The Orphan and Vulnerable Children Education Support Initiative (OVC- ESI) includes a PEPFAR component designed to reduce the risk of HIV infection and impact of AIDS among orphans and other vulnerable children. Under this component, the OVC-ESI will implement interventions to counteract socioeconomic conditions that increase the vulnerability of this high risk population in education. Presently, there are over 1.2 million orphans in Zambia and approximately 700,000 are in school. The OVC-ESI program is designed to expand and strengthen the Ministry of Education's (MOE) assistance to OVC by improving education services to disadvantaged and HIV/AIDS impacted children. This program will both assist the MOE to improve its support to community schools and provide scholarships to deserving learners enrolled in Grades 8 to 12.

Community schools are small, locally initiated and managed institutions that cater to disadvantaged children without access to the public school system. The OVC-ESI will target 3,000 community schools with interventions that improve learning conditions and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS. Using a wrap around approach, the OVC-ESI will use education funds to improve the quality of instruction and the learning environment in community schools. The OVC-ESI will use PEPFAR funds to promote a network of support for OVC in community schools. The schools, community members and learners will participate in HIV/AIDS prevention activities that promote child protection, mitigate dropping out of school, reduce teenage pregnancies, and increase learner participation in schooling.

The OVC-ESI will also strengthen the MOE's overall response to HIV/AIDS in schools by supporting improvements to the national curriculum on life skills. In addition, teacher training and HIV/AIDS learning materials will be provided to community schools. These schools at present do not have any materials on HIV/AIDS prevention. A major part of this training will include guidance and counseling support for OVC. Because community schools are not adequately staffed, guidance and counseling training will be extended to local school committees to strengthen community support for OVC. The OVC-ESI program complements other education activities that promote school effectiveness through enhanced system processes, instructional methods and school management practices funded using Africa Education Initiative (AEI) funds and other educational resources.

The PEPFAR funded scholarship component within the OVC-ESI program will be provided to 8,000 learners annually. The majority of OVC in community schools that qualify to Grade 8 are economically disadvantaged and unable to pay the required costs. The scholarship is designed to capture all students from community schools that have demonstrated the interest and ability to succeed in school. Every effort will be made to negotiate with target schools to share the costs of the scholarships through in kind contributions and local Parent and Teachers Associations (PTA) will be encouraged to find ways to support the OVC in their school.

The scholarship activity supported under past programs has had positive results. For example, since 2006, more than 24,000 students have received PEPFAR funded scholarships and 6,000 of these students went on to the university. The scholarships pay for the school expenses but also insure the students are living in secure homes and are protected from dangerous situations that will expose them to the possibility of contracting AIDS. The scholarship program is intended to assist the student's achievement and the skills required to secure employment. This is done by involving high school age scholarship students in special school based study groups and enrolling students in local job related internships. Emphasis is placed on identifying and assisting the HIV high risk students and ensuring these students are provided with the opportunities required to keep themselves safe from infection. The life skills sessions stress how to prevent HIV/AIDS and include student discussions led by trained local NGO facilitators. For the younger children receiving scholarships, appropriate life skills training will also be provided.

The PEPFAR component of the OVC-ESI will also include small grants to encourage schools and local communities to better support OVC. Small grants awarded in the past have generated significant cooperation and ownership among schools and local communities. The implementation of OVC-ESI interventions will be monitored on a quarterly basis through reports and on site visits to the schools. The key areas that will be monitored include student knowledge of AIDS and related prevention measures, student dropout rates and number of pregnancies. The progress on the development of the improvement of the life skills curriculum and support materials will be monitored by USAID on a bi-monthly basis in order to identify gaps and delays in management.

An end of the year evaluation will be conducted to determine how many students were enrolled in the program, verify the selection criteria used, document the scholarship students performance in school, and assess the effectiveness of the HIV prevention measures used and other support services provided to the students. The end of year evaluation will also assess progress in improving the life skills curriculum and the impact of the materials and training provided to the schools.

A critical concern is that the neglected OVC population is at a high risk of contracting HIV. These children tend to have minimal access to education, have high drop out rates when they do try to enter the school system and are living in high risk settings. It is common for these children to be exploited and suffer other forms of abuse. Many girls, for example, are forced into early marriages before they have completed their education. The scholarship component is a wrap around activity within a larger education program designed to support OVC education in community schools. The scholarships are provided to community school students that enter grade eight and need financial support and special services to continue through high school. The objective is to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS among this high risk group by keeping these students in school and in an environment where they can care and protect themselves. The scholarships cost on average 200 dollars per year for each student. These funds pay for all school related expenses and student support. Selection of the students is managed by a committee, composed of the head teacher school teachers, community members and parents.

There are over 500,000 students in community schools. More than one third of the children in community schools are HIV /AIDS affected and orphaned while the remaining students come from severely disadvantaged homes and are deprived of education though the conventional school system. To assist the OVC, a targeted life skills intervention will be supported. Emphasis will be on ensuring the OVC, in the most critical community schools, are provided with the extra support required. This includes the provision of food, medical referrals, special guidance services and academic support. The intent is to promote a culture of care and support in both the community and in the school.

Because community schools are severely neglected, they do not have any student learning materials that focus on HIV/AIDS prevention and life skills. Volunteer teachers that manage the community schools will participate in training on how to use these learning materials. These teachers will be trained in the district resource center by ministry of education.

It is expected that at least 600 community schools will participate in this component of the program reaching 3,000 children and 6,000 community members. Community members are expected to participate in supporting the schools and OVC in particular.