between

service providers and strengthening links with CCFs, other ward structures and the district level. SC will

support exchange visits and promote participation of OVC in ward and local level decision making.

Stakeholders at district and provincial levels will be encouraged and supported to form appropriate

coordination mechanisms. SC will also support NACCA to engage with the SAG's National AIDS Council,

and localgovernment bodies. SC OVCactivities will assistPEPFAR toachieve it goalof caring for 10 ml.

people,including OVC