Future Plans
Strategic Plan 2006 - 2009
Within the Western Province of Zambia, HIV prevalence is thought to be over 30% among the sexually active population.
Unprotected sex has brought about a high incidence of the HIV/AIDS virus leading an increased death rate.
Children are affected by the pandemic in different ways.
There are children living with sick parents or relatives and orphans left without one or both parents or relatives.
Additionally are the orphans who themselves have become HIV positive either through mother to child transmission or through prostitution.
The traditional system of family members taking in unprotected family members is struggling to cope with the increase in the number of orphans and vulnerable children.
The majority of orphans remain with their elderly grandparents or other guardians who have little or no means of income.
As a consequence, the children become malnourished and receive no education.
The OVC Project in Mwandi has already been running for three years and over the last year has expanded rapidly.
The Project is already meeting some of the needs however ongoing and further work is needed.
Provision of improved access to education for orphans and vulnerable children in Mwandi
The Management Team believes that education is a fundamental right for children and that through basic education a community can begin to develop and its people can be empowered to improve their quality of life.
Goal: to have 550 OVC in primary education at Mwandi Basic School; 100 children in secondary education at Sesheke High School and 7 children in formal tertiary education.
At present the Project supports 450 children with school fees, uniforms and books.
The funding for education support primarily comes from individuals and churches in Australia and USA and they are mostly people who have a connection or who have visited Mwandi in the past.
Improved nutrition among orphans and vulnerable children in Mwandi through the provision of two nutritious meals per day.
As at October 2006 the Project is feeding 130 children one balanced meal per day.
They receive a varied diet and basic teaching on nutrition and hygiene.
The Feeding Programme is staff by volunteers from within the community.
In 2006 the Project received local funding from CRAIDS (Community Response to AIDS) to assist with the procurement of food for one calendar year.
Goal: to have 200 children receive two meals per day at the drop-in centre which will in turn reduce the incidence of malnutrition and its related diseases.
Provision of vocational training for OVC and establishment of income generating activities
In Zambia at present on 15% of school children leaving primary school are able to continue on to secondary school. It is therefore expected that a number of the children supported by the Project will wish to follow a vocational programme of study after grade 7.
Goal: the creation of a carpentry workshop and training centre and tailoring/sewing training centre and the progression of the agricultural project and bakery.
Theses four small projects will have dual functions in providing income to support the social side of the programme and offer vocational training to some 40 orphans and vulnerable children. They will also provide a invaluable community service as there is very little in the way of quality carpentry or tailors and there is no bakery and vegetables are only very seasonal.
Giving live skills to orphans enables them to provide for themselves in the future thus breaking the chain of dependency that has begun to permeate through much of Mwandi.
Provision of Social Support to vulnerable families and HIV/AIDS counselling for children
Goal: Increase the stability of family units within Mwandi community and the provision of a place in which children can feel free to talk about health and social issues that affect or concern them.
At present, with the generous support of communities and churches in Australia, USA and UK, we are able to provide clothing, bedding and blankets to vulnerable families with the Mwandi Community.
The causes and consequences of the current HIV epidemic in Africa are closely associated with wider challenges to development, such as poverty, food and livelihood insecurity and gender inequality.
In effect, HIV/AIDS tends to exacerbate existing development problems.
HIV/AIDS is over 20% in Zambia as a whole.
This is an acute problem and clearly has the potential to debilitate whole households and livelihoods, tie up assets, reduce available labour and in doing so increase vulnerability to other livelihood shocks.
Continuing appropriate HIV education is complimentary to the work we do in assisting those affected by HIV/AIDS.
We must practice both prevention and treatment of the problem at hand.
Part of this work is the valuable contribution made by a local drama group who perform weekly in markets and community places.
Their dramas bring forward their message and advice about HIV/AIDS.
This is a particularly useful medium when the majority of the local population are illiterate.
Recently Mwandi Mission Hospital has become a centre for PMTCT [Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission] and for administering ARV drugs [Anti-Retroviral] for HIV+ patients.
There are counselling services and VCT [Voluntary Counselling and Testing] available at the hospital as well.
Through our recent work with the children in the project we have learned that many of these children carry psychological scars and of those who have been tested, 33% are HIV+.
Many of our children not only have the traumas of HIV/AIDS and illness to come with, but as orphans they have lost one or both parents, often to the same illness.
Some of our children have been or continue to be abused in their adoptive homes by those who should be caring for them.
Some are sadly sexually abused; particularly the girls, as knowledge of HIV/AIDS increases and men look for younger girls and younger virgins.
Some are treated as nothing more than servants in the home of their aunts, uncles or guardian and don't enjoy the same 'status' in the households as their cousins.
It is understanding then, that many of these children carry psychological scars not only from their situation as orphans but also from their physical circumstances.
While it would be possible to send some of our children to the hospital counselling centre we are aware that the counselling skills required for children should take place in an environment that they are familiar with and its for this reason that we intend to construct a separate counselling facility within the grounds of the Drop-In Centre.
It is a place that is familiar to these children and where they feel comfortable.
Counselling staff will not be permanent members of staff but local volunteers who have worked with us and the children before.
We plan to train two volunteer counsellors in the first year to staff the centre.
We will ensure that they are people of high integrity and respected within the local community.
To ensure that all children have someone they can relate to and confide in, and to ensure gender balance, we intend to appoint one male and one female counsellor.
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