livelihood-based for orphans and vulnerable children ... · paper, which documents success stories...

March 2010

Livelihood-Based Social Protection for Orphans and

Vulnerable Children:

Success Stories from Malawi

Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO)Regional Emergency Office for Southern Africa (REO-SA)

Network Paper u 01 July 2010

© FAO Regional Emergency Office for Southern Africa (REOSA), 2010

Author: Samuel Bota

Design and layout: Handmade Communications, [email protected]

Livelihood-Based Social Protection for Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Success Stories from MalawiDecember 2009

Table of contentsAcronyms 2

Foreword 5

Part 1: Situation Analysis 7

Acknowledgements 8

Introduction 9Background 9Theneedtoreconsiderthelivelihoodpartofthesocialprotectionagendafororphansandothervulnerablechildren 9

Discussion of Key Terms and Concepts 10Socialprotection 10SocialsupportframeworkforMalawi 11Livelihood-basedsocialprotection 11Orphansandothervulnerablechildren 13

Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Related Policies and Strategies 14

National Coordination Structures for Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Related Initiatives 17

A Review of Programmes Related to Orphans and Vulnerable Children 18Socialcashtransferscheme 18Juniorfarmerfieldandlifeschools 18Farminputsubsidyprogramme 19Communityinitiated/drivenprojects 19Livelihood-basedsocialsupportprojects 20Schoolfeedingprogramme 20

Emerging Issues 21

Challenges and Gaps 22

Way Forward 22

Annex 23

Bibliography 29

Part 2: An Observatory of Best Practices 31

The Context of the Study 32Thelivelihoodsperspectiveofsocialprotection 32Objectivesofthestudy 32Identificationandchoiceofbestpractices 32Approachandmethodsofdatacollection 34

How the Projects Were Initiated and Implemented 35Chitungucommunity-basedorganization,Ntcheu 36GoodNewsChildren’sHome,Chikwawa 41TawongaCBO,Karonga 50

Summary of Key Issues 54Livelihoodactivitiesimplemented 54Benefitsofinitiatives 54Thedrivingforceforsuccess 55Challengesandfailuresencountered 56Lessonslearntfromtheexperiences 56Suggestionsforimprovement 56

Part 3: Potential for Scaling Up the Best Practices 59

Introduction 60

Brief Review of the Case Studies 61Identificationofthecasestudiesandmethodologyfordatacollection 61Characteristicsoftheselectedsites 62

Performance of the Case Studies: Critical Success Factors 64Sustainability 64Effectiveness 69Efficiency 71

Models of Childcare Used in the Three Case Studies 73Communityassistedhouseholdchildcare 73Community-managedchildcare 73

Analysis of Potential for Scaling Up 75Lessonsforscalingup 75Whattoscaleup 76

Key Issues for Improvement 77

Recommendations 78

Feasibility of Scaling Up and Policy Implications 79Potentialpolicyandfinancialsupport 79Technicalfeasibility 79

Livelihood-based Social Protection for OVC: Success Stories from Malawi

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Acronyms

ADP AreaDevelopmentProgrammeADRA AdventistDevelopmentandReliefAgencyAIDS AcquiredImmuneDeficiencySyndromeCADECOM CatholicDevelopmentCommissionofMalawiCAHC Community-assistedHouseholdChildcareCARE CooperativeforAssistanceandReliefEverywhereCBCC Community-basedChildcareCentreCBO Community-basedOrganizationCMC Community-managedChildcareCMDC Community-managedDayChildcareCMRC Community-managedResidentialChildcareCOPE Community-basedOptionsforProtectionandEmpowermentCORE CommunitiesRespondingtotheHIV/AIDSEpidemicCPAR CanadianPhysiciansforAidandReliefDA DistrictAssemblyDfID DepartmentforInternationalDevelopment(UK)ESCOM ElectricitySupplyCorporationofMalawiEU EuropeanUnionFAO FarmingandAgricultureOrganizationFBO Faith-basedOrganizationFY FiscalYearGNCH GoodNewsChildren’sHomeGTZ GermanTechnicalCooperationAgencyGVH GroupVillageHeadmanHBC Home-basedCareHIV HumanImmunodeficiencyVirusJFFLS JuniorFarmerFieldandLifeSchool

Acronyms

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MANASO MalawiNetworkofAIDSSupportOrganizationsMASAF MalawiSocialActionFundMGDS MalawiGrowthandDevelopmentStrategyMoA MinistryofAgricultureMoCS MinistryofCommunityServicesMoE MinistryofEducationMoEPD MinistryofEconomicPlanningandDevelopmentMoH MinistryofHealthMSH ManagementSciencesforHealthNAC NationalAIDSCommissionNGO Non-governmentalOrganizationsNORAD NorwegianAgencyforDevelopmentCooperationNPA NationalPlanofActionNRU NutritionalRehabilitationUnitOSA OrphanSupportAfricaOVC OrphansandVulnerableChildrenRAAAP RapidAssessment,AnalysisandActionPlanningRHVP RegionalHungerandVulnerabilityProgrammeSADC SouthernAfricanDevelopmentCommunityUN UnitedNationsUNAIDS JointUnitedNationsProgrammeforHIV/AIDSUNDP UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgrammeUNICEF UnitedNationsChildren’sFundUSAID UnitedStatesAgencyforInternationalDevelopmentVSL VillageSavingsandLoansWFP WorldFoodProgramme


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Foreword

Itismypleasuretointroducetoyouthisnetworkpaper,whichdocumentssuccessstoriesfromMala-

wioflivelihood-basedsocialprotectionprogrammesfor orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). Theprogrammeshaveimprovedthelivesofthechildrenthey reach significantly. They have demonstrat-edthatwitha livelihood-basedapproach,notablechangescanbeachievedinchildren’slives,includingimprovedfoodandnutritionsecurity,acquisitionofproductivelivelihoodskills, improvedhealth,spir-itualandsociallife,andreducedpovertyandvulner-ability.Thereisanurgentneedtolearnfromthesestoriesandincreaseoureffortstoextendandrepli-catesuchprogrammesthroughouttheregion,sothatwecanreachalargernumberofvulnerablechildren.

Thisstudyisaresultofthejointeffortsofseveralstakeholders that form the Regional Inter-AgencyTaskTeamonChildrenandHIVandAIDS(RIATT)inEastandSouthernAfrica.Inparticular,IwishtomentionthenationalOVCTechnicalWorkingGroupandtheNationalSocialSupportTechnicalCommit-tee. The Ministry of Gender, Children and Com-munityDevelopmentgavecontinuoussupportandguidancetothestudy.

RIATT is a regional multi-sectoral mechanismthatwasformedinOctober2006,withabroadrep-resentation which includes participants from theAfricanUnion,theSouthernAfricanDevelopmentCommunity(SADC)ParliamentaryForum,interna-tionalcooperatingpartners,civil societypartnersandacademia,theUnitedNationsChildren’sFund,theUnitedNationsDevelopmentProgrammeandtheFoodandAgricultureOrganization(FAO).Thesestakeholdersshareacommonobjectiveofgalvaniz-ingandcoordinatingeffortstoalleviatetheimpactsofpovertyandHIVonchildrenintheseregionsinasustainablemanner.

Thispaperisacriticaldocumentforsharingbestpracticesandlessonslearnedandadvocatingforthepromotionandscalingupoflivelihoodbasedsocialprotectionprogrammesfororphansandvulnerablechildren.Thistypeofprogrammingaddressesthecoreof the issueof thepersistentvulnerabilityofchildrenasaresultofHIVandAIDS,povertyandother social challenges which persist, despite theextensiveworkbeingdonebyanumberof socialservicesandhumanitarianorganizations.Thepaper

documentsdurablesolutionsthatmeettheinadequa-ciesofcurrentinterventionsandprogrammes.

SADCstatistics from2008 indicate that15percentofchildreninMalawiwereorphaned.Thereareevenharsherrealities inotherpartsoftheregion,suchasZambiaandZimbabwe,whereabout20percentofchildrenwereestimatedtobeorphaned.Ma-lawi isacountryofover13millionpeople,wheretwomillionchildrensufferchronicallyfromnotonlylackoffoodandnutritionsecurity,butthedignitythatcomesfromaself-realizedproductivelivelihood.Itisvitaltolookbeyondtheneedforimmediatesolu-tionstopulltheseorphanedandvulnerablechildrenoutofdestitution,andtopursuemoresustainablelong-terminterventionsthatensurethatchildrendonotregresswhensupportisnolongeravailable;inter-ventionsthatprovidetheneededassistancebutalsoensurethatchildrenareempoweredtorealizetheirfullpotentialinlifeandplaytheirmuch-neededroleinnation-building.

Ihopethatthispaperwillbewidelyreadandwillinspirethepromotion,developmentandup-scalingoflivelihoodprogrammesthattakeaholisticviewofhumandevelopmentandprioritizethesustainabil-ityandpredictabilityoflivelihoodsovershort-termoutcomes.

Cindy F. HollemanSub-Regional Emergency Coordinator of Southern Africa

Foreword


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Part 1: Situation Analysis



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Acknowledgements

Wegreatlyappreciatethevaluabletechnicalin-putprovidedbyMallaMabonaoftheMinistry

ofGender,ChildrenandCommunityDevelopment,FadzaiMukonoweshuroandMichelleRemmeofFAO,PetronellaMasabaneofUNICEF,andallthemem-bersoftheNationalOVCTechnicalWorkingGroupandtheNationalSocialSupportTechnicalCommit-tee who provided extremely useful feedback andtechnicalguidancethroughouttheprocess.Welookforwardtoanequallyconstructiveandproductivecollaborationinthefuture.

Chronology of OVC Social Protection Initiatives in Malawi

1991 UNConventionontheRightsoftheChildratified

1991 FirstNationalConsultationontheSituationofOVCheld,leadingtotheformationoftheNationalTaskForceonOVC

1992 OVCpolicyguidelinesproduced

1993/4 OVCNeedsAssessment&Na-tionalOVCSituationAnalysisonCarePracticescommissioned

1996 FoundationlaidforaNationalOrphanCareProgramme

1999 OrphanCareTrainingManualandBestPracticesCompendiumproduced

2003 NationalOrphanCarePolicyadopted

2004 RAAAPprocesscommissioned

2005 NPAforOVC,2005-2009adopted

AdaptedfromNPA2005-2009,June2005

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Introduction

Background

ThisSituationAnalysisReportispartofabroaderreviewandassessmentofagriculturalandliveli-

hood-basedsocialprotectionfororphansandothervulnerablechildren(OVC)programmesinMalawithataredeemedtohavepotentialforreplicationandscalingup.TheUnitedNations(UN)andPartnersAl-lianceforlivelihood-basedsocialprotectionforOVCchampionsthisinitiativeagainstthebackgroundofawidelyacknowledgedneedforacoordinatedap-proachandresponseamongamultiplicityofstake-holders to reduce transaction costs, and improveefficiencyandeffectiveness intheeffortsthatareintendedtobuildabetterfutureforOVC.DuringtheGlobalOVCPartnersForuminOctober2003,adeci-sionwasmadetoundertakejointrapidassessment,analysisandactionplanning (RAAAP) toactasabasisforOVCnationalresponses.Theoverallobjec-tiveoftheRAAAPprocesswastoidentifyimmediatekeyactionsneededtosignificantlyscaleupnationalmultisectoralresponsesinanumberofcountriesinsub-SaharanAfrica.Similarly,theneedforcoordina-tionandleadershiponOVCissueswasacknowledgedandexpressedbytheSouthernAfricanDevelopmentCommunity(SADC)ministersin2004throughtheCapeTownDeclaration,and furtherby the inter-governmentalconferencein2006throughwhatisknownastheLivingstoneCallforAction.

Followingsuchappealsforgreatercommitment,cooperation and action to provide social protec-tion,countriesintheregionhavemadevariousre-sponses.Bymid2005,sixteencountriesinsouthernandeasternAfrica,includingMalawi,completedthefirstRAAAPphasewhichresultedinthedesignoftheSADCNationalPlanofAction(NPA)forOVC.TheUNandPartnersAllianceforlivelihood-basedsocialprotectionforOVCwasformedinearly2006betweenUNagencies(FAO[FoodandAgriculturalOrganization],UNICEF[UnitedNationsChildren’sFund]andWPF[WorldFoodProgramme]),govern-ments(lineministriesfortheNPA),andcivilsocietyorganizationssuchasCARE(CooperativeforAssist-anceandReliefEverywhere)andOxfam.

InMalawi,theRAAAPprocesswascommissionedin2004,facilitatedbyanationaltaskforceforOVCwithsupportfromthetechnicalworkinggroupon

OVCwhichcomprisedtechnicalstafffromUNICEF,UNAIDS(JointUnitedNationsProgrammeforHIV/AIDS),USAID(UnitedStatesAgencyforInternationalDevelopment)andWFP.TheRAAAPcontributedagreatdealtothedevelopmentofthe2005–2009NPAforOVC.ThedevelopmentoftheNPAwasfacilitatedbyacountrysteeringcommitteewhichcomprisedmembersfromkeylineministriesofgovernment,UNagencies,donors,theNationalAIDSCommissionandthechairofthenationaltaskforceforOVC.

Theneedtoreconsiderthelivelihoodpartofthesocialprotectionagendafororphansandothervulnerablechildren

InMalawi,itisgenerallyacknowledgedthatthede-velopmentoftheNPAhasraisedtheprofileofOVC

andledtoimprovementsinfundingOVCprojects.However,ithasalsobeenargued,bothinthecoun-tryandintheregion,thatsupporttoOVCprojectshasmainlyfocusedoneducationandchildprotec-tionwithoutadequatelyaddressingthelivelihood-basedsocialprotectionneedsofOVC1.Basedonthisassertion,FAOwasmandatedtoreviewandassessinnovativeagriculturalandlivelihoodprogrammesfromtheperspectiveoftheemergingsocialprotec-tionagendaforOVCandinthecontextofHIVandAIDSintheeasternandsouthernAfricanregions,inordertoidentifypromisingpracticesthatcouldbereplicatedandscaledup.Thisstudyisthereforepartofthisregionaleffort.

1.Aframeworktoreviewandassessinnovativeagriculturalandlive-lihoodprogrammesrelatedtotheemergingsocialprotectionagendaforchildrenvulnerabletoandfromHIVandAIDS,February2006.


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Discussion of Key Terms and Concepts

Socialprotection

Socialprotectionisbroadlydefinedas:“allpublicandprivateinitiativesthatprovideincomeorcon-

sumptiontransferstothepoor,protectthevulner-ableagainstlivelihoodrisks,andenhancethesocialstatusandrightsofthemarginalized,withtheob-jectivesofreducingtheeconomicandsocialvulner-abilityofpoor,vulnerableandmarginalizedgroups”(Norton,A.,et al, 2001).

Fromthisperspective, socialprotectioneffortsdealnotonlywithabsolutedeprivation,risksandvulnerabilityofthepoorest,butalsocoverinitiativesthataimtoguardagainstshocksandstressesthatwouldpushthecurrentlynon-poorintoadownwardspiralofpoverty.‘Public’inthiscasereferstoactionsorresponsesofgovernmentandcivilsocietyorgani-zations,oracombinationofinstitutionsfromthesesectors.AccordingtoNorton,theoverallrationaleforsocialprotectionis“topromotedynamic,cohe-siveandstablesocietiesthroughincreasedequityandsecurity”.

Socialprotectioninterventionscanbeclassifiedinto three categoriesdependingon theirprimaryfunctioninimpactingonpeople’slivelihoods(Dor-ward,A.,et al,2007).Theseare:1)welfareinstru-mentswhichprovidereliefandsometimesrecoveryfrom deprivation; 2) risk-insurance instrumentswhichseektoavertdeprivationbyestablishingro-bustandaccessiblerecoverymechanisms;and3)re-silience-buildinginstrumentswhichaimtoenhancereal incomesandcapabilities,buildassetsandpro-moteresistance.

Similarly,theregionalhungerandvulnerabilityprogramme(RHVP)summarizestheperspectivesofthevariousmodels intothreeimportantfunctionsofsocialprotectionas:toprovideforthosewhoareunabletoprovideforthemselves;topreventshocksfromdevastatinghouseholds;andtopromotehouse-holdsbyhelpingthemtoliftthemselvesoutofpov-erty (RHVP, June 2007). Within this framework,socialprotectioninterventionscouldbesaidtobedesignedfor:•Provision or risk coping. Theseincludethemostbasic

safety-nettransferstosavelivesduringemergency,forexample,disasterrelief.

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topreventdeprivationordestitutionbeforeithap-pensbyvariousinsurancemechanisms,forexam-ple,savingsandcreditclubs.

• Promotion or risk reduction.Thesesocialtransfersaimtoprotectlivelihoodsaswellasenhancein-comesandcapabilities,forexample,schoolmealssupportbothnutritionandeducation,andcondi-tionalcashtransfers.

• Otherframeworksincludeafourthcategory,trans-formation,whichseekstoaddressconcernsofsocialequityandexclusion.Transformativeinterventionsincludechanges to the regulatory framework toprotectsociallyvulnerablegroups,aswellassen-sitizationcampaignstotransformpublicattitudesandbehaviourandenhancesocialequity,forin-stance,theHIV/AIDSAnti-StigmaCampaign(De-vereuxandSabates-Wheeler,2004).

SocialsupportframeworkforMalawi

Social protection can mean different things todifferent people depending on the situation

andobjectives.InMalawi,adecisionwastakeninNovember2006tousetheterm‘socialsupport’andnot ‘socialprotection’.Forthisreason,andforthepurposesofthisreport,theterms‘socialsupport’and‘socialprotection’havebeenusedinterchangeably.

SocialsupportinitiativesinMalawihavelargelybeenintheformofsocialsafety-netprovisiontotheultra-poor,orphansandothervulnerablegroupsintimesofdisastersuchasfloodsanddroughts.Socialsupportprovisionofrelieffood,clothingorshelterisregardedasamoralobligationofgovernmenttosavelivesandalleviatethesufferingofitscitizens.How-ever,thereisincreasingrealizationthatsocialsafetynetsmustbecomplimentedbydurablemechanismsforpromotingproductionamongthepoorandvul-nerableinordertoincreasetheirabilitytoproduceforthemselvesandreducedependenceonhandouts.

Forthisreason,thethenMinistryofEconomicPlanningandDevelopment(MoEPD),nowtheMin-istryofDevelopmentPlanningandCooperation,hasdraftedaframeworktoguidetheplanningandim-plementationofsocialsupportinterventionsinMa-lawi(DraftSocialSupportPolicy,November2008).Theframeworkdrawsextensivelyfromtheotherlive-lihoodandsocialprotectionframeworks.Thesocial

supportframework,inparticular,focusesonhouse-holdsandindividualsbelowtheMalawipovertyline.

Livelihood-basedsocialprotection

Livelihood. Alivelihoodcomprisespeople,theirca-pabilitiesandtheirmeansofliving,includingfood,incomeandassets.Simplyput,alivelihoodisawayspeoplemakea livingandmeet theneedsof theirlives.

Livelihood-based social protection. Aninitiativethere-forequalifiestobealivelihood-basedsocialprotec-tioninterventionifitprovidesmeansofbringingthemostvulnerablegroupsintothedevelopmentprocessthroughprotection,preventionandpromotionwith-inatransformativeagendatoensuretheimmediateandfuturelivelihoodsofthesegroups.

Devereux and his colleagues have argued that“althoughtherearelinkagesbetweensomeformofsocialprotectionandlivelihoodpromotion,socialprotection isnever enoughon itsown to addressthe underlying causes of chronic poverty andvulnerability,which in ruralMalawiare largelyaproductoflackofassetsatthehouseholdlevelandmarket failures at the sectoral level, in a contextofrecurrentnaturalrisksandpolicyfailuresatthenational level” (Devereux,et al,2006).AccordingtoRHVP,substantialandsustainedinvestment(toreducevulnerability) is required in the followingpriorityareas:• Strengtheningproductionsuchas improvingse-

curity of access to land, livestock and farm in-puts,promotingsmall-scaleirrigation,supportingmorediversified,sustainableanddrought-resilientfarming systems, and building in measures toadapttoclimatechange,especiallyinsmall-scaleagriculture;

• Supporting markets, especially in food andagriculture;

• Enhancingoff-farmemploymentopportunities;• Buildinginfrastructureandassets;• Improvingbasicservicessuchashealthandeduca-

tionservices,includingthoseaimedatcurbingHIVandAIDS,tuberculosisandmalaria;

• Reducingsocialmarginalisationandexclusion;


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Draft Outline Social Support Programme

CATEGORIES AND THEIR SOCIAL SUPPORT NEEDS

• Employment

• Skillbuilding

• Capital

• Productiveassets

• Protectionfromasset/capitalerosion

• Survival

• Productiveassets

• Employment

POTENTIAL SOCIAL SUPPORT PROGRAMMES/INTERVENTIONS

PROVISION AND PROMOTION

• Public works programmes• School feeding• Cash and food for assets

combined with skills build-ing and cash for consump-tion or adult literacy training

PROTECTION & PROMOTION

• Agricultural input subsidy• Public works programme• Insurance programmes

(social, crop and livestock)• Village savings and loans• Micro-credit/micro-finance

PROVISION

• Social cash transfers • School feeding

30%

22%

12%

10%

Moderately Poor

Ultra-poor with Labour Capacity

Ultra-poor & Incapacitated

*TobefundedjointlybyGovernmentwithsupportfromdevelopmentpartnersthroughasingleSocialSupportBasketMechanism

• Survival

• Investmentinhumancapital

52%MALAWI POVERTY LINE

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• Strengtheninggovernanceinstitutionsandpolicyprocesses;and

• Expandingpublicrevenue.

TheUNandPartnersAllianceidentifyfourimpor-tantpointsthatmustbeconsideredwhendealingwithlivelihood-basedsocialprotectionforOVC:• Notallsocialprotectionislivelihoodsbased;• Targeting is critical, particularlywith regard to

OVCinthecontextofHIVandAIDS,andwithintheirhouseholdandcommunityenvironments;

• Thepurposeoflivelihood-basedsocialprotectionistoprotectthedestitute,topreventthevulner-ablefromslidingintodestitution,andtopromotefuturelivelihoodsofOVC.ThispurposeisframedbyatransformativeagendatowardsempoweringOVCandmeetingtheneedsofcaregivers;and

• Themechanismoflivelihood-basedsocialprotec-tionmustbeaccessible, inexpensiveandpredict-able–excludingadhocwelfare-typeinterventions.

Boththesestandpointsstrengthentheimportanceofconsideringlivelihoodwithinthebroadersocialprotectionframework.WithintheMalawisocialsup-portframework,livelihoodissuescomeinatthefol-lowingtwostages:• Provisionandpromotion(ultrapoorhouseholds

withlabour);and• Protection and promotion (moderately poor

households).

Thebasicconsiderationisthatpoorandvulnerablehouseholdshavesomecapacitytoengageinproduc-tiveeconomicchoicesandcanthereforebeassistedtoearnalivingandeventuallygraduateoutofpov-erty.OVCandhouseholdstakingcareofOVCpromi-nentlyfeatureinthiscategory.

Orphansandothervulnerablechildren

TheMalawiGovernmentdefinesanorphanasachildundertheageof18yearswhohaslostone

orbothparentsbecauseofdeath.Avulnerablechildisdefinedasachildwhohasnoparentsorguardians,staysaloneorwithelderlyparents,orlivesinasibling-headedhousehold,orhasnofixedplaceofabodeandlacksaccesstohealthcare,materialandpsychological

care,educationandhasnoshelter(NationalOVCPol-icy,2003).

Byimplication,notallorphansmaybevulnerablechildren,andnotallvulnerablechildrenareorphans.However,increaseddeathsofprime-ageparentsduetoAIDSandtheresultantfailureoftheextendedfamilysystemtocopewiththeburdenofcareandsupportfortheorphanshasincreasedtheprobabilityoforphanedchildrenbeingvulnerable.Inotherwords,achildwhohaslostoneorbothparentsfacesveryhighriskoffuturepoverty.

Devereux et al havenotedthat“manyMalawiansaremorevulnerabletodaythaninthepastbecausehazardsappeartohaveincreased.”Theyciteassomeofthefactorsthathavedecreasedpeople’sabilitytocopeasbeingerraticrainfallandfoodproduction,increasedspreadofHIV,volatileprices andmarkets failures,andanoverwhelmedinformalsocialsupportnetworkthatisnolongerabletoprovideassistance.Theyfur-therobservethat “poorerhouseholdscareformoreorphansthanricherhouseholds,andfemale-headedhouseholdshave,onaverage,moreorphansacrosstheincomerange,withpoorerfemale-headedhouseholdscaringforthemostorphans”(Devereux,et al,2006).Thisimpliesthatmanymorechildren(orphanandnon-orphan)faceahighriskofpovertyduetonaturalandman-madedisasters.

TheimportanceoftheextendedfamilysysteminprovidingcareandsupportforOVC,asrecognisedbytheNationalPolicyonOVC(2003),cannotbechal-lenged.However, it is also acknowledged, ashigh-lightedabove,thatextendedfamilieshavegenerallybeenover-stretchedtotheextentthatwithoutexternalsupport,theymaynotcopewiththeincreasedburdenofOVCcareandsupport.Besides,mostofthesupportthatisprovidedbyorthroughtheextendedfamilysystemtendstobeforrelieftominimizedeprivationandsavelivesofOVC;itisrarelydesignedtoempowerthecommunitiesorOVCtodevelopmechanismsforavertingdeprivationandbuildingresilience.


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Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Related Policies and Strategies

TheGovernmentofMalawihascommitteditselftoupliftingthelivelihoodsofOVCthroughvari-

ouspolicies,strategiesandlegalinstruments,andbyadoptingorratifyinginternationalagreementsandcharters.

AnimportantsteptowardsthisprocesswasthedevelopmentandadoptionoftheNationalPolicyonOrphansandotherVulnerableChildrenin2003;itsoverarchinggoalis“tofacilitatesupportforcare,pro-tection,anddevelopmentofOVCinacoordinatedmannerinordertoprovidethemwithanenviron-mentinwhichtheyrealizetheirfullrightsandpo-tentials.”Amongotherissues,thepolicyemphasizestheimportanceofextendedfamilyandactivepar-ticipationofcommunitiesinprovidingcareandsup-portthroughcommunity-basedapproaches.Guidedby thispolicy, theNationalPlanofAction (NPA)forOVC2005-2009, launched in2005, isanother

milestonethathasimprovedfundingopportunitiesandenhancedresponsiveactionforOVCinterven-tionsbythegovernmentanditspartners.TheplancommitstheGovernmentofMalawitotakepracticalstepstoensurethattherightsofallOVCarefullymet.Itoutlinesactionstobeimplementedandfinan-cialrequirementsnecessarytopromotethesurvival,growth,development,well-beingandprotectionofOVCinthecountry.

Followinggovernment’scommitmentandadop-tionofthesetwodocuments,throughthegrantsfa-cility,theNationalAIDSCommissioncommittedatotalofUS$19.5millionfromtheGlobalFundforfiveyears(beginningin2005)tointerveneinthreestrategicareasoftheNPA:• Socialcashtransferscheme;• Legalenvironment;and• Monitoringandevaluation.

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Thefundalsoprovidessupportincapacitybuilding(strategicarea4).

With the fundingsupport, theNationalSocialCashTransferProgrammepilotedcashsupportfor5,000 ultra-poor households and 10,000 orphanswhichenhancedschoolattendancebyOVC.In2007,atotalof15,543OVCreceivedbursariestoattendsecondaryschool,whichsignificantlyreduceddrop-outsamongOVCatsecondaryschoollevel.TheMin-istryofEducation,ScienceandTechnologyreached635,000pupils(82,500OVC)withaschoolfeedingprogrammeinprimaryschools.

Community-basedchildcarecentres(CBCCs)pro-videdfoodsupportto82,000orphans(20percentofthebeneficiaries).CommunitieshaveestablishedcommunalgardenstoprovidefoodforCBCCsaswellasothervulnerablepopulationgroupssuchaspeoplelivingwithHIV(DraftExtendedHIVandAIDSNa-tionalActionFramework2010–2012).

ThegrantfacilitysupportfromtheNationalAIDSCommission(NAC)alsoenabledthethenMinistryofWomenandChildDevelopment,nowtheMinistryofGender,ChildrenandCommunityDevelopment,tocreateawarenessoftheplightofOVC.

Theministryhasalsobeenabletodevelopdiffer-entsetsofguidelinesandrelevantpolicies,suchas:• TheNationalPolicyonEarlyChildDevelopment

(2006),whosegoalistoprovidetheMalawianchildwithhighqualityservicesinearlychildhoodcarethatensurethechild’ssurvival,growth,protectionanddevelopmentthatwouldleadtohis/heractiveparticipationinnationaldevelopment.

• TheFosterFamilyGuidelines(2008),whoseinten-tionistoprovidecriteriafortargetingfosterfami-liesthatmaynothaveenougheconomicresourcestocarefortheOVC.Otherguidelinesdevelopedinclude:» Educationsupport;» Managementofchildcarehomesandorphanages;» Formationof community-basedorganizations

(CBOs)andfaithbasedorganizations(FBOs);and» Alternativecare.

TheNPAisnowdueforreviewasitsimplementationperiodexpiresattheendof2009.

Malawi’s Growth and Development Strategy (2006-2011).IssuesofOVChavealsobeenfullyrecognisedinthebroadernationaleconomicframework.Thisstrategyistheoverarchingpolicyframeworkofgovernmentforwealthcreationandeconomicgrowthasameansforreducingpovertyonasustainablebasis.TheMa-lawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS)distinguishesfivethematicareas,namely:sustain-ableeconomicgrowth;socialprotectionanddisas-termanagement;socialdevelopment;infrastructuredevelopment;andimprovedgovernance.

IssuesofOVCfeatureprominentlyinthesecondpillar(socialprotectionanddisastermanagement)upontherealizationthat“suchcategoriesofpeoplearevulnerabletorisksandtypicallylackappropriateriskmanagementinstruments,andthisconstrainsthemfromengaginginhigherreturneconomicactiv-itiestoenablethemtomoveoutofchronicpoverty.”Theaim,therefore,istoincreaseassetsofthepoorandmostvulnerabletoenablethemtomeaningfullyengageinsustainablegrowthandimprovetheirlives.Bydesignatingsocialprotectionasthesecondpil-larinthisstrategy,governmenthasdemonstrateditsstrongcommitmenttoreducepovertyandvulner-abilityamongOVCandultra-poormembersofsoci-ety.Keystrategiesoutlinedunderthispillarinclude:• Providing efficient andeffective support to the

poorandthemostvulnerablewithverylimitedmeansofproduction;

• Improvingplanningandintegrationofknowledgeontheneedsofthechronicallypoor;

• Providingopportunitiesforpoorfarmersandruralcommunitiestograduatefrompovertybyfacilitat-ingtheirintegrationintomainstreamagriculturalproductivityandenablingthemtocreatewealth;

• Promotingasavingscultureinpublicworkspro-grammes;and

• Providingcapitalforincome-generatingactivities.

Food Security Policy (2006).Thispolicyidentifiesso-cialprotectionasanimportantcomponentofen-suringfoodsecurity(therighttofood)forthemostvulnerable sections of society. This calls for thegovernmentandotherstakeholdersto“providedis-tinctlytargetedsafetynetscautiousoftheneedtoavoidcreatingdependencyandnegativeimpacts”.Thesocialprotectioninterventionsaresupposedto


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be“designedtoenablethevulnerabletograduallybuildup their assets soas toescape the threatofpovertyinasustainablewayandtoincreasetheirresiliencetoshocks”.Oneofthesocialprotectionin-terventionsidentifiedisfoodaid.Thisissupposedtobeprovidedfordesperatelyvulnerablepeoplewhoseneedscannotbeaddressedthroughanymeaning-fullyviableprogrammesotherthanbeingsupportedbyspecialprogrammes.Otherinterventionsincludeagriculturalinputsupportandsubsidies.

National Nutritional Policy (2006).Thisnationalpol-icyalsoseeks to improvethenutritionalstatusofvulnerablegroups(infantsandyoungchildren,preg-nantandlactatingwomen,school-agedchildren,theyouthandelderly).Someofthestrategiestobeim-plementedincludebuildingcommunities’capacitytoadequatelycareforthesocioeconomicallydeprivedandnutritionallyvulnerablegroups,andtodevelopdietaryneedsforvulnerablegroupsinMalawi.Thepolicyalsocallsforpromotingandsupportingpal-liativecareandcommunity-copingmechanismsforHIV-positiveandaffectedhouseholds.

The National Safety Nets Strategy and Programme (2003).Thisprogrammeaimstoimprovethelivelihoodsofthemostvulnerableandmarginalizedgroupsinsoci-etybyenablingthemtoenhancetheirproductivity,therebyincreasingtheirself-reliance.Theobjectivesoftheprogrammeincludetheprovisionofeconomi-cally justifiablesocialsupport thatprotectsassetsandenhancestheproductivityofthemostvulner-ableandmarginalizedgroups.Theprogrammealsoundertakestoanalysetheimpactofsafety-net in-terventionsonthemostvulnerableandmarginal-izedgroupsandhowsuchimpactsaffectnationalproductivity.

The key principles for the programme includecommunity participation and sustainability; en-hancedproductivity;transparencyandaccountabili-ty;andgenderbalance.Someofthekeyinterventionsincludetargetednutritionprogrammesthatprovidesupplementary feeding services to malnourishedchildren(especiallyorphans)anddestitutefamilies.Another key intervention involves direct-transferprogrammesthatprovidesupporttothepoorandvulnerablegroupswhohaveverylimitedaccessto

factorsofproduction, includingpeopleindisastersituationsandorphans.

Draft Social Support Policy (2008).Thispolicyintendsto contribute towards the fight against extremepovertyandvulnerability.Aftertherealizationofthefailuresofthesafety-netprogrammestoreducepovertyandvulnerabilityduetopoorcoordination,lackofcommitmentbyimplementersandpoorfund-ing, theSocialSupportPolicywillprovideanop-portunityforpropercoordinationofprogrammesbygovernmentthatwilltargetthemoderatelypoortoenhancetheirproductivity,andtheultra-poorforwelfare support. For the first time, there is anat-temptbygovernmenttodistinguishbetweenthetwosocialcategoriesofthepoor,i.e.moderatelypoorandultra-poor.Thepolicyfurtherdistinguishesbetweentheultra-poorthathavelabourresourcesandthosethatcannotfendforthemselves.Theseare impor-tantdistinctions,sincesomepoorpeoplehavebeenleftoutofsafety-netinterventionsaswellasmain-streamdevelopmentinterventions.Byconsideringproduction-orientedspecialprogrammesfortheul-tra-poor,thepolicywillenablevulnerablegroupstofullyparticipateineconomicdevelopmentandavertdependence.Thesecategories,oftheultra-poorandthemoderatelypoor,arethetargetcategoriesforthelivelihood-basedsocialsupportinterventions.

Onceadopted,thepolicymaysignificantly im-provethesituationofOVC.Anumberofdevelopmentpartners such as the European Union, the GlobalFundthroughNAC,IrishAid,theGermanTechnicalCooperationAgencyandtheUnitedNationsDevel-opmentProgramme,andpotentiallyAustralianAidandtheUKDepartmentforInternationalDevelop-ment,havepledgedfinancialand/ortechnicalsup-portfortheimplementationofthesocialprotectionprogrammes,butthisisdependentontheapprovalofthepolicy.Thereisconcern,however,thatthepolicyistakingtoolongtobeadopted.Otherchallengesincludeinadequateunderstandingofsocialprotec-tionamongstakeholdersandinadequatepoliticalwillandcommitmenttoimplementsocialprotectionpro-grammes.Thereissomedoubtregardingthepolicy’simpactondevelopment.Thereis,therefore,aneedtoincreasehumancapacitytochampiontheinitiativeandintensifysocialprotectionawarenesscampaigns.

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National Coordination Structures for Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Related Initiatives

National OVC Steering Committee.Thecommitteeover-seesandadviseskeypolicymakersonmattersrelatedtotheimplementationoftheNationalPlanofActionforOVC.ItischairedbytheprincipalsecretaryintheMinistryofWomenandChildDevelopmentandiscomposedofprincipalsecretaries,directorsandrep-resentativesfromkeyOVCstakeholders(governmentlineministries,UNagencies,donors, internationalandlocalnon-governmentalorganizations(NGOs),community-basedorganizations(CBOs)andfaith-basedorganizations(FBOs).

OVC Technical Working Group.Thisworkinggroupprovidestechnicalassistanceinspecificdomainsre-latedtoandinsupportoftheimplementationoftheNationalPlanofActionforOVC.Itcomprisesrel-evanttechnicalexpertsfromgovernmentlinemin-istries,UNagencies,donors,internationalandlocalNGOs,CBOsandFBOs.

National Social Support Steering Committee.TheMinis-tryofEconomicPlanningandDevelopmentwillbethecoordinatingagencyandsecretariatfortheNa-tionalSocialSupportProgramme.Itwillberespon-sibleformattersofpolicyandresourcemobilizationandwillcompriseprincipalsecretariesfromthekeylineministries,headsofmissionsforthedevelop-mentpartnerinstitutionsandcivilsociety.Thesteer-ingcommitteewillbechairedbytheChiefSecretarytotheMalawi’sPresidentandCabinet.

National Social Support Technical Committee.Thiswillberesponsibleforprovidingtechnicaldirectionandrecommendationsonprogrammeimplementation.ItwillcomprisedirectorsandischairedbytheSecre-taryforEconomicPlanningandDevelopment.

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A Review of Programmes Related to Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Socialcashtransferscheme

Cashtransfersare increasinginpopularityasameansofaddressingissuesofvulnerabilityand

foodinsecurity,andasalternativestocommoditytransfers. Cash transfers are also known to havepotential for empowering beneficiaries throughstrengtheningtheirlivelihoodsandcontributingtothegrowthoflocaleconomies.

AsocialcashtransferschemeiscurrentlypilotedinthesevendistrictsofMchinji,Salima,Machinga,Mangochi,Likoma,ChitipaandPhalombethroughfundingfromtheNACGrantFacility(Round5GlobalFundOVC)HIVandAIDSPooledFundingPartners,UNICEFandAustralianAid.TheMinistryofWomenandChildDevelopmentimplementstheprogrammethroughdistrictassemblies.

ByFebruary2009,theprogrammehadtransferredfunds to23,651households, giving anaverageofK2,000(aboutUS$14)perhouseholdpermonthwithanaverageannualcost,including15percentadmin-istrativecosts,ofUS$200perhouseholdperyear.Theprogrammefundingrequirement isanticipatedtoincreasefromaroundUS$6millionin2008/09toUS$59.2millionin2013/14,andcoveragetoincreasefrom23,651householdsto295,708householdsintherespectiveyears.

Some reported challenges of the programmeinclude:• Delaysinpaymentstobeneficiaries,mainlyduring

crucialmonthsofJanuarytoMarch;• Failureofsomebeneficiarieswhograduateoutof

theprogrammetosustainthemselvesbeforeslidingbackintodestitution,andthereforetheneedfordurablemechanismsforresilienceandcontinuedfollowupforbeneficiariestounderstandlong-termhealth,humandevelopmentandeconomicimpactsofcash;

• Inadequatetrainingforvolunteerswhodothetar-geting;and

• Targetingmechanismsthatexcludeequallydeserv-inghouseholds.

TheWorldFoodProgramme (WFP)has alsobeeninvolved in social cash transfer schemes, mainlythrough twopilotprojects,oneofwhichwas im-plemented in Nsanje and Chikwawa districts in

2005 involving16,600peopleatacostofaroundUS$500,000.Thesecondprojectwasconductedbe-tweenOctober2008andMay2009inMachingaandMangochidistricts.Itinvolved11,100householdsatacostofUS$2.97million.ThepilotprojectinMach-ingaandMangochiisaimedattestingtherelativeadvantagesanddisadvantagesofconditional foodtransfers,cashtransfers,andamixoffoodandcashtransfers.Theconditionalityisthattransfers(foods,cashorfoodandcash)aremadeafterparticipationinidentifiedcommunityasset-creationactivities.

Reportedachievement,particularlyfromthefirstWFPpilot inNsanjeandChikwawa,wasincreasedirrigated land(271hectares)andincreasedyields.However,household foodconsumptionwas lowerthanplannedbecausehouseholdsspent20to40percentoftheircashtransfersonnon-fooditems.

Juniorfarmerfieldandlifeschools

Juniorfarmerfieldandlifeschools(JFFLS)areaninitiativethataimstoempowervulnerableteenage

girlsandboys(12to20year-olds)withagricultureandlifeskillsthatwillensureimprovedlivelihoodsand the long-term food and nutrition security oftheirhouseholds.JFFLSisahands-on,out-of-class-roomagricultureandlifeskillslearningprogrammeforvulnerablechildrenandyouths.MalawipilotedeightJFFLSinMangochiandNtcheudistricts.

Ateamofthreevolunteerfacilitatorsisrecruited,comprisingaschoolteacheroryouthgroupcoordina-tororchildprotectioncoordinator,aleadfarmerforimprovingagriculturalskills,andasocialanimatorwhoisanexpertindrama,thearts,danceandcrea-tiveactivities.Eligiblechildrenarerecruitedintotheprogrammebythecommunityusingcriteriawhichhasbeenagreedupon,andwiththeconsentofthechildrenconcerned.Communitymembersarealsoinvolvedintheidentificationoftheinterventionstobeintroducedandlocationforthefieldtraining.

EmphasisofJFFLSisplacedonlow-inputproduc-tionandlabour-savingtechnologiestoaddressthelossofadultlabour.Emphasisisalsoplacedonskillsandknowledgethatchildrenhavenotlearnedduetoillnessordeathofoneorbothparents.Byinclud-ingtraditionalknowledge,theapproachalsoaimstomaintainindigenousknowledgeaboutlocalcrops,

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medicinalplantsandbiodiversity.Partofthefoodproducedissoldtoprovidein-

comefor theOVCandtheirhouseholds,andpartofthefoodisprovideddirectlytoparticipantsforconsumptionintheirhouseholds.

Potentialconstraintsandchallengesinclude:• Unavailabilityofcapitalstarter-packsforgraduat-

ingchildrenwhorequireimplements,seedsandothermaterialssotheycancontinueproduction.Initially resourceswerenotavailable tosupportthesewhichlimitedopportunitiesfollowinggrad-uation.Iftheseareunavailableattheendoftheprogramme,ithasusuallybeenextended.

• Furtherpracticeandutilizationoftechniquesout-sideoftrainingandfollowinggraduationmaybelimitedinsomecaseswherechildren’sguardiansdonotprovidetheenvironmentsoropportunitiestopracticethem.

Farminputsubsidyprogramme

Thisprogrammeisaimedatimprovingthefoodsecurityandincomesofresource-poorsmallhold-

erfarmers.TheseincludeAIDS-affectedhouseholds,child-headedhouseholds,elderly-headedhouseholds,andfemale-headedhouseholds.Theprogrammehasbeeninplacesincethe2005/6seasonasaroll-outprogramme across all the districts in Malawi. In2008/09thefollowinginputsweredistributed:• Fertilizertargeting1,500,000maizefarmersand

200,000tobaccofarmers;• 1,900,000couponsforpurchasingimprovedseeds;

and• 435,000flexiblecouponstopurchaseeitherferti-

lizersorseed.

It iswidelyacknowledgedthattheprogrammehasimprovedthefoodsecuritysituationinMalawiandhas turned thecountry’s situationaround fromapredominantly food-importing country to a foodself-reliantone.Anecdotalevidencealsoshowsthatmostbeneficiariesoftheprogrammehaveimprovedhouseholdfoodsecurityandhavealsomadesomeincomefromthesaleofcrops.However,therehavebeenquestionsraisedonwhetherindeedthepoorestandmostvulnerablecategoriesreallybenefitedfrom

theprogramme,consideringtheinherentweaknessesintheprogrammeintermsof inclusion/exclusionerrors,highprobabilityofthepoorerbeneficiariesexchangingtheircouponsforcashorotherneces-sities,andinsomecasesdelaysorunavailabilityoftheinputs.

Themajorsignificanceoftheprogrammeisthatithas receivedsubstantial localand internationalsupport,andgovernmentisstronglycommittedtoimplementing the programme in the future. It isthereforelikelytocontinuereceivingfundingfromgovernmentanddevelopmentpartners.

Communityinitiated/drivenprojects

TheMinistryofWomenandChildDevelopment,throughthedistrictsocialwelfareoffices,facili-

tatescommunity-initiatedsocialsupport interven-tionsforOVC.Throughthisapproach,CBOsinitiateorarefacilitatedtodeveloplivelihood-basedinter-ventionstargetingOVCinparticular.Someofthetypicalinterventionactivitiesinclude:• Food security for OVC and households keeping

OVCthroughvillagegardens,smalllivestockandnutritionsupplementationforcommunity-basedchildcarecentres;

• Education support through provision of basicschoolrequirementsandnecessitiessuchasschooluniforms,exercisebooksandwritingmaterials;

• HIVandAIDSawarenessand life skills throughgeneralawarenessmeetingsandspecialsessionsforchildrenandOVC;and

• Incomegenerationsuchasmaizemills,dairyingandganyu(piecework)toraisemoneyforassistingtheOVCwiththebasicnecessitiesoflife.

Althoughsuchinitiativesfacemanychallengessuchasinadequatefunding,poormanagementandcom-mitment,inprincipletheypresenthugeopportunityfor:• Relatively lower administrative/overhead costs

sinceactivitiesareplannedandmanagedbythecommunities;

• Developmentofasenseofownershipandempow-ermentthroughlocalcapacityindesignandman-agement;and

• Minimaldisruptiontothestatusquo.


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Livelihood-basedsocialsupportprojects

Anumber of livelihood-based social supportprojectshavebeencompleted,arebeingimple-

mented,orarebeingplannedorinitiatedbyinter-nationalandlocalNGOs,FBOsandgovernmentordonors.Someofthecompletedoron-goingprojectshavebeendetailedintheAnnex.Thecommonfea-turesoftheseprojectsare:• Definitefundingfromasingledonororaconsor-

tiumofdonors;• Definedprojecttimeframe,usuallybetweenone

andfiveyears;• Usuallyadministeredfromoutsidethecommunity;

and• Formallydocumentedandusuallyincludesformal

evaluation.

Althoughthisisthemostcommonandpopularformofdevelopmentintervention,thereareusuallyprob-lemswiththesustainabilityofactivitiesafter theprojecthasbeenphasedout.‘Boutique’projectshavealsobeencriticizedforlackingbroad-basedimpactandreplicationofgoodlessons.Asaresult,thereisnowastrongerpushforscalability,replicationandsustainabilityofprojectinterventions.

Schoolfeedingprogramme

The World Food Programme implements theschoolfeedingprojectinprimaryschoolsof13

districts:Kasungu,Lilongwe,Salima,Dedza,Man-gochi,Thyolo,Nsanje,Ntcheu,Chikwawa,Chirad-zulu,Zomba,MulanjeandPhalombe.ThisisdoneinpartnershipwiththeMinistryofEducation,ScienceandTechnology.Althoughtheprogrammecoversallprimaryschoolpupilsinthetargetschoolsanddis-tricts,girlsandorphanedboysarethemaintarget.Forexample,anindividualtake-homefoodrationof12.5kilogrammesofcereals isprovidedtoallgirlsandorphanedboysintheupperclasses(Standards5to8)duringeachmonthoftheleanperiod(JanuarytoMarch)onconditionthattheyattendclassesforatleast80percentoftheschooldaysinthemonth.

Theprogrammesupports635,000pupilsofwhich63,500boysand330,200girlsareOVC.Someofthereportedbenefitssofarare:

• SchoolattendancebyOVChasimproved;and• Foodsecurity forhouseholds fosteringOVChas

improvedthroughtake-homerations.

Somechallengesnotedare:• Sincetheschoolfeedingprogrammeonlytackles

thefoodaspect,ithaslittleornocontroloverpro-visionofotheraspectsoflivelihoodsuchasagri-cultureandvocationalskills,whichmaybeequallyimportantfortheOVCtobuildsustainableliveli-hoodsandenhancetheirfutureprospects.

• Unlessadequatefundingisguaranteed,forexam-plethroughthenationalbudget,theprogrammemaynotbesustainedintothefuture.

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Emerging Issues

Policy link

TheSocialSupportPolicy,apartfromtakingtoolongtobecompleted,cameinmuchlaterafter

policiessuchasOVCandearlychildhooddevelop-ment policies were developed. In principle, theseearlierpolicies shoulddevolve fromor link to thebroaderpolicy.ItmaythereforebenecessarytoreviewsuchpoliciesinlinewiththeSocialSupportPolicyonceitisadopted.Thereisalsoacallforreconsidera-tionoftheearlierpoliciesastowhethertheseshouldcontinuetostandaspoliciesorbeframedasstrategiessupportingthebroaderpolicy.Sometimestoomanypolicies tendtobeconfusing.Ontheotherhand,verybroadpoliciesmaysometimesfailtoprovidead-equateguidanceinspecificareas,suchasOVC.Itisrecommendedthatathoroughreviewbecarriedouttomakesuchadecision.

CoordinationIssuesoflivelihoodandsocialprotectioncutacrosssectorsanddisciplines.However,theactualinstitu-tionsandpeopleinvolvedseemtobelimited,totheextentthatthesameinstitutionsandpeopleareindifferentcommitteesandtechnicalworkinggroups.It isevenmoredifficult ifoneofficerwhopartici-patesinalowercommitteeisalsoaskedtorepresenttheinstitutioninahighercommittee,whichissup-posedtoconsiderrecommendationsfromthelowercommittee.Inthislight,thecomplaintthattherearetoomanycommitteesappearstobejustified.How-ever,ithasalsobeenarguedthatsometimesparallelcommitteesareformedbecausethemainonesaredormant.Dissolvingthenon-functioningcommit-teesmaybedifficultbecauseofthelegalfactorsthatmaybeinvolved.

Therealissueisnotaboutwhethertherearetoomanycommittees,butrathertheextenttowhichis-suesinonecommitteeoverlapwiththoseofanother.Toomanyoverlapscouldjustifyamalgamationofthecommitteesandstreamliningthetermsofreference.

Common understanding of social protection/supportIsitnecessarytohaveacommonunderstandingofsocialprotection/supportanditscomponents?ThisquestionisraisedsinceitemergedfromthestudythattheconceptofsocialprotectioninMalawihas

evolvedandchangedovertime,dependingonwhoor which institution exerted the most influencebasedontheirmandateorareaof interest.Varietyin thinkinghas led to a varietyof interventions,suchasamongsocialsafety-nets, livelihood-basedsocialprotectionandsocialcashtransfers,tonamejustafew.Theauthorsofthisstudysubscribetotheperceptionofasocialprotection/supportagendaasagraduatedcontinuuminwhichotherparticipantsforminterventionstages.Thesocialprotection/sup-port agenda shouldbepromotedas an integratedpackagewith specificphasesof intervention thatlinktothebroaderhumandevelopmentperspective.

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Theproposednextstepsforthestudywillinclude:

• DiscussionoftheSituationAnalysisReportwithkeystakeholderswill furtherseektheirviewsoncriteriaforprioritizingprojectsforstudywithineachmodelorapproach,forexample,thedurationinwhichtheprojecthasbeenimplemented,OVCasthemaintargetoftheprojectorprogramme,andprominenceoflivelihoodswithintheprojectorprogramme.

• Preliminaryfieldvisitsanddiscussionswithprojectimplementerswillbedonetoprioritizeprojectsbased on the criteria for selection. One projectwithineachmodel/approach(community-initiatedprojects,JFFLS,socialcashschemes,schoolfeed-ingprogrammes,livelihood-basedsocialprotectionprojects)willbechosenforthein-depthstudy.

• Detailedfieldassessmentofeachofthefivepriori-tizedpotentialbestpracticeswillbedonetodocu-mentevidenceandcompileananalysisof:» Successesandchallenges;and» Elementsofreplicationandscalingupsuchasin-

stitutionalstructures,effectiveness,sustainability,costandadaptability.

• Costingofscalingupeachofthepromisingmodels.• Capacitybuildingwithemphasisonwhatscaling

upentails.

Challenges and Gaps

ThepoliciesandstrategiesforOVCarewellar-ticulated.Theoutlookismorepositivewith

thedraftingoftheSocialSupportPolicy.However,thecurrentchallengeistohavetheSocialSupportPolicyadoptedbytheMalawiCabinetintime.Theotherchallengeisensuringthatallthekeystake-holdersareawareoftheexistingpoliciesaswellasthenewpolicy(afteritisadopted).

With support from NAC’s Global Fund, theMinistryofGender,ChildrenandCommunityDe-velopmentrecentlyembarkedonintensiveaware-nesscampaigns,buthavesofaronlyreachedoutto600stakeholders;theyacknowledgetherearestillhugegapsintheunderstandingofthesepoli-cies.Thereforemoreresourceswillberequiredtospeeduptheprocess.

Theprogrammesreviewedinthisstudyreflecta wide variety of approaches of OVC interven-tionsbeingappliedinthecountry.Whilesomeoftheprogrammesareatscale,mostarestillim-plementedasmicro-scaleprojects.Thechallengeishowsuchprogrammesorprojects,whichseemtobedoingwellatmicrolevel,couldbereplicatedorscaledupforwider impactandfasterresults.Unfortunately,cross-programmeinformationonwhatreallyworksiscurrentlyunavailable.Moreo-ver,there is inadequateknowledgeamongmostprogrammedesignersandimplementersaboutef-fectivereplicationandscalingupofaprogrammeorproject.

ThisstudywillthereforetrytoassessvariousprojectswithindifferentapproachesofOVCinter-ventionwiththeintentionofdocumentingpoten-tialbestpracticesandhowtheycouldbereplicatedand/orscaledup,includingthecostsinvolved.Aspartofthestudy,acapacity-buildingsessionforkeyOVC-relatedtechnicalworkinggroupswillbeorganizedandtrainingmaterialsforcascadingthetrainingdeveloped.

Way Forward


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Some livelihood-based social protection projects: programmes implemented in Malawi

Project title Enhancing livelihoods and food and nutrition security in the vulnerable SADC countries

Targetedgroup Vulnerablehouseholds

Targetedbeneficiaries Households,individuals

Implementingagency MSH,ConnectHope,ADRA,CADECOM,CPAR,MinistryofAgricultureandFoodSecurity,MinistryofIrrigationandWaterDevelopment,WFP,UNICEF,MoEPD

Contactdetails P.O.Box30750,Lilongwe.E-mail:[email protected]:01773263.Fax:01773263

Partners FAO

Districtscovered Mchinji,Phalombe,Mangochi,Ntcheu,Lilongwe,Nkhotakota,Salima,Mwanza,Ntchisi

Donororlender RepublicofSouthAfrica

Fundingtype Grant

Totalcost US$1,593,172

Disbursedtodate US$1,479,051

Dataentrydate 9October2007

Projectapproved 1January2006

Startdate 1January2006

Completiondate 31October2007

Objectives Components Plannedprojectoutputs IndicatorsToincreaseandintensifyagriculturalproduction/productivityanddiversitytoimproveresilienceofvulnerablehouseholds.

• Small-scaleirrigation• Schoolgardens• HBC/NRUsandJFFLS.

• Irrigationschemesestab-lished;technicallyandmateriallysupported

• 100communitydemon-strationgardensestab-lishedandfunctional

• NutritioneducationactivitiesbuiltintoworkplanforHBCandNRUs

• Improvedagriculturalandlifeskillsforprimaryschoolpupilsestablished.

• Numberofirrigationschemesestablished,technicallyandma-teriallysupported

• 100communitydemon-strationgardensestab-lishedandfunctional

• NutritioneducationactivitiesbuiltintoworkplansforHBCandNRUs

• Improvedagriculturalandlifeskillsforpri-maryschoolpupils.

Annex


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Project title Sustainable nutrition rehabilitation programmeTargetedgroup Householdswithmalnourishedchildren,orphans,vulnerablemothers

Targetedbeneficiaries 6,400households,32,000individuals

Implementingagency ChristianHealthAssociationofMalawi

Contactdetails PrivateBag282,Lilongwe.E-mail:[email protected]:www.danchurchaid.org.Tel:01775180/01771258.Fax:01775406

Partners DanishChurchAid(DCA)

Districtscovered Karonga,Rumphi,Salima,Dedza,Mangochi

Donororlender EuropeanUnion

Fundingtype Grant

Totalcost US$1,200,000

Disbursedtodate US$429,881

Dataentrydate 31March2008

Projectapproved 1December2006


CompletionDate 31December2009

Objectives Components Plannedprojectoutputs Indicators1.Overallobjective:TocontributetoimprovedlivelihoodsecurityofvulnerableruralhouseholdsinMalawibyenhancingtheirfoodandnutritionstatusinasustainableandrights-baseddevelopmentapproach.

2.Specificobjectives:• Tofacilitatecommunityin-

stitutions,promotedietary,andcropandlivestockdi-versificationatbothhouse-holdandcommunitylevel

• Toenhanceappropriatemotherandchildcareprac-ticesinthecommunities

• Topromotecommu-nity-basedtreatmentofmalnutrition

• Toproviderights-basedcapacity-buildingprocess.

3.Psycho-socialprogrammes.

• Lowinputsustain-ableagriculture

• Establishmentofagro-forestryandfruittreenurseries

• Promotionofseedmul-tiplicationandcom-munalseedbanks

• Smalllivestockintegration• Small-scaleirrigation• Community-basedtreat-

mentofmalnutrition• Community-based

healtheducation• Community-based

growthanddevelop-mentmonitoring

• Strengtheninglinkagesofcommunityinstitutionsinhealthandsanitarystructuresandothersupportinstitutionsindeliveryofhealthservices.

• Communitiesadoptadiversifiedhouseholddietthroughimprovedaccesstoandutiliza-tionofnutritiousfood

• Adequatemotherandchildcarepracticesadoptedbythecommunities

• Appropriatecommunity-basedtreatmentsofmalnutritionadopted

• Communitycapac-ityenhancedthroughpartnershipsandlink-agessupportfornutrition-relatedinitiatives.

• Atleast70%oftargetedhouseholdspractiseproperfoodstorage,preparationandutilizationprac-ticesandtechniques

• 50%oftargetedhouse-holdshaveatleasttwomealsperday

• 90%oftargetedhouse-holdswithaccesstoadequateseedmaterials

• 80%oftargetedhouseholdsadoptingrecommendedtechnologies/practices

• 60%ofthetargetedhouse-holdsadoptingrecom-mendedcarepractices

• 50%reductioninmoth-ersattendingcommu-nityfeedingcentresduetoimprovednutrition

• 90%ofmalnourishedchildrenidentifiedearlyatmoderatestate

• 60%reductionofchil-drenreferredtoNRUs

• Increasedextensionagent/householdcontactration

• Communitiesabletoseekinformationandassist-anceontheirown

• 50%femalerepresenta-tionindecisionmaking.


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Project title Kunyinda Area Development ProgrammeTargetedgroup Girlchildren,orphans,women

Targetedbeneficiaries 22,843individuals

ImplementingAgency WorldVisionMalawi

Contactdetails P.O.Box64,Ngabu.E-mail:[email protected],Web-site:www.worldvision.org.Tel:01427349.Fax:01427496

Partners GovernmentofMalawi

Districtscovered Chikwawa

Donororlender WorldVisionGermany

Fundingtype Grant

Totalcost US$426,500


Dataentrydate 20January2007

Projectapproved 4January1999


Completiondate 30September2013

Objectives Components Plannedprojectoutputs IndicatorsToimprovehouseholdfoodsecurity.

• Livestockproduction• Drought-tolerant

cropproduction• Fooddiversification.

• Livestockcross-breedingprogrammeestablished

• Farminputloanfacil-ityimplemented

• Drought-tolerantcropseeddistributed

• Cropdiversificationpro-grammeimplemented.

• Numberoflive-stockcross-breeds

• Numberoffarmersac-cessingfarminputs

• Numberofdrought-tolerantcrops.


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Project title Mlolo Area Development ProgrammeTargetedgroup Childrenandothervulnerablegroups

Targetedbeneficiaries 4,600households,23,000individuals

Implementingagency WorldVisionMalawi

Contactdetails MloloADP,P.O.Box2050,Blantyre.E-mail:[email protected]:01750539.Fax:01752580

Partners GovernmentofMalawi

Districtscovered Nsanje

Donororlender WorldVisionCanada

Fundingtype Grant

Totalcost US$369,165


Dataentrydate 16March2007

Projectapproved 1October1999

Startdate 1October1999

Completiondate 30September2010

Objectives Components Plannedprojectoutputs IndicatorsImprovedqualityoflifeforthe23,000peopleofMlolobyFY2010.

• Fishfarming• Growingofdrought-

tolerantcropslikemilletandsorghum

• AwarenesscampaignsonHIV/AIDS,educa-tionandsponsorship

• Provisionofschoolsupplies

• Provisionofmedi-calaidtoCIP

• Provisionofbasicsneces-sitieslikehouses,clothesandfoodtoneedyCIP

• Women’sempowerment• Home-manage-

mentactivities• Clothdying• Bakeryprogramme.

• Maternalandchildhealthandgeneralcom-munityhealthcareactivitiesstrengthened

• Communityawarenessontheimpor-tanceofprimaryeducationincreased

• Primaryschooleducationqualityac-tivitiesenhancedandsupplyoflearn-ingmaterialsandfacilitiesincreased

• Qualityofeducationfor400adultsimproved

• Productionservicesinconventionallivestockandbeesstrengthened

• Extensionservicesinlivestockproductionstrengthened

• Agriculturalproductionforover3,000farmersinMloloenhanced

• Forestationprogrammesforover1,000farmingfamiliesputinplaceandsupported

• SupportactivitiesoffoodsecuritymanagersandADPagriculturestaff

• ADPagriculturestaff’sstationeryandfieldattireneedstobeaddressed

• Participationofbothmenandwomeninhome-managementactivitiesstrengthened

• Monitoringandevaluationofprojectactivitiesenhanced

• Knowledgeonassessingpeo-ple’sneedsincreased

• Understandingofprojectmanagementandinvolvementofstaffandcommunityleadersindecisionmakingenhanced

• Sponsorshipsystemmanaged• Improvedsponsorship-man-

agementpractices• Monitoringandevaluationpro-

grammeimplemented• Increasedandquickresponsetodis-

astermitigationmeasurestoover1,000peopleinMlolobyFY2003

• CommunityawarenessinitiativesonHIV/AIDSstrengthened.

• %increaseinliteracylevelingirls,boysandadults

• Increasednetenrolmentrateforprimaryschool

• Increasedprimaryschoolpassrateandsecondaryschoolselectionrate

• Reduceddropoutrateinprimaryschools

• %ofhouseholdswithfoodthroughouttheyear

• %reductioninmalnutri-tionlevelsinimpactareas

• %increaseinlevelofassetcreation

• %increaseinfoodcropproduction

• Numberofimprovedlive-stockbreedsproduced

• %ofhouseholdsadoptingimprovedcropvarieties

• Numberoffarmersprac-tisingimprovedlivestockhusbandrytechniques

• %ofhouseholdswithin-creaseddailymealfrequency

• Numberoffarmerstrainedinfishfarmingtechnologies

• Numberofchildrenwithimprovedwell-being

• Zeroover-duemail• Increasedlevelofunder-

standingofmajorstakehold-ersofsponsorshipissues

• ImprovedrelationshipsamongCIP,communitiesandsponsors

• Reducedsponsorqueries• ReducedCIPdrops• 95%ofspecialmailprocessed

bycut-offdateandthere-maining5%processedwithintwoweeksaftercut-off.


27

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29


Chinsinga, B. 2007. The Social Protection Policy in Malawi: Processes, Politics and Challenges. FutureAgricultures.

Conway,T.&Norton,A.2002.Nets, Ropes, ladders and Trampolines: The Place of Social Protection within Current Debates on Poverty Reduction.DevelopmentPolicyReview,2002,20(5):533-540.

Devereux,S.2002.Social Protection for the Poor: Les-sons from Recent International Experience.IDSWorkingPaper142.SussexBrighton,UnitedKingdom.

Devereux,S.,Baulch,B.,Macauslan,I.,Phiri,A.&Sabates-Wheeler,R.2006.Vulnerability and Social Pro-tection in Malawi. IDSDiscussionPaper387.SussexBrighton,UnitedKingdom.

FAOGovernmentCooperativeProgramme:ProjectoftheGovernmentsofLesothoandMalawi.ProjectDocument,ProtectingandImprovingFoodandNu-tritionSecurityforOrphansandHIV/AIDSAffectedChildren(Phase1:LesothoandMalawi).

GovernmentofMalawi.2003.National Policy on Or-phans and other vulnerable Children.Lilongwe.

Government of Malawi. 2003. National HIV/AIDS Policy: a Call for Renewed Action.Lilongwe.

GovernmentofMalawi(2005).National Plan of Action for Orphans and other Vulnerable Children, 2005-2009.Lilongwe.

GovernmentofMalawi.2005.TheNationalHIV/AIDS Action Framework, 2005-2009.Lilongwe.

GovernmentofMalawi.2006.National Policy on Early Childhood Development.Lilongwe.

GovernmentofMalawi.2008.Foster Family Guide-lines.Lilongwe.

GovernmentofMalawi.November2008Draft.SocialSupportPolicy.Lilongwe.

Norton,A.,Conway,T.,&Foster,M.2001.Social Pro-tection Concepts and Approaches: Implications for Policy and Practice in International Development.ODIWork-ingPaper143.London,UnitedKingdom.

RHVP.2007.Social Transfers: A Series of Policy Briefs for National Stakeholders.Johannesburg,SouthAfrica.

Bibliography

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31

Part 2: An Observatory of Best Practices



32

Thelivelihoodsperspectiveofsocialprotection

Alivelihoodisameansandcapabilityofearningaliving.Inordertoliveadecentlife,peopleneed

food,incomeandsomeassets.Poorpeoplefindithardtomeettheneedsoftheirdailylives,sometimesbe-causetheylackthemeansorlackcapabilityofdoingso.Thissometimesleadstodeprivationand/ordestitution.Inordertorescuepeoplefromorpreventthemfromdeprivationanddestitution,publicandprivateinstitu-tionsimplementsocialprotectioninterventions.Socialprotectionisbroadlydefinedas“allpublicandprivateinitiativesthatprovideincomeorconsumptiontrans-ferstothepoor,protectthevulnerableagainstliveli-hoodrisks,andenhancethesocialstatusandrightsofthemarginalized;withtheobjectivesofreducingtheeconomicandsocialvulnerabilityofpoor,vulnerableandmarginalisedgroups”(Norton,A.,et al, 2001).Aninitiativethereforequalifiestobealivelihood-basedsocialprotectioninterventionifitprovidesthemeansofbringingthemostvulnerablegroupsintothedevel-opmentprocessthroughprotection,preventionandpromotiontoensuretheirimmediateandfuturelive-lihoods.Livelihood-basedsocialsupportfororphansandvulnerablechildren(OVC)shouldinstituteandimplementinterventionstoreducevulnerabilityoftheOVCandtheirhouseholdsthrough:• Strengtheningproduction,especiallyinsmall-scale

agriculturesuchas:» Improved means and access to productive re-

sources–land,labour,farminputs;» Fasterreturnsandeasier-to-managelivestock–

poultry,goats,rabbits;» Small-scaleirrigationforimprovednutritionand

incomes;and» Diversified, sustainable and drought resilient

farmingsystems.• Enhancingmarketingopportunities,especiallyin

foodandagriculture.• Enhancingoff-farmemploymentopportunities.• Buildinginfrastructureandassets.• Improvingbasicservicessuchashealthandeduca-

tion,includingthoseaimedatreducingHIVandAIDS,tuberculosisandmalaria.

• Reducingsocialmarginalizationandexclusion.• Strengtheninggovernanceinstitutionsandpolicy

processes.

Objectivesofthestudy

Thereiscompellingevidencethattheimplemen-tationofthecountry’sNationalPlanofAction

forOVC(2006–2009)hasledtosignificantimprove-mentsinfundingandsocialsupportinterventionsfor OVC. However, the focus has largely been oneducationandchildprotectionwithoutadequatelyaddressing the livelihoodneedsofOVCandtheirhouseholds.

Thisstudywasthereforeinitiatedtoreviewandassess innovativeagricultural and livelihoodpro-grammesfromtheperspectiveoftheemergingsocialsupportagendaforOVC,andinthecontextofHIVandAIDS,withtheaimofdocumentinglessonsforreplicationandscalingup.

Specificobjectivesofthestudyweretoidentify,analyseanddocument:• Factors(social,economical,institutional)thathave

ledtothesuccessoftheinterventions;• Potential sustainabilityof activities and/orout-

comesofsuchinterventions;• Elementsof theproject thatcouldbereplicated

andscaledup;• Costofscalingupsuchinterventionsatdistrict,

regionorcountrylevel;• Keyconsiderationsthatshouldbemadeinorderto

effectivelyscaleupsuchinterventions;and• Potentialbenefitswhichmayberealizedbyother

communitiesandbereplicated.

Identificationandchoiceofbestpractices

Selectionofcasestudiesasbestpracticesforlive-lihood-basedsocialprotectionforOVCinvolved

threekeysteps:

1. Project mapping.Adatabaseofagricultureandlive-lihoodinterventionsthathavebeenimplementedinthecountryoverthelastcoupleofyearswasreviewedtoidentifyprojectswithOVCasoneoftheirmaintargets.Usingasetofcriteria,thesewereshortlistedandpresentedtothestakeholdersforfurtherreview.Thecriteriaforpreliminaryselectionwere:• DirectlytargetOVCand/ortheirhouseholds;• Implementedforthreeyearsormoreinorderto

givemeaningfullessons;

The Context of the Study

33


• Demonstratestrongcommunityparticipationandownership;and

• Costforimplementationshouldbereasonable.

2. Selection by district.Itwasnoticedthattheprojectscontainedinthedatabase,fromwhichthefirstshortlistofinterventionswasdrawn,weremostlyformalprojectsimplementedbyINGOs(internationalnon-governmentalorganizations),governmentandmulti-lateralorganizations,andexcludedthoseinitiatedbycommunities.Therefore,itwasfeltnecessarytoaskdistrictsocialwelfareofficers(DSWOs)fromselecteddistrictstoidentifythemostsuccessfullivelihood-basedsocialprotectioninterventionintheirdistrictthattargetedOVC.Theseprojectsweretobecho-senregardlessofwhethertheywereimplementedbyaninternationalNGO,a localNGO,thepublicorcommunity.Thedistrictswerechosentakingintoconsiderationgeographicrepresentationandfarm-ingsystems.Sevendistrictswerechosenasfollows:• Karonga–northernlakeshoredistrict, relatively

dry.

• Mchinji – centralwestdistrict, fertileplain en-dowedwithfavourableconditionsforagriculture.

• Nkhotakota–centraleast lakeshoredistrictwithgoodrainfallforagriculture.

• Ntcheu– central southdistrictwithmixtureofhills,escarpmentsandvalleys.

• Ntchisi–centralhighlanddistrict,verydiversifiedfarmingsystems.

• Mangochi–easternlakeshorefishingandtouristresortdistrict.

• Chikwawa–LowerShireRiverValley,droughtandflood-pronedistrict.

• Otherprojectsthatwerereviewed:JuniorFarmerField andLife Schools (JFFLS);MillenniumVil-lageProject(Zomba)andthecashtransferscheme(Mchinji).

3. Preliminary site visits. After DSWOs or othersidentifiedtheprogrammes/projects, thesiteswereinitiallyvisitedtocollectbasicdata.Atotaloftenprogrammes/projectswerereviewed.Datacollectedfromthesepreliminaryvisitswascompiled,processed

District Title Status Method RemarksKaronga TawongaCommunity-

basedOrganizationCommunityinitiated&managed

Sitevisit Selected

Nkhotakota ChipeleraOrphanCare&AIDSSupportOrganization

Communityinitiated&managed

Sitevisit Selectedfordetailedstudy,butnotforfinalanalysis*

Ntcheu ChitunguCommunity-basedOrganization


Sitevisit Selected

Chikwawa GoodNewsChildren’sHome


Selected

Mchinji ChimtekaChildren’sSupportOrganization


Sitevisit Selectedfordetailedstudy,butnotforfinalanalysis*

Mchinji MchinjiSocialCashTransferScheme

Governmentinitiated&funded

Secondarydata StudiedwithinChimtekacivilsocietyorganization

Zomba ZombaMillenniumVillageProject

Multilateralorganizationimplemented/funded

Secondarydata Usedaslessonsforthestudy

Ntchisi KansongaAccumulatingSavings&CreditAssociation


Sitevisit Notselected

Mangochi MangochiMitigationofChildLabourProject

LocalNGOimplemented Secondarydata Notselected

JuniorFarmerFieldandLifeSchools

Multilateralorganizationimplemented/funded

Secondarydata Recommendedassupportinginitiative

*AlthoughtheNkhotakotaandMchinjiprojectswereselectedfordetailedstudy,theywerenotselectedforbestpracticeanalysisbecausetheyfellshortofsomekeysuccessfactors.


34

andpresentedtoacoregroupofstakeholders.Basedontherecommendationsfromthefieldreport,threeprojectswereselectedfordetailedstudy.Thetableshowstheprogrammes/projectsthatwerereviewedandselected.

Thethreeselectedsiteswereimpressivebecause,contrarytothecommonbeliefthattheruralpoorarepassiverecipientsofdevelopmentassistance,theystooduptothechallengeandinitiatedandimple-mentedinterventionsthatcouldbetrulydescribedashome-grownand sustainable.With experiencespanningfrombetweenfiveand13years,strivingontheirownwithminimalexternalassistance,theyhaveprogressivelyincreasedlivelihoodsupporttoOVC.Fromassistancetoasfewas12OVCattheini-tiationoftheseinterventions,thenumbersgraduallyrosetomorethan100,andtheseareexpectedtoriseevenmoreinthecomingyears.Overtheyears,theCBOshavestayedfocusedontheirmaingoals,thatis, to improve the livelihoodsof theOVC,and toassisttheneedyhouseholdswithbasiccareandsup-port.Theirplansforthefutureareevenmorerobustandmorefocusedonself-reliance,whichisaclearmanifestationofdevelopmentmaturity.Withsuchprogressandsuccess, itwouldbehardtochallengethesustainabilityoftheseefforts.TheseareindeedsuccessstoriesfromMalawi.

Approachandmethodsofdatacollection

Inallthreeselectedsites,theapproachwasthatofan‘observatory’,tryingtoseethingsastheyare

fromanobserver’spointofview.Thefollowingbasictoolswereusedtocaptureandrecordfielddata:

1. ‘Tracing the journey of progress’ approach.Inmixedgroups of between five and six, the implement-ingcommunitymemberswereaskedtotracetheirprogressfromtheirstarttothepresent,andprojectintothefuture.Eachgroupdiscussedandpresenteddetailsof:• Theirmotivationtostarttheproject;• Theobjectivesandtargetgroups;• Theprocesses,activitiesandservicesatallmajor

stagesoftheintervention;• The OVC situation at every major phase of the

project, such as potential and actual number

assisted,benefitsaccruedandchangesnoticedasaresultoftheintervention;

• Majorchallengesmetandhowtheyweredealtwithorcircumvented;and

• Drivingforcebehindthesuccess.

Eachsub-groupthenpresentedtheirdiscussionre-porttotheplenaryforopendiscussionandsugges-tionsforimprovementaswellascollationofideas.InChikwawa,agroupof17(12boysandfivegirls)whograduatedfromtheGoodNewsChildren’sHomewereinvitedtoparticipateinthediscussions.Theyformed three mixed sub-groups and discussed aslightlydifferentsetofquestionswhichfocusedontheirlifebefore,duringandaftertheirexperienceatthechildren’shome.TheywerealsoaskedtosuggestimprovementstothecentreinorderforittomoreeffectivelyassistOVC.

2. Focus group discussions.Thesewereheldwithcom-munityleaderstoobtaindetailsregardingcostsandotherinformationthatwouldotherwisenotbecap-turedbythefirsttool.

3. ‘Life story’ approach. Individual interviewswereconductedwithOVCandOVChouseholdheads.

4. Discussions. These were held with governmentagentsdirectlyinvolvedintheproject,particularlyDSWOsandtheirstaff.

5. Site tours of physical structures, livestock and crops. Thesewereconductedtowitnessandcapturesomeachievements.

35


Eachofthethreeprojectsstartedonasmallscaleandprogressivelyexpandedinsizeandscope.IttooktheeffortsandpassionofafewcommunitymemberstoovercomethenegativeimpactofAIDS,particularlyamongOVC,andattracttheattentionofandmobi-lizecommunitiestotakepositiveaction.Althoughcircumstancesvariedbetweentheprojects,theout-comesweresimilar–eachcommunitylistenedandparticipatedinthechangesthattookplace.

Betweenthetimethattheprojectswereinitiatedtotheperiodofthestudy(June2009),projectssome-timesfaltered.However,itisclearfromtheirstoriesthatparticipantsnevergaveup.Thispartofthestudywasthereforeparticularlyintendedtolearnabout:• Thesuccessesof theprojectsandhowsuccesses

cameabout;• Thechallengesthatweremetandhowtheywere

dealtwith;• Thefactorswhichmotivatedprojectparticipantsto

moveonwhenotherswouldhavegivenup;• Whatprojectparticipantslearntfromtheirexperi-

ences;and• Whatplansprojectparticipantshaveforthefuture.

InPart3,theimplicationsoftheseissueshavebeenanalysedtoinformpossiblescalingupofinterven-tions.Detailedbelowistheobservatoryofthethreecasestudies.

How the Projects Were Initiated and Implemented

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36

Chitungucommunity-basedorganization,Ntcheu

Location of the siteThisCBOisinGroupVillageMastemale,TraditionalAuthorityKwataine,Ntcheudistrict.TheCBOislo-catedlessthanthreekilometresfromNtcheutown.TheareaisonthehillslopesoftheKirkRangeMoun-tains.It isgenerallyendowedwithgoodrainsandgoodsoilsforfarming.Sinceitislocatedontheout-skirtsofatown,thesitehasmuchbetteropportuni-tiesforoff-farmeconomicchoicesandmarketingofagriculturalcommoditiesthanmostruralareas inthecountry.

Establishment of the community-based organization (1997-2002)TheCBOwasinitiatedbyafewcommunitymem-berswhofeltconcernedaboutincreaseddestitutionamongOVCandpeoplesufferingfromAIDS-relatedillnesses.In1997,20communitymembersrespondedtothecallandformedtwoseparategroups:ahome-basedcaregroup (focusedoncareandsupportofchronically illpeople),andanorphancaregroup(dedicatedtotheplightofOVC).Thehome-basedcaregroupmostlycomprisedwomen,whiletheor-phancaregroupwasmostlymale.

In2002,thetwogroupswroteseparatepropos-alstotheMalawiAssociationofNetworksofAIDSSupportOrganizations(MANASO).Themen’sgroupproposalwasforaminibuswhilethewomen’sgroupaskedforamaizemill.Themaizemillproposalwassuccessfulwhilethatfortheminibusfailed.Thisap-parentlyaffectedmembershipofmentotheorphancaregroup,aswellastheirparticipationinOVCac-tivities.Ontheotherhand,womenbecamemorede-terminedtoforgeahead,althoughtheyhadnotyetreceivedthemaizemillatthisstage.

Itwasalsoin2002thatthetwogroupsmergedtoformtheChitunguCommunity-basedOrganiza-tionsothattheissuesofpeoplelivingwithHIV,thechronicallyill,OVC,theelderlyandtheyouthcouldbedealtwithholistically.TheCBOwasalsoofficiallyrecognizedbyregisteringwiththeChitungudistrictsocialwelfareoffice,anditcurrentlycoversninevil-lageswithinthejurisdictionofGroupVillageHead-manMastemale.©

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The focus of the CBO during this phase wasdistributionoffood,clothingandmoneytoassistOVCandAIDS-affectedhouseholds.Membersrecallthisperiodasbeingoneofhavingtostruggle.Theystruggledtoconvincepeopletojointhem,andwhentheyjoinedtheydidnotstaylongbeforequitting.Mostleftbecausetheycouldnotcontinuetovolun-teer.Theyestimatethatoutofabout40membersin1999,only15continuedvolunteeringin2002.Theyalsostruggledtoincreaseresourcesfortheirtargetgroups.Activitiesatthattimeincludeddoingpiecework(ganyu),collectingdoor-to-doorcontributions,raisingfundsfromtheBigWalk,andsupportfromwell-wishers.Theseactivitiesraisedlimitedresourceswhichcouldassistonly50ofthe130targetedOVC.

Development of the community-based organization (2003-2007)AccordingtotheleadersoftheCBO,theperiodbe-tween2003and2007waswhenthegroupbecamemoreorganized.Therewasrecognitionofthegroup’seffortsbothwithinandoutsidethecommunity,andfastgrowthoftheCBOwithincreasedmembershipandmoreexternalassistance.Whileitwasaperiodofincreasedsuccess,therewerealsochallengesandfrustrations,andinsomecasesfailures.Despitesuchproblems,membersweredeterminedtomoveon,andtheydecidedtoexpandsourcesoffoodandincomefortheOVC.Activitiesduringthisphaseincluded:•Communal maize cultivation. Thiswasinitiatedto

reducedependenceoncommunitycontributionsoffood.Onewomancommentedduringtheple-narypresentation:“Somepeopleweremakingruderemarkswhenwewentroundaskingforcontribu-tions.Afterall, foodraisedthroughthismethodwasnotenoughtofeedthelargenumberofOVCandOVChouseholds.Wethereforedecidedtohavecommunalgardenswherewecouldproduceourownfood.”

•Maize mill project. In2003,MANASOprovidedma-terialsupportworthK59,100fortheconstructionofthemaizemillwhichhadbeenpledgedtothegroup.Thegroupmouldedandburntbricks,andhauledsandandquarrystonesfortheproject.

•Dairy production project. In2006,theCBOreceivedfundingfromMASAF(MalawiSocialActionFund)fortheconstructionofadairycattlekholaworth

K1,227,114.TheyreceivedanadditionalamountofK791,000forthepurchaseoffivedairycows.Theyboughtthematerialsandconstructedthestructure,andalsotravelledtoBvumbweinThyolo(about180kilometressouth)tobuythecows.

•Other activities. Between2003and2006,withthehelpofSaveOrphansMinistries,theCBOassistedOVCwitheducationalmaterialsworthK89,000.In2004,theNationalAIDSCommission,throughanumbrellaorganization(WorldVisionInternational)providedfundsofK849,015forvariousactivitieswhich included training sessions for CBO com-mittees,educationmaterialsforOVC,tenbicycles,threeambulancebicycles, andhome-basedcarekits.TheNetworkofOrganizations forOrphansandVulnerableChildrenalsoassistedtheCBOwithvarioustrainingsessionsfortheircommittees.

Maturity phase of the community-based organization (2008-2009)Havingstruggled throughthe initial stagesofde-velopment,thegroupwentontogrowinmaturityandscopeofservices.Duringthisperiod,thefocuswasonsustainablestrategiesforassistingtheOVCandOVChouseholds.ChitunguCBOimplementedanumberoflivelihood-relatedactivitiesthatincludedthefollowing:•Expansion of the maize production project. TheCBO

managedtopurchasefarminputsforcultivatingtencommunalgardens(oneineachvillageandoneforthecentre)withfundingsecuredfromOrphanSupportAfrica(OSA).TheyalsoreceivedfundingfromtheNationalAIDSCommissionandboughtfarm inputs forOVChouseholds to cultivate intheirindividualgardens.

•Backyard gardening. Africare, under the I-Lifeproject,trainedselectedmembersoftheCBOonbackyardgardening.TheseinturntrainedsomeOVChouseholdswhoimplementedtheseskillsintheirindividualbackyardsordimba(wetlandgar-dens).Thereforetheskillscascadedtomanypeo-ple,particularlyOVChouseholdsinthearea.

•Pig production. OSA also assisted the CBO withfundsfortheconstructionofninepigpens(oneineachvillage)andforpurchasing27pigs(threeineachvillage:onemaleandtwofemale).Theinten-tionwastoincreasethestocksothatsomecould


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begiventoindividualOVChouseholds.•Dairy production. Ashighlightedabove,fundingfor

thedairycattleprojectwassecuredfromMASAF.Unfortunately,poormanagementresultedinthecows losingweightandfallingsick.Cowscouldalsonotconceivewhenservicedusingartificialinsemination,sotheyweresoldandsomeofthemoneyrealizedwasusedtopurchase20goatsfortheOVCpass-onscheme.

•Goat pass-on scheme. Whenthedairycowprojectfailed,thecowsweresoldandsomemoneyusedtobuy20goatswhichweregivento20OVC(onegoateach).Ofthese,16survivedandhavesofarproduced17kids(includingasetoftwins).Atthetimeofthestudy,16ofthe17kidswerealreadyearmarked for second generation pass-on to 16moreOVChouseholds.

•Maize mill project. Theprojecthadsomechallengesandthoughitwasin2003thatthemaizemillwasapproved, itwasnotuntil June2009that itwasfinallyinthehandsofthecommunity.Theinstal-lationwasalmostcompleteandthemaizemillwasexpected to startoperating late in JuneorearlyJuly2009.

•Village savings and loans associations. Africare,throughtheI-Lifeproject,introducedvillagesav-ings and loans associations (VSL) as one of thesustainable livelihood strategies for householdscaringforOVCandotherultra-poorpeopleinthearea.Afterundergoingtraining,theCBOformedaVSLsub-committeewhichformedafurtherthreegroups. Total membership in the three groupswas33 in2008;a furthergroupof11membershadrecentlybeenformedin2009.ParticipatinghouseholdsboughtsharesatK100each.Themoneyborrowedatnominalinterestrateshelpedthemtomeettheirbasicnecessitiessuchaspurchasingfarminputs,schooluniformsforschool-goingchildren,householdfood,paymentofschoolfeesfortheirchildren,etc.

The benefits of the initiativeChitunguCBOstartedsmall,assisting50outof130OVCin2002,andgraduallyincreaseditsassistancetonearlyallthe565OVCintheninevillageswithinthejurisdictionofGroupVillageHeadmanMaste-male.Thisprogresscanbedescribedassuperb.The

benefitstoOVCwereinvariousformsandamounts.Someoftheseare:• Improved food and nutrition security. Nearlyall565

OVCandtheirhouseholdswereassistedbytheCBOwithsomefood.ThoseattendingCBCCs(commu-nity-basedchildcarecentres)benefitedfromthefeedingprogrammemanagedby theCBO.FoodfortheCBCCfeedingprogrammewascultivatedincommunalvillagegardens,andotherfoodwascollected through door-to-door contributions.SomeOVChouseholdsindireneedbenefitedfromdirectfoodassistancefromthecommunalvillagegardens.OtherOVChouseholdsreceivedassistancetoproducetheirownmaizethroughbeinggivenfertilizersandseedsbytheCBO.Atotalof130OVChouseholdsbenefitedfrombeingtrainedinback-yardgardeningwhichenabledthemtocultivatetheirownvegetablesforconsumption.

•Provision of school fees and education materials. SomeOVCattendingsecondaryschoolwereassistedwithschoolfees,whileOVCattendingprimaryschoolweregivenschooluniforms,exercisebooksandwritingmaterials.This improvedenrolmentandattendanceofOVCinschools.

• Accumulation of assets.Throughthegoatpass-onscheme,20OVChadreceivedagoateachalthoughonly16goatssurvived.Oneowner’sgoatproducedtwinssohehasbeenabletopassononegoatandis leftwithastockoftwoafterayear.Afurther16OVChavesincebenefitedfromsecond-genera-tionstock.Asthegoatsmultiply,thebeneficiaryhouseholdswillbeabletoaccumulateassetswhichcouldeasilybeconvertedintocashduringperiodsofgreatestneed.

• Increased income-earning opportunities. OVChouse-holdsthataremembersoftheVSLassociationsin-creasedincome-earningopportunitiesthroughpettytradingusingmoneyborrowedfromtheVSLgroupaccount.Awidowedwomanreportedusingherloantobuymaize,beansandothercropproduceforre-saleathigherprices,earningagrossprofitofaboutK2,000persale.Lastyearshemanagedtopayschoolfees and pocket money to her secondary schoolchild,inadditiontomeetingherhousehold’sbasicnecessities.SomepeoplereportedborrowingmoneyfromtheVSLtobuyfertilizerwhichboostedtheircropproductiontremendously.

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Resources committed to the interventionsTheCBOwasinitiatedandmanagedbythecommu-nity,andthereforeitishardtoquantifytheresourcesthathavesofarbeencommittedtowardstheinitia-tive.Someoftheresourceswhichcouldbequantifiedincludethefollowing:•Construction of structures. Community members

providedbricks,sand,waterandlabourwhilefund-ingagentsprovidedironsheets,cement,planks/poles,nailsandtransportationformaterials.

•Purchase of capital equipment and stock. Fundingagents provided money for the purchase of themaizemill and livestock,while thecommunityprovidedlabourtotransportthemtothesite.

•Crop production. The funding agents providedmoneytobuyfarminputs(seedsandfertilizers)forCBOcommunalgardensaswellasOVChouse-holds,whilethecommunityprovidedlabourforproducingthecropsandinsomecasescontributedfarminputsforcommunalaswellasOVChouse-holdgardens.

•Livestock production. Fundingagentsprovidedmon-eyforthepurchaseoflivestock(cattle,pigs,goats),whilethecommunityprovidedlabourandtimeforlivestockmanagement.

•Community-based childcare centres. CBOcommunityvolunteersprovidedlabourtocareforthechildrenattendingCBCCs.

•Education support for OVC: FundingagentsandtheCBOmembersprovidededucationalmaterialstosupportOVC’seducation.

Challenges faced1. Maize mill project. TheproposalforamaizemillwasapprovedandMANASOpledgedtosupporttheprojectin2003.ItgaveK59,100towardsthecostofthebuilding,butaskedthecommunitytoprovidetheelectricityconnection.Unfortunately,thecostofinstallingapowertransformerwasfarmorethanthecommunitycouldafford.Inordertodealwiththeproblem,OSAwasapproached;theyprovidedfund-ing,andthesumofK678,000waspaidtoESCOM(ElectricitySupplyCorporationofMalawi).However,themillwasunavailableforcollectionanditwasnotuntiltwoyears later(June2009)thatthemillwasfinallycollected.Evenafteritwascollected, itwasdiscoveredthatsomepartssuchasthepulleyand

starterweremissing.Thecommunityreportedthatalthoughtheywerefrustratedbythesesetbacks,theyweredeterminedtoworktowardsthefuturesuccessoftheproject.

2. Dairy project. In2006,theCBOsubmittedapro-posaltoMASAFthroughthedistrictassembly(DA)requestingforamaizesheller/de-huller(tocomple-mentthemaizemillpledgedbyMANASO).Howeverinsteadofasheller,theyreceivedmoneyforadairyproject.Theywentaheadwiththedairyprojectbutwereunabletoeffectivelymanagethecows.Whenthecowswereonheattheywereservedbyanarti-ficial inseminationtechnician,buttheycouldnotconceive.Thissetback,coupledwiththe fact thatsomecowshadalreadylostweightandweregettingsick,forcedthemtoselloffthecows.

Driving force behind its successTwelveyearsinoperationisasubstantialperiodoftime.Thegrouphadsomechallengesthatcouldhavediscouraged them,but they stood firmandmadeprogress.Thislevelofresilienceisrareindevelop-mentprojects.Itisthereforeimportanttolearnthesecretbehindthesuccessofthiscommunity.Fromdiscussionsitwasapparentthattheywereabletoat-tributetheirresilienceandsuccesstothefollowingkeyfactors:•Support from the village heads. Thegroupvillage

headmanandhisvillageheadmenarepartoftheCBOtotheextentthatallmajordecisionsunder-takenbytheCBOaremadewiththeconsentofthetraditionalleaders.Theyprovidelandforcultiva-tionandallconstruction.Eachvillage,ledbythevillageheadman,alsocontributesfoodandcashtoassistchildrenintheCBCCs.TheCBOcommit-teethereforeonlyactsasafacilitatingunitwhilemostoftheimplementationisdonebythevillagersthemselves.

•Strong sense of purpose. MembersofthisCBOworkasvolunteers.Theyaremotivatedbyastrongpas-siontohelptheirownrelativesandchildreninneed.Women, inparticular,weresingledoutashavingastrongdesiretoassistchildrenbecausetheyknowthattomorrowtheirownchildrencouldbeorphanedand theywouldneed thecommu-nity’shelp.


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•Sense of achievement and ownership. Althoughthemaize mill project took years to establish, thecommunitybelieveditwouldeventuallybeahugesuccessforthevillage.Thewomenremarked:“Wereallyneededthemaizemillandwekeptonwait-ingknowingthatonedaywewillhaveourmaizemill.”Thesenseofachievementwasalsostrongwhensomeoftheirproposalswereapprovedandfundingreceived.Duringthis longprocesstherewascommunityownershipsothatevenintimesoftrouble,peopleknewtheyneededtosolvetheproblemsforthemselves.

•Strong CBO leadership. Atthetimeofthestudy,theCBOwasdominatedbywomenandthechairper-sonwasalsoawoman.Shehadforesightandcom-manded respect from the group, even from themalefolk.Shealsohadthestrongsupportofthegroupvillageheadmanandothercommitteemem-berswhoremainedfocusedontheirgoals.

Lessons learntThe community highlighted a number of lessonswhichtheyhadlearntfromtheirtwelve-yearexpe-rienceoperatingasaCBO.Thefollowingaresomeoftheselessonsthattheywouldlikeotherstolearnfrom:• Itispossibletoachievemorewhenyouworkasa

team;• Donotoverdependonexternalassistance–help

sometimes comes late or not according to yourneedsorrequirements;and

• Whenyouworkwithandthroughvillagehead-men,thecommunityfeelscommittedtowork.

Future plansTheCBOislookingtothefutureanddoesnotwanttowaverinitspurpose.Theyaredeterminedtoen-surethat livelihoodsofOVCandothervulnerablepeopleintheareaimprove.Someoftheseplansare:• Rest house project.Withtheforesighttorealisethat

thespiritofvolunteerismmayonedaywane,theCBO plans to raise money and construct a resthouseatNtcheutownwhereCBOvolunteerswillworkaspart-timehousekeepers.Theywouldalsoearnawagewhichwouldmotivatethemtocon-tinueworkingasCBOvolunteers.

• Houses-for-rent project.Inordertosustainincometo

supportOVC,theCBOplanstoconstructhousesforrentinNtcheutownasanincome-generatingactivityfortheirOVCprojects.

• CBCC construction project.TheCBOintendstoestab-lishCBCCstructuresineachoftheninevillages.

Suggestions for improvementChitungu CBO could follow the experience ofChimtekaChildren’sSupportOrganizationinMchin-ji,which loanedout farm inputs tovolunteers toproducetheirowncrops.ThevolunteersrepaidanagreedquantitytotheCBO,partofwhichwasusedtofeedchildrenintheCBCCsandthesurplussoldtoraiseincomefortheCBCCsandtheCBO.Thisplanmightalsomotivatepeopletovolunteertheirtimeandresources.

TheCBOcouldalsoconsider introducingskillstrainingforteenageOVC.Skillstrainingwouldin-cludecrafts(bricklaying,carpentry,tailoring,tin-smith,etc.)andagriculture(JFFLS)whichwouldbevaluable,asnotallthechildrenintheareamayat-tainhigherformaleducationqualifications.

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GoodNewsChildren’sHome,Chikwawa

Location of the siteGoodNewsChildren’sHomeislocatedinTraditionalAuthorityNgowe,Chikwawadistrict,whichistheresponsibilityofGroupVillageHeadmanMwafunga.Its locationisalongthemainroadbetweenChik-wawa and Nsanje, about 70 kilometres south ofChikwawatownonthesouthernborderwithNsanjedistrict.Thecentrehasacatchmentof fivegroupvillageheadmenwith36villages,all inTradition-alAuthorityNgowe.Theareaislowlying,anditischaracterizedbyhotandgenerallydryconditionswithveryerratic rainyseasonswhichcause inter-mittentdroughtsorfloods.Asaresult,chronicfoodshortageissomethingthatpeoplehavecometolivewith.Mostpeopledependoncottonfortheirliveli-hoods.Sorghumandmaizearethestaples,butduetochronicannualdroughtsor floods thathit thearea,themajorityofpeopledependonwater-lilies,or nyikaas it is locallyknown,awildtuberthatisuprootedfromthebedsofcrocodile-infestedriversconnectedtotheShireRiver.AfewfortunatepeoplecultivatethefertilemarshesalongtheShireRiverduringwinterwhichbringsthemmorefoodthanrain-fedcropping.Thelocationistypicallyruralwithveryfewoff-farmeconomicopportunities,andthisexacerbatespovertyandvulnerability.

Establishment of the Good News Children’s Home (1998-2002)The story behind the establishment of the GoodNewsChildren’sHomeisslightlydifferenttothatof theother sites.Around1998/99 an increasingnumber of hungry children, most of them OVC,wentalmostdailytoa localchurchpastor’shousetohavelunch.Churchmembersnoticedandgrewconcerned;theymetwithcommunityleaderstofindsustainablesolutionstohelpthechildren.In1999the pastor, Mr Stephen Zulu, together with somechurchmembersandcommunitymembers inthesurroundingvillages,agreedtobuildacommunalhomefortheOVC.GroupVillageHeadmanMwafun-gadonatedhisownpieceof landfortheconstruc-tionofthebuildings.BecausethiswasgoodnewstotheOVCinthecommunity,theplacewasnamed‘GoodNewsChildren’sHome’.©

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Although it is a faith-based institution, GoodNewsChildren’sHometakesinchildrenregardlessoftheirreligion.Thecommunityalsoagreedtore-cruitonlydoubleorsingleOVCwhoweredestitute,andonlyoneOVCperhouseholdsothatmorehouse-holdscouldbenefitfromtheservice.Thecentrewasadvisedbythedistrictsocialwelfareofficethatoncethechildrenreachtheageof18years,theymustbegraduatedfromthecentre.

MembersoftheGoodNewsChildren’sHomees-timatethatittooknearlyfouryearstofullyestablishthecentre.IncontrasttotheChitunguCBOscenario,theideaofassistingtheOVCwasreadilytakenupbycommunityleadersandmembersfromalltheaf-fectedvillages.Mobilizationofresourcesthereforestartedwithinthesameyearthattheideawasintro-duced.Thousandsofbricksweremoulded,aplacetobuildtheOVChomeprovided,andsomecommunitymemberswithspecialskillsvolunteeredtheirservicesintheirareasofspecialization,e.g.bricklayingandcarpentry.

Becauseoftheenthusiasmofthecommunity,itwasnotdifficultforwell-wishersfromoutsidethecommunity (particularly fellowchurchmembers)tocontributetotheconstructionofthebuildings.However,mostofthemoneyneededforthepurchaseofconstructionmaterialswasraisedbymembersofthecommunitythroughvillagecontributionsandganyu.ItisevenonrecordthatGroupVillageHead-manMwafungamadeapersonalcontributionoftenironsheetstowardstheconstruction.

Bytheendof2002,atwo-roomhostelblockwithanofficeandstoreroomwascompleted.It isheart-warmingtohearthatevenatthisearlystageoftheprocess,peoplefromsurroundingvillageswerewill-ingtocontributetime,energyandresourcestowardstheproject.

ThecentrerecruiteditsfirstOVCin1999.Duetosomeconstraints,only12OVCoutofatargetnumberof1,800wererecruitedandenrolledforresidentialcareandsupportatthecentre.Agroupofwomenvolunteeredtogofromhouseholdtohouseholdask-ingforcontributionsofmaize,beansandmoneyfortheOVC.Thiscontinuedforthenextthreeyearsorso.Atthisstage,thecentrewasoperatingwithoutbe-ingregisteredwiththedistrictsocialwelfareoffice;itwasonlyregisteredin2001.

Growth of the centre (2003-2007)For the Good News Children’s Home, the periodbetween2003and2007wascharacterizedbyrapidgrowththroughtheconstructionofmorestructuresandincreasedenrolmentofOVCatthecentre.ThenumberofOVCaccommodatedat thecentre rosefrom12 to107.Livelihoods-relatedactivitiesdur-ingthisphaseweredirectlyrelatedtothecareandsupportofthechildrenresidentatthecentre.Theseactivitiesincluded:• Maize production.Theinstitutiondecidedtostart

producingitsownfoodtofeedthechildrenasaconsequenceofnegativeremarksfromsomemem-bers of the community when volunteers wentdoor-to-dooraskingforcontributions.Communityvolunteers,withsomehelpfrompeopleinotherparticipatingvillages,cultivatedaboutthreehec-taresoffarmland.Duetoerraticrains,therain-fedmaizewassupplementedbyawintercropofmaizegrowninrentedfieldsintherichalluvialmarshesoftheShireRiver.In2003/04,atotalof107bagsof50kilogrammeseachwereproducedbythecentre.

•Bean production. Theyalsogrewbeansinthemarsh-eswhichwerefedtotheOVC.

•Cotton production. Cottonwasanothercropthatwasgrowntosupplementincomeforbuyingne-cessitiestoassisttheOVC.

•Poultry production. Duringthisperiod,theinstitu-tionbought100layerchickens;92survivedandatpeakwereabletoproduceover80eggsaday.SomeeggswerefedtoOVCatthecentrewhileoth-ersweresoldlocally.Unfortunately,duetothein-creasedcostoffeed,theprojectwasdiscontinuedandthechickenssoldoff.Themoneyraisedwasused topurchaseBlackAustralop (Mikolongwe)chickens.

•Rabbit production. Rabbits were chosen for theirrapidmultiplication.Thecentrebought12rabbits,butaftersomemonthstheydidnotreproduce.Therabbitswerethenslaughteredandthemeatfedtothechildrenatthecentre.

•Vegetable production. Thecentrestartedproducingvegetablestofeedthechildrenandforsaletothepublic.Atthepeakofproduction,theywereabletorealizesalesofasmuchasK1,000perday.Ini-tially,productionwasquitelow,until2007whena passer-by from Zambia stopped at the centre.

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Astoundedbytheirachievement,heofferedthemafreeone-daytrainingsessiononhowtoproducevegetablesorganicallyusingthetrenchmethod.Sincethen,theproductionhasmorethanquadru-pledthroughusingorganicfertilizers.

•Goat production. Thecentrestartedkeepingitsowngoatsin2003tofeedtheresidentchildren.Atthetimeofthestudy,ithadastockof16.In2008,thecentredonated27goatsasstart-uppackagestotheboysandgirlswhohadgraduatedfromthecentre.

•Maize milling. In2005,thecentrewroteaproposalto MASAF and were granted K1,666,664 for theconstructionofamaizemillbuildingandforthepurchaseandinstallationofamaizemill.Thecom-munityinitiallyintendedtobuyadiesel-propelledmaizemill;itsubsequentlydecidedonanelectric-propelledmillontheadviceofthewomen.Unfor-tunately,thecentredidnotknowatthetimetheywouldneedatransformertoconnecttheelectric-ity,andthisprovedtooexpensive (K3,000,000)forthem.Theprojectwasmoreorlessabandonedduringthisphase.

•Skills training. Teenageboysandgirlsatthecentrewereregularlytrainedinvegetableproductionandvocationalskills(tailoringandcarpentry).Awell-wisherdonatedasewingmachineandacarpentrytoolkitwhichwerebeingusedfortraining.

Livelihood-based outreach activities for assistingOVC households during this period included thefollowing:•Goat pass-on scheme for OVC households. Withfund-

ingfromtheNationalAIDSCommission,30goatswere bought and given to 30 OVC households.However,duetochronicfamineinthearea,nearly20householdssoldofftheirstockinordertoraisemoneytobuymaize.OnlyoneOVChouseholdisonrecordashavingkeptitsgoatwhichhassincemultipliedtosix.

•Provision of food items and clothing. Throughdona-tionsfromwell-wishers,thecentredistributedfooditemsandclothingtoOVChouseholdsintheareaaspartofitsoutreachactivities.

Otheractivitiesduringthisperiodincluded:•Water and sanitation. The construction of three

shallowwellsandtheinstallationofhandpumps

valuedat aboutK40,000was carriedoutby thecommunity.

•Construction of centre buildings. Thecentrecomplet-edconstructionofsomebuildings(multi-purposehall,sickbay,oldkitchen,hostelandofficeblock).

•Construction of houses for OVC households. Thecen-trereceivedfundingfromwell-wishersandmodernhousesfortwoOVChouseholds,headedbyelderlypeople.werebuilt.

•Care and support. The centre routinely providedmedical,socialandspiritualcaretochildrenresi-dentatthecentre.

•Environmental protection. In2005/6,theroofofthehostelblockwasblownoffbythewind.Thecentredecidedtoplanttreesasawindshield,aswellasforshade,etc.Thetreeshavesincegrownandtherehasbeennorepeatofthe2005/6problem.

Maturity phase of the centre (2008-2009)During2008and2009(atthetimeofthestudy),theGoodNewsChildren’sHomereportedexpansionofsustainableactivities.ThecentrealsoregisteredanincreaseinactivitiesandthenumberofOVCwhoreached18yearsandhadtoleaveandre-integrateintotheirhouseholds.In2008,27boysandgirlswhohadreached18yearsgraduatedfromthecentreandrejoinedtheirfamiliesintheirrespectivehomes.

Duringthisphase,thecentrebecamelessdepend-entonoutsidehelpandtriedasmuchaspossibletogeneratefundsontheirown,withoutsidersonlysup-plementingtheirefforts.Inmostinstances,activitiesduringthisphaseweresimilartothosedoneintheestablishmentphase.Thereweresomeexpansionsorintroductionsofnewprojects,andtheimplementersbecamemoreproactive,productiveandinnovativeintheirapproaches.Theseachievementsdemonstratethecentre’smaturityinapproachandpurpose.Someofthelivelihood-basedactivitiesdoneduringthisphaseincludedthefollowing:• Maize production. Thecentrecontinuedproducing

rain-fedandwintermaizetofeedthechildrenresi-dentatthecentre.Maizeproductionduringthispe-rioddecreasedfrom60bagsof50kilogrammeseach(2007/08)to21bags(2008/09)duetoseveredrought.

•Vegetable production. Thecentrecontinuedtopro-ducevegetablesalthoughtherewassomedropinproductionin2009duetowaterproblems.


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•Maize mill project. Thesiteforthemaizemillwasshiftedtoanewsitewhichalreadyhadapublictransformernearlytenkilometres fromthecen-tre. The community built another structure atthissiteandallinstallationswerecomplete.Mostoftheconstructionmaterialsforthenewmaize-mill building were collected from within thecommunity.

•Goat breeding. 27goatsweregivenasa‘starter-pack’toeachofthe27boysandgirlswhograduatedfromthecentre.

Otheractivitiesincludedthefollowing:•Care and support. Thecentrecontinuedtoroutinely

providemedical,socialandspiritualcaretotheresidentchildren.

• Installation of solar-lighting system. Throughfundingfromwell-wishersanditsownfunding,thecentreprovidedasolar-poweredlightingsystemtoallitsmainbuildings.

•Construction of houses for OVC households. ThecentreacquiredmorefundingforconstructionofhousesfortheelderlypoorwhowerelookingafterOVC.Threehouseswerebuiltduringthisphase.

•Construction of centre buildings. Anewandmoremodernkitchenwasbuiltforthecentre.

•Water and sanitation. Awell-wisherdonatedabore-holeandasolar-waterpumpingsystemvaluedataboutK1,500,000.Acommercialcompanydrilledtheboreholeandinstalledthesolar-pumpingsys-temandwaterpiping.Thecentrealsoconstructed

modernpitlatrinesforthehomewhichimprovedsanitation.

The benefits of the initiativeAbout18boysandgirlswhograduatedfromthecen-trewereinvitedtothediscussions.Theyworkedinthreeseparategroupsandreportedtheirviewsdur-ingaflip-chartpresentationtotheplenaryofvil-lageheads,centremanagementcommitteeandsomeOVChouseholdheads.Thefollowingisasummaryofbackgroundinformationandtheviewsofthe17boysandgirls:

Familybackgroundinformationofthecentre’sgraduateswhoparticipatedinthediscussions

Numberoffemalegraduates(respondents) 5

Numberofmalegraduates(respondents) 12

Numberofdoubleorphans 6

Numberofsingleorphans 11

Averagenumberofsiblingsperhousehold 4

Averageperiodatthecentre(years) 4

The situation before joining Good News Children’s HomeOneoftheboysablysummarizedthesituationonbehalfofhisgroup(seebelow).Hesaidchildrenarechosentobetakentothecentrebecausetheyareliv-inginabjectpovertyduetothelossofoneorbothparents.Suchchildrenfaceableakfutureandareprobablywrittenoffbysociety.

TheGoodNewsChildren’sHomedairyhouse GuineafowlsattheGoodNewsChildren’sHome

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Changes experienced while at the Good News Children’s HomeAllthreegroupsagreedthattheir liveschangedasaresultof joiningthecentre.Someofthenotablechangesexperiencedincluded:• Improved food and nutrition. Thechangefromeating

onceadaytothreetimesadaywasoverwhelmingforthechildrenatGoodNewsChildren’sHome.They felt that their nutritional status changedenormously.

•Acquisition of skills. Aspartoftheirlifeatthecen-tre,thechildrenlearntsomebasicskillsinvegeta-bleproduction,sanitation,carpentryandtailoring,andthemanagementofpoultryandothersmalllivestock.Someofthegirlswhograduatedfromthecentreindicatedthattheyhadstartedproduc-ingandsellingvegetablestomeettheirlivelihoodneeds.Someindicatedtheywerecaringforgoatstheyhadreceivedonleavingthecentreandhopedtheirstockswouldimprovetheirfuturelivelihoods.

• Improved health. The graduates cited improvedhealthasoneofthemajorchangestheyexperi-encedintheir livesasaresultofbeingenrolledattheGoodNewsChildren’sHome.Onemovingstorywasaboutasix-month-oldbabyboywhohadbeentakenintothecentreafterhismotherdied.Atthetimeofthevisit,theboywassevenyearsoldandattendingschool.Itwasalsosignificantthatsincethecentre’sopeningin1999,therehadbeennodeathofachild.Thisisaremarkablerecordcon-sideringthatmostchildrencomingtothecentre

areemaciatedandundernourished.• Improved spiritual and social life. Theboysandgirls

whoparticipatedinthediscussionsdescribedhowtheroutinespiritualandpsycho-socialcounsellingreceivedatthecentrehadchangedtheirspiritualandsocial livesdrastically.Socially,theiresteemhadimproved–theyhadlearnttotrustthemselvesandrespectothers.Theirknowledgeofgenderandhumanrightsalso improved,ashadtheirworldview.

•Reduced poverty. Asdescribedbelow,theboysandgirlsfeltthattheirsituationwithregardtobeingpoorhadchangedandthattheywerenowconsid-eredtobepeoplewhohadmorevaluethanbefore.Atthecentre,theyhadagoodplacetosleep,goodclothesandshoes,moneyfortoiletriesandlaundry,andothernecessities.

• Improved education. Thecentre isusedasaplaceforthechildrentolive,buttheyattenddifferentneighbouringprimaryandcommunitysecondarydayschools.Thecentrepayssecondaryschoolfeesandbuysschooluniformsandothernecessitiesforbothprimaryschoolandsecondaryschoolgoingchildren.Aboutsevenofthegraduateswhopartici-patedinthediscussionsreportedhavingpassedtheMalawiSchoolCertificateexaminationswithverygoodgrades.Twoscored25and29aggregatepointsrespectivelyandhadsatforuniversityentranceex-aminations.Theyattributedtheirachievementstothegoodeducationalenvironmentofthecentreandalsototheeducationalmaterialstheyreceived.

Childrenlearningskillsinvegetableproductionatthecentre

Modernmethodsoffarmingtaughttochildrenatthecentre

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Resources committed towards the interventionsTheGoodNewsChildren’sHomeisacommunity-initiatedandmanagedinterventiondependentonlocalresources.Althoughvariouskindsofsupportaregivenbyexternalsources,thecentremainlydependson itself.Someof theresourcescommittedwhichcouldbequantifiedare:•Construction of structures. Community members

providedmostofthematerials(bricks,sand,ce-ment,planksandwater)includinglabourforbuild-ingandcarpentrywork.Otherpeoplesupportedthecentrewithadditional ironsheetsandsomebags of cement for the hostel and office block.

MASAF provided funds to pay for iron sheets,planks,cement,etc.tobuildthemaizemillwhilethecommunityprovidedbricks,sand,waterandla-bourforbricklayingandcarpentryworkandhaul-ingbricks,sandquarrychipsandothermaterials.

•Purchase of capital equipment and stock. Fundingagents provided money for the purchase of themaizemill and livestock,while thecommunityconstructedthehousingstructuresandwerere-sponsibleforthemanagementofthestock.

•Crop production. Thefundingagentsprovidedmon-eytobuyfarminputs(seedsandfertilizers)whilethecommunitycultivatedthefields.Insomecases,

Life at Good News Children’s Home: Story by one of the 2007 graduates

BeforeIcametothecentre,Iwaslivinginabjectpoverty.Ilostbothparentssomeyearsagoandmygrandmothertookcareofmeandthreeofmysiblings.Becauseofthepovertyinthehouseholdshecouldn’taffordamatforustosleepon.Insteadwesleptonanoldsack.Ihadonepairofshorttrou-serswhichwassowornoutthatitexposedmybuttocks.TwomealsinadayisaluxuryIneverknew.Weateonceadayandduringmostdaysnotevenamealatall.Water-lilieswereourmainmeal.

MyarrivalatGoodNewsChildren’sHomechangedmywholelife.FirstIwasfilledwithexcite-mentanddisbeliefwhenIwastoldtochooseabedtosleepon.Iaskedmyself,“Isitreallymethatwillsleeponthisbed?Isthisnotjustadream?”IfeltsoexcitedthatIwasinadilemmawhethertochoosetheupperorlowerdeckbed.Asforthemealsatthecentre,Iwoulddescribethemassimplysuperb.Eatingthreetimesinadaywasinitiallyreallystrangetome,butIcametorealizethatthat’showlifeoughttobe.So,hereIwasenjoyingtheabundanceofthefood,enjoyingagoodenvironmentforeducation,goodsocial,spiritualandhealthcare,goodaccommodationandgoodmeals.ButwhenIthoughtofmysiblingswhowerestillathomewithouroldgrandmother,strugglingwithlife,itwashardtoimaginehowtheyweremanaging.IcametorealizethatIwasoneoftheluckyfew.

Whenwereachedtheageof18years,Iandmycolleaguesweretoldthatwecouldnolongerbekeptatthecentre.Ifoundithardtoaccept,butIknewIhadtoleaveinordertogiveachancetoothers.

Onthedayofmyarrivalathome,IwasscaredthatIwasgoingtobereceivedwiththeusualinsultsthatusedto‘rain’onmebeforeIlefttojoinGoodNewsChildren’sHome.Tomysurprise,Iwasreceivedlikeaking.AsIarrived,pullingbehindmeasuitcase,thepeopleofthevillageflockedtomeandwelcomedmewithjubilation.However,thehoneymoonwassoonoverasIhadtofacethereali-tiesofharshlifeagain–wakingupearlytogoandfarm,nothreemeals,nosoap,etc.Thedifference,though,wasthatthistimeIhadgrownmoreinphysicalaswellasspiritualstrength.Mydetermina-tionwastocompletemySchoolCertificateandprobablygotouniversityorfindajobthatcouldhelpmefindmoneytoassistmyfamily.Iindeedpassedmyexaminationslastyear–fortunatelytheexaminationfeeswerealreadypaidforbythecentrebeforeIleft.IpassedsowellthatIwasgivenaplaceataprivatecollegeinBlantyre.UnfortunatelyIamunabletoraisecollegefees.Allinall,Icher-ishmylifeatGoodNewsChildren’sHome.Tomethisishomeindeed!

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thecommunitycontributedmoneytorentgardensforwintercroppingandprovidedfarminputsfromtheirownresources.

•Construction of houses for some OVC households. TheGoodNewsChildren’sHomereceivedfundingforthisactivity,butthecommunityprovidedbricks,sandandlabourfortheirconstruction.

•Education support for OVC. Mostofthemoneyforeducationalsupportforthechildrenwasraisedbythecommunityitself,withafewexceptions.

Challenges facedInappropriate technology. After the proposal for themaizemillwasapprovedandmoneyreceivedfromMASAF,thewomendecidedtheywouldpreferanelec-tricmill toadiesel-propelledmaizeone.Withtheknowledgethatpatronageofadieselmillwouldbepoor,theplanwaschanged:anelectricmotorwasboughtandthebuildingwired.Aftertheseprepara-tionswerecompleted,ESCOMquotedK3,000,000forthepowertransformerwhichwasnecessarytooperatetheelectricmill.

Thiswasaserioussetbacksincethecommunityhadinsufficientfunds.WhentheyapproachedMA-SAFforadditionalfundsthroughtheDA,theywereunsuccessful, and the project stalled. After threeyears,anewplantoconstructanotherbuildingatacentrewithapublictransformerwasimplement-ed.Thisworkwascompletedin2008atthesiteofthetransformer,tenkilometresfromthecentre.ThemaizemillstartedoperatinginApril2009,buttheoriginalbuildingat thecentrewasonlyusedasaskillstrainingcentre.Thecommunitylearnedahardlesson:considerallrelevantfactorswhendevelopingaproposal.Theyalsofeelsomeofthemistakescouldhavebeenavoidediftheyhadadequatelyinvolvedthewomenwhoarethemainusersofthemaizemillserv-ice.Theyalsobelievetheyshouldhavefoundoutinmoredetailwhatwasrequiredtoinstallamaizemill.

Inadequate expertise. Thecentreisinadryareawherewateravailabilityisgenerallyaproblem.Withtheincreasednumberofchildren(morethan100)itbe-cameurgenttohaveamorereliablesourceofwateratthecentre.Thecommitteedecidedtohiresomeonetodigashallowwell,andtheyboughtandinstalledahandpump.Unfortunately,duringtherainyseason,

thewellcollapsedanditcouldnolongerbeused.Usingtheirnewlyacquiredskills, theydecided

todiganewoneontheirown:theysucceededandinstalledthehandpump.Theyalsodugasecondwellclosetothevegetablegardentouseforwateringthevegetables.Animprovementplanwasmadetopumpwaterintoanundergroundtankandbringittoanelevatedtankusingatreadlepump,andthentakethewaterdownbygravity.Whenallthepreparationsweremade,theydiscovereditwasimpossibletoliftthewaterfromtheundergroundtankusingatreadlepump.Itwassuggestedthatwatercouldberaisedtotheelevatedtankbyhand.Severalpeoplelinedupandmanagedtofillthetankbutwhentheywateredthefield,thewatergushedoutuncontrollablyandflooded the fieldsand sweptaway theplants.Ex-haustedandfrustrated,theyabandonedtheprojectandtheyresortedtowateringusingbuckets.

Awell-wisher,onlearningaboutthecentre,of-feredtoassistwithasolar-pumpingsystem.Heen-gagedacommercialdrillertodrillaborehole,fittedasolarpumpandinstalledthewatertank.Thewholecentreenjoyedtapwater,butonlyforabriefperiod,asthepumpbrokedownhardlyayearlater.

Thecommunitywasnotinvolvedinanyoftheinstallationprocessesandthereforecouldnotfigureoutwhattofixandhowtofixit.Thecentrefeltthatbysharingtheirstories,othercommunitiesmightlearnfromtheirmistakes.Theypointedoutafewimportantlessonstheyhadlearntfromtheirexperi-ences.Fromtheshallow-wellproject inwhichthecommitteeparticipatedinthedigging,theylearnthowtoinstallthepumpandusethesameprocessonasecondwell.Theyalsodevelopedconfidenceandwereabletosustaintheservicewithoutdependingonsupportfromexternalsources.However, inthecaseofthesolar-pumpproject, inwhichthecom-mitteewasapassiverecipient,theybecamehelplesslydependentontheserviceprovider.Thecommitteealsolearnedtoseektechnicaladviceonsomeoftheactivitiessuchaswaterpumpinginordertoavoidcostlymistakes.

Thecentrehadinadequatetechnicalknowledgeinrabbitrearing.Thetwelverabbitsboughtbythecentrewereslaughteredandconsumedaftertheyap-pearedunabletoreproduce.Atthetime,somebodysuggestedthat therabbitswereold,but they later


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learntthatthehousingstructurewasinappropriateforrabbitstoreproduce:therabbitshadbeenkeptinacement-floorbuilding,butrabbitsdigholeswheretheybearandkeeptheiryoungones.Fromthisex-perience,theyalsolearnttheimportanceofseekingtechnicaladvice.

Marketing constraints. Whilethepoultryprojectwasasuccessintermsofsurvivalrateandeggproduction,itcouldnotbesustainedbecauseitwasnotpossibletosell locallythedailycollectionof60to70eggs,andthereweretoofewtomakeitworthwhiletode-liverandsellthemelsewhere.Asaresult,thecostoffeedcouldnotbemet.Thesolutionwastoselloffthechickensandbuysemi-commercialoneswhichwouldrequirelessintensivemanagement.

Scepticism about the motive of the centre. Althoughthe children’s home is community initiated andmanaged,thereweretimesduringitsestablishmentwhensomemembersofthecommunitywerescep-ticalabout therealmotivesof thecentre. Itmustbeunderstoodthatduetochronicfoodinsecurityandpoverty in the area, child trafficking is ram-pant.Consequently,anyinstitutionsdealingwithchildrenareseriouslyquestionedbythecommunity.Theseconcernswereminimizedbyregularlyinvit-inghouseholdstothecentreforget-togethersandmeetings,andbyreleasingthechildrenduringsomedaysoftheirstaytoattendimportantfamilysocialfunctionsintheirownhomes.

No material incentives for volunteers. The centre ex-pressedconcernthatwhilevolunteershavefaithful-lycaredforthechildren(evencontributingcashofK1,000permonth),theydosoattheexpenseoftheirownhouseholdsandfamilies.Inordertosustaintheirmotivation,thecommitteehasplannedsomefund-raisingprojects,theproceedsofwhichwillbeexclu-sivelyusedtocompensatevolunteersfortheirtime.

Lack of transport. Thecentrelackstransporttotakechildren to clinics or hospital, particularly whentheyfallsickatnight.Avolunteerhastowalklongdistanceswithanillchildonhis/herbacktoseekmedicalattention.Thecentrehadnotyetworkedoutasolutiontothisproblem.

Main driving force behind its successTheideaforthechildren’shomewasoriginallycon-ceivedin1998andithasoperatedforovertenyears.Duringthisperiod,thecentrehasmetmanymorechallengesthanthosehighlightedabove,andyetsur-vivedandprogressedwithdetermination.Behinditssuccessareanumberofkeyfactors,whichincludethefollowing:•Support from traditional leaders. Thegroupvillage

headmenandalltheirvillageheadmenwereintheforefrontandhavecontinuedtheirsupportoverthetenorsoyears.Theyprovidedlandforallcon-structionsandfarming.Theycontributedfinancialandotherresources,andsupportedthecentreinallitsvariousneeds.

•Strong sense of purpose. Fromthebeginning,thein-stitutionwasbuiltwithastrongsenseofpurposeandpassion – tohelp theOVC.Backedby spir-itualbelief, thecentrehasremainedfocusedonsavinglivesandbuildingafutureforchildrenindireneed.

•Sense of achievement and ownership. Thecentreco-ordinatorhighlightedhowseveralvisitorstothecentreacknowledgethegoodworkthat isbeingdone:theircommentshaveencouragedeveryoneatthecentretoworkharderandimprovetheiref-forts.Afterhavingbeenawardedafewgrants,thecentrecoordinatorbelievedtheywerenolongerafraid toknockon thedoorofanygovernmentofficeattheDA,orindeedatanyofficetheyfeltcouldhelp them.They seeexternal institutionsandindividualsaspartners,butalsothatthewholeprocessshouldbedrivenandmanagedbythecom-munityitself.

•Strong leadership. Thecentrehasaboardofdirec-tors,acentrecoordinatorandvolunteers.Theco-ordinatoriswellqualifiedandseemstoadequatelyusetheestablishedstructuresformajordecisions.

•Spiritual values. ThecentreisbuiltaroundChristianvalues.Inwhatevertheydo,theystartwithprayers.

Lessons learntThe community highlighted a number of lessonswhichtheyhadlearntfromtheirtwelveyearsex-perienceoperatingasaresidentialchildren’shome.Thefollowingaresomeoftheselessonswhichtheywouldlikeotherstolearnfrom:

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• Involveothersandlearnfromthem,butnotde-pendonthem;

• Seekadviceandconsultwidely(internallyandex-ternally)beforemakingcostlymistakes;and

• Whenyouencounteraproblem,endure,prayaboutitandseekalternativesolutions.

Future plansThemanagementandstaffofGoodNewsChildren’sHomehadforesightandmadeplanstodevelopandgrow.Someoftheplansare:•Bakery project. Thiswillbeanincome-generating

activity,therevenuesofwhichwillbeexclusivelyusedtocompensatevolunteersfortheirtime.

•Rural polytechnic. Thecentreplanstoestablisharuralpolytechnicsothatchildrenwhograduatecanbeengagedinskillstrainingtoimprovetheirlivelihoods.

• Installation of mains electricity. ThecentrestillhadplansforthemaizemillprojectatthecentrebuthadtofindawayofbringingESCOMpowertothecentre.

•Entertainment for the centre’s children. ThecentreplanstoacquireatelevisionsetandDVDplayerforthechildren’sentertainment.

•Mechanisation of farming. Thecommunitycurrentlycultivatesthecentre’sfarmbutonlyasmallpieceof landiscultivated.Theplanistoincreasethislandandusemechanicalequipment to increaseproduction.

•Building maintenance: Sinceconstruction,nomajormaintenanceofthebuildingshasbeenundertaken.Thereareplanstocarryoutmaintenanceworkonallthemainbuildings.

Suggestions for improvementGoodNewsChildren’sHomecouldfollowtheexam-pleofChimtekaChildren’sSupportOrganizationinMchinji,whichloansoutfarminputstovolunteerswhoproducetheirowncropsandrepaytheinstitu-tionanagreedquantity,partofwhichisthenusedtofeedthecentre’schildren;thesurplusissoldtoraiseincomeforthecentre.Thissystemcouldalsomoti-vatepeopletovolunteertheir timeandresources.Thecentrecouldalsotrytointegratevillagesavingsandloansclubsinordertosupplementincome-gen-eratingactivity. ©

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TawongaCBO,Karonga

Location of the siteTawonga CBO is located in Traditional AuthorityMwilang’ombewhichistheresponsibilityofGroupVillageHeadmanMwakashunguti.TheCBOis inaremoteareacalledThawilo,whichis60kilometressouth of Karonga town on the outskirts of NyikaGameReserve.Theareaischaracterizedbyundulat-ingterrainwithsandysoils.Therainfall iserratic,usuallycausingdroughts.AlthoughKarongadistrictiswellknownforgrowingriceandcotton,thispar-ticularareamostlydependsonmaizeandsometo-bacco.Theregionbecomesunreachablebycarduringtherainyseason.

Establishment of the community-based organization (2001-2005)Until2004,TawongaCBOwaspartofChimwemweCBO.ChimwemweCBOstartedin2001,andby2004itcovered27villages.ItsoperationsbecametoolargeforoneCBOtoeffectivelymanage.Frequentcon-flictseruptedamongvillageheads,andfewerandfewerOVCcametobenefitfromtheCBO.ThereforeChimwemweCBOwasadvisedtoletgosomeofthevillagesitwasresponsiblefor,hencetheestablish-mentofTawongaCBO.TawongaregisteredasaCBOin2004.

TheaimofTawongaCBOwastoreducetheim-pactofHIV-relatedproblemsamongincreasingnum-bersofOVCandpeoplesufferingfromAIDS-relatedchronicillnesses.ItcoverstenvillagesunderGroupVillageHeadmanMwakashunguti.Atits inception,theCBOregistered185orphans(75maleand110female) inthetenvillages.Livelihoodactivitiesatthetimeofestablishmentincluded:• Productionofsoybeansforfeedingchildreninthe

CBCCswhichtheCBOhadestablishedineachofthetenvillages;

• AssistancetoOVChouseholdswithinputstogrowvegetables,tomatoesandmaizeforfoodandin-come;and

• Food assistance in the form of flour to needyhouseholdsoforphans,thechronicallyillandtheelderly.

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throughexternalsupport, theCBOraisedmostofthemthroughganyu,cultivationofcommunalgar-dens,door-to-doorcontributionsoffooditems,anddirectcontributionsoffooditemsbythevolunteermembers.Theyalsoprovidedbricks,sandandlabourforconstructionofCBCCs.Itissignificantthatvil-lagemembersparticipatedinCBOactivities(cultiva-tionofcommunalgardens,constructionofCBCCs,etc).

Development of the community-based organization (2006-2007)Uponadvicefromthedistrictsocialwelfareoffice,theselectionoforphansonlywasredefinedtoin-cludeothervulnerablechildren.ThenumberofOVCregisteredduringthisperiodthereforeincreasedto402fromthetenvillages.

During theperiod2006–2007,manyactivitieswerecarriedoutandmoreOVChouseholdswereas-sisted.TheCBOalsoreceivedfundingfromMASAF,whichhelpedtoincreasereachtoOVCwithmorelivelihoodinterventions.Livelihoodinterventionsimplementedduringthisperiodincluded:•Pig production. TheCBOwroteaproposaltoMASAF

andwasgrantedK1,027,000fortheconstructionofapigpenandthepurchasingofpigs.Theyboughtsixpigswhich,during thisperiod,produced15piglets.The15pigletswereissuedto15OVCwhowereeachexpectedtopassononeoffspringpiglettoanotherOVCinthefuture.

•Goat production. TwohundredgoatswereissuedtoOVCandvulnerablehouseholdsinallthevillages.Each recipientwasexpected topassononeoff-springtothenextOVC.

Other relevant activities•Construction of CBCCs for OVC and other children in

all ten villages.•Construction of a nursery school.•Capacity building: Varioustrainingandskillsbuild-

ingactivities, includingCBOmanagement,VSLmanagement, leadership,financialmanagement,aChildren’sCorner,HIVandAIDStraining,homebasedcare,etc.

•Provision of educational materials: TheCBOboughtschooluniformsfor40pupils,aswellasrecrea-tionalmaterialsandnurseryschoolkitsforCBCCs.

Maturity of the community-based organization (2008-2009)ThefouryearsofoperationasanindependentCBOfrom 2004 to 2007 gave Tawonga CBO enoughknowledgeandexperiencesothatitsactivitiesandservicesdemonstratedmorematurityandindepend-ence.Someofthesuccessstoriesduringthisperiodinclude:•Poultry production. Thirty-threeOVChouseholds

weregiven66guinea fowl (twoeach) inapass-onscheme.Whentheguineafowlstartedlayingeggs,therecipientOVCpassedonteneggstothenextOVC.

•Fruit production. Sixty-sevenOVChouseholdswereeachissuedwithfivegraftedfruittrees.Thisini-tiativewasmeanttoimprovehouseholdnutrition.

•Communal maize gardens. EachofthetenvillagessetasideanareaforavillagegardentoassistOVCand their households. During this period, theygrewmostlymaizetofeedchildrenintheCBCCs.

•Groundnut production. OVCandvulnerablehouse-holdsweregivenseedtoproducegroundnutsforfoodandincome.

•Maize seed and fertilizers. OVChouseholdswerealsogivenseedandfertilizerstoproducemaizeforcon-sumptionandsale.

• Introduction of village savings and loans associations. This initiativewasfirst introducedbyWorldVi-sion International. TheCBO formedaVSL sub-committeecomprisingmostlyhouseholdscaringforOVC.Atthetimeofthestudy,therewerethreefunctionalgroupswithatotalmembershipof75(25pergroup).Attheendof2008,thethreegroupshadsavedK536,039whichtheysharedandboughtfarminputsandotherhouseholdnecessities.

•School fees and uniforms. WithfundingfromWorldVision International, the CBO paid secondaryschoolfeesfor12needystudents.Fromitsresourc-es,theCBOboughtschooluniformsfor42needyprimaryschoolpupils.

Duringthisperiod,thefollowingchangeswereno-ticedamongOVCandtheirhouseholds:• MoreOVCwereenrolledinschoolsandregularly

attendedclasses;• Foodandnutrition security improvedowing to

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throughtheVSLclubswhichwasusedtobuyfoodand farm inputs, and improvedmeal frequencythroughtheCBCCfeedingprogramme;

• ThroughtheChildren’sCornerprogramme, thesociallifeofOVCimproved;

• OpennessindealingwithissuessurroundingHIVandAIDS;and

• Livestocknumbersinthearea,particularlyamongOVChouseholds,increased.

The benefits of the initiatives• Increased education opportunity. More OVC, who

wouldotherwisehavedroppedoutofschoolduetolackoffeesorothernecessities,weregiventheopportunitytocontinuewithorcompleteschool.

• Improved food and nutrition security. Through in-creased access to farm inputs, food productionamongOVChouseholdshadimprovedandOVClivelihoodshad improved.Directaccess to foodthroughCBCCfeedingprogrammes,aswellasdo-nationsoffoodtoneedyhouseholds,helpedin-creasethefoodandnutritionsituationforOVC.

•Accumulation of assets. Throughinterventionssuchas thegoat,pigandguinea fowl schemes, someOVChopedforincreasedincomeopportunitiesinthefuture.Althoughthefruit-treeinterventionwillyieldlong-termresults,thetreeswillneverthelessbeanimportantassettothefuturelivelihoodsofOVC.

• Improved self-esteem. Throughintensivesensitiza-tionaboutchildrights,psycho-socialsupport,andissuesofgenderandHIVandAIDS,theesteemoftheOVChadimproved.

Resources committed to the interventions•Pig production project. K1,027,000 of the MASAF

grantwasused topurchase sixpigs andon theconstructionofthepigpen.Thecommunitycon-tributedbricks,sand,quarrychips,waterandla-bour.OVChouseholdswhichhadbenefitedfromthedonationofpigletsconstructedtheirownpigpenswithsupportfromtheCBO.

•Guinea fowl production project. K100,000oftheNACgrantwasspentontheconstructionofahousingstructureforguineafowl,andasmalleramountonpurchasing25guineafowl.Thecommunitypro-videdlabour,bricks,sandandotherlocalmaterials.

•Construction of CBCCs. ThecommunityraiseditsownresourcestoconstructtenCBCCsinthevil-lages (estimatedatK75,000each)andanurseryschool. Materials used included bricks, cement,ironsheets,sandandpoles.

•Goat production project. Householdsthatbenefitedfromthegoatschemeconstructedtheirowngoatkholas.Theseareusuallysimplestructuresmadeofpoles.

Motivators for successThe Karonga district social welfare officer statedthat Tawonga CBO was doing much better thanChimwemweCBO.ThefollowingfactorscouldbebehindthesuccessofTawongaCBO:•Strong leadership. TheCBO’schairpersonisayoung

manwithpassionanddrivetomobilizethecom-munity.Hehasthestrongsupportofthegroupvil-lageheadmanandthevillageheadmen.Inthepast,heeventriedtostepdownfromthechairmanshipposition,butthetraditional leadersobjected.Hewasfinedagoatfortryingtosabotageasuccessfulvillageproject,andhewithdrewhisresignation.

• Decentralized structure of CBO management. EachvillagehasbeenempoweredtoreplicateCBOac-tivitiesintheirownvillage,withonlysomeactivi-tiesbeingdonecentrally.ThishascreatedpositivecompetitionamongvillagesandensuredthateachvillagedirectlybenefitsfromCBOactivities.

•Spirit of volunteerism. Volunteerismandworkingtogether seemtobeembedded in thesocial lifeofpeopleofthearea.ThespiritofvolunteerismmayalsobestrongbecausetheCBOhasoperatedonitsownforonlyfouryearsandthepeoplehavealreadywitnessedsomuchchange.

•Cooperation with village headmen. AllmajorCBOactivitiesaredonewithorthroughthegroupvil-lageheadmanandvillageheadmen,whichhasen-couragedvillagerstoparticipateinCBOcommunalactivities.

•Strong sense of purpose. Therewasastrongdesiretoaddresstheproblemoforphanhoodanddestitutionamongchildreninthearea.

Challenges faced • Inadequate CBCC and nursery school teachers. With

increasedenrolmentofchildren,itwasbecoming

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moredifficultforthefewteacherstocopewiththeworkload.

•Lack of CBO management skills. Mostofthecom-mitteemembershadnotundergonetrainingonCBOmanagementandasaresultsomeoftheissueswerebeinginadequatelydealtwiththroughtrialanderror.

Lessons learntThemembersoftheCBOfelttheyhadlearntmanylessonsfromtheexperience,whichincluded:• Whenyoushowcommitmenttohelpyourself,oth-

erswillbewillingtoassist;and• Whentheprocessistransparentandtheparticipat-

ingvillagesunderstandthebenefitsoftheproject,they are willing to commit their resources andtime.

Future plans•Maize mill. The village savings and loans clubs

plantobuyamaizemillat theendof2009us-ingthisyear’ssavings.SincetheysavedmorethanK500,000inthepreviousyear,thisgoal is likelytobeachieved.

•Expand OVC services. TheCBOplanstogrowto-baccointhe2009/10seasoninordertoexpandservicesrenderedtoOVC.

• Increase feeds for the pigs. Currently,theCBObuysmaizebranfromthecommunitytofeedthepigs.Thefutureplanistoletvillagescontributepigfeedsincethehouseholdsinthesevillagesbenefitfromtheproducts.

•Vocational skills centre. Thereisalreadyaskillsvo-cationalcentreabouttenkilometresfromtheareawhichwasbuiltbya localNGO,Lusubilo.NowthereareplanstoestablishasimilarcentreintheKarongaareawhereyoungboysandgirlscanlearnvariousskills.

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Summary of Key Issues

Livelihoodactivitiesimplemented

Inallthreecasestudies,OVCandtheirhouseholdsweredirectlyorindirectlyassistedthroughimple-

mentationofactivitiesthatenhancedfoodandnu-tritionsecurity,improvedOVCeducation,increasedincomeandincome-earningopportunities,andhelpedwiththebasicnecessitiesoflife(clothing,accommoda-tion,healthcare).Activitiesimplementedincluded:• Cultivationoffoodandcashcropssuchasmaize,

soybeans,vegetables,cottonandbeans;• Rearingof livestock suchas goats, guinea fowl,

pigs,rabbits,chickensanddairycattle;and• Income-generating activities such as maize

mill,ganyu, savings and loans anda ‘BigWalk’fundraiser.

Theyprovidededucationsupportthrough:• ConstructionofCBCCs;• Provisionofschoolfees,uniformseducationalma-

terials;and• Constructionofanurseryschool.

Theyalsoprovidedhealthcareandpsycho-socialsupportthrough:• Provisionofbasicdrugs and taking children to

hospital;and• Trainingandcounselling.

Benefitsofinitiatives

1.GeneralimprovementinthelivesofOVCandthoseoftheirhouseholdsChildren,whoseliveshavebeenwithouthope,nowhaveabrighterfutureandareacceptedasvaluablemembersofsociety.Decentaccommodation,healthymeals, adequate clothing, achievement at school,andsomeassetsfortheirfuturewealth–thesearemorethanOVCcouldhavehopedfor.Elderlygrand-motherslivingindilapidatedhouseswerehousedindecentiron-sheetroofedhousesoftheirownattheGoodNewsChildren’sHome:theirlifehadcertainlychangedforthebetter.

2.ImprovedfoodandnutritionsecurityThecommunityproduced food to feedOVCand/ortheirhouseholds.InthecaseoftheGoodNews©

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Children’sHome,childrenwerefedonadailybasis,evenwhenmosthouseholdsinthecommunityfacedcriticalfoodshortages.Itwasreportedthatthering-ingofmealbellswasstoppedbecausetheyattractedmanynon-residentchildrenfromsurroundingvillag-eswhowouldgate-crashandtakepartinmealtimes.OVChouseholdswhobenefitedfromtheinitiativesreportedimprovedmealfrequencyandreducedperi-odsofhunger.Itwasalsoreportedthatmorechildrenattendedschoolwhowouldotherwisehavedroppedoutduetohunger.

3.ImprovededucationIncreasedenrolmentofOVCinschoolsandconsist-entattendanceofclasseswasattributedtothein-terventionsthatthecommunitymadethroughtheinitiativesoutlinedabove.TheformerresidentsofGoodNewsChildren’sHomeweretestimonytothis:theytalkedabouttheirhighscoresatMalawiSchoolCertificateofEducationlevel.

4.LiveshavebeensavedOVChaveahigherchanceofcontractingdiseasesanddyingduetoinadequatecare.ThroughtheCBCCfeedingprogrammes,itwasreportedthatthehealthof thechildrenhad improved,and someachieve-mentsinthesecasestudieshavebeenoutstanding.Forexample,therehasbeennochilddeathforthepasttenyearsatGoodNewsChildren’sHomewhichsometimeshousesmorethan100children.

5.AssetbuildingMostOVCandtheirhouseholdsbenefitedfromgoats,pigsandguineafowl.Thesearelikelytocontinuetohelpthemmeetpartoftheirlivelihoodneedsinthefuture.

Thedrivingforceforsuccess

Strength of purposeThepassion tohelp thehelpless,needyOVCandtheirhouseholdsseemstobethemaindrivingforcebehindmostofthesuccessinthethreecommunityinitiatives.InthewordsofoneNtcheuwoman:“Wejustfeelcommittedtoassistthesechildrensothatthey can leadabetter life.After all, theyareourchildren.”

Ownership and responsibilityTheseprojectswereinitiated,managedandownedbythecommunity.Forexample,theGoodHopeChil-dren’sHomecommunityhadthefollowingtosaywithregardtothetwoboreholesthattheydugandinstalledandtheonethatwasdugandinstalledbyabenefactor:“Whenanyofourtwoboreholesbreaksdown,itdoesn’ttakeadaywithoutbeingfixedbe-causewedugthewellandfixedthepumpourselves.Weknowhowtodoitandwedoitourselves.Theboreholewhichwasfittedwiththesolarpumpwasdugandthesystem(includingthetowerforthewatertank,piping)installedforus.Sinceitbrokedown,wehavebeenunabletodoanythingaboutitbecausewedon’tknowwheretostartfrom.”(FocusGroupDiscussion,Chikwawa).

Similarly, inNtcheu(ChitunguCBO)thecom-munitysawthatwhensomeprojectsweredecentral-izedtovillages,andlaterindividualOVChouseholds,therewasmorecommitmentfromtheparticipatingvillages. As a result, each of the nine participat-ingvillages cultivated itsownvillagegardenandconstructeditsownpigpentoassistOVCintheirvillage,withtheCBOcommitteeonlymonitoringimplementation.

Inthesameway,Similarly,theTawongaCBOap-proachtodecentralizingCBCCsandpigandguineafowlproductiontothevillages,andlatertoindivid-ualOVChouseholds,yieldedbetterresults.

Spiritual/social bondingFromitsfoundation,spirituallifehasbeenthecor-nerstone of the Good News Children’s Home inChikwawadistrict.Beforemembersstarttheirdailychores,theymeetandsharethewordofGod.Evenchildrenatthecentreprayandreceivespiritualcoun-sellingacoupleoftimesaday.Inallthreecasestud-ies, therewere indicationsofastrongsocialbondamongthemembers.AskedwhytheyvolunteeredtoassisttheOVCortheirhouseholdswithoutexpectingtobepaid,thewomeninmostofthesesitessaidthefollowingabouttheircommitment:“IknowthatonedaywhenIdie,someonewillhavetotakecareofmychildren.Sowhyshouldn’tIdoitforotherswhileIamalive?”Theyalsothoughtthat,socially,womenhadstrongeremotionalfeelingsabouttheplightofchildrenthanmen.


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Leadership and OrganizationLeadership,bothonthepartofthosewhowereman-agingtheinitiativesonaday-to-daybasisandtra-ditional leadership,wasatthecentreofsuccess inimplementingtheseprojects.

Challengesandfailuresencountered

Implementation of these projects was certainlychallenging.Attimes,communitiesfacedtough

hurdlesandevenfailures.However,whentheyfeltdiscouraged,theygatheredstrengthtofacethechal-lengesandmoveon.Whilesomeofthehurdlestheyfacedwereinternal,otherswereexternal,andsomewerebeyondtheircontrol.Thefollowingsummarizesthesechallenges:

1.InstitutionalfactorsDelays in the release of support promised to theCBO,suchasfundsfromMANASOforthemaizemillprojectinNtcheu,mayhaveaffectedthemoraleofthecommunitymembers.WhilethisparticularcasecannotbegeneralizedtoMANASOasaninstitution,anemployeeofMANASOshouldtakeresponsibilityfortheunreasonabledifficultiestheCBOhadtoen-duretogetthemaizemill.Similarly,thecaseofChi-tunguCBObeinggivenadairycowprojectinsteadoftheirrequestedmaizede-huller impliesthatanofficial,whowassupposedtobeprovidingaservicetotheinstitution,perhapsignoredthecommunity’sneedsandrequirements,ordidnotexplainingoodtimewhyanalternativedecisionhadbeentaken.Asa result, theCBOwasnot ready for thecowsandthereforefacedthechallengesoffeedingandmanag-ingtheanimals.

2.TechnologicalfactorsTechnology isoneof thekeys to success,butun-fortunately italsocomeswithitsownchallenges.TheGoodNewsChildren’sHomemaizemillprojectwasonesuchtechnologythatbroughtwithitvari-ouschallenges.Firstly, thewrongtechnologywasproposedand funded (adiesel insteadofelectric-propelledengine),andsecondlytheexorbitantcostoftherelatedtechnology(K3,000,000foratrans-former)meantthecommunitycouldnotaffordit.Solar-pumpingtechnologyalsoputthecentreina

hopelesssituationwhenthepumpbrokedown.Solarpumpingisknowntobemoresustainableandappro-priatetoaruralenvironment,butitrequirestrainedpeopletofixit.Technologyalsoletdownthedairycowproject inChitunguCBOinNtcheuwhenthecowswereunabletoconceiveafterbeingartificiallyinseminated.Suchchallengescanmakeimplement-ingcommunitiesfeeldesperate.

3.Socio-cultural(scepticism,insinuationandridicule)Asinmostdevelopmentprojects, thetendencyofsomemembersof thecommunitywanting todis-credit a successful initiative was common acrossthethreecasestudies.Volunteersconstantlyfacedridicule,negativeremarks,unpleasantinsinuationsandevenscepticismfortheirmotives,buttheywereneverdeterredfromachievingtheirgoals.

4.InadequateresourcesIn the three case studies, the communities wereunable to adequately reach all the intended OVChouseholds in theirareas,mainlydue to resourceconstraints.

Lessonslearntfromtheexperiences

Participantslearntagreatdealfromtheirexperi-ences,andinparticulartwothings:

•Ownership and responsibility. Whentheytookown-ershipandresponsibilityforaproject,andevenenduredpersonalsacrificeforaninitiative,otherswerewillingtoassist.

•Transparency and accountability. Whenleadershippractisedtransparencyandaccountability,mem-bersof the community feltmore confident andcommittedtodevotetheirtimeandresources.

Suggestionsforimprovement

Thesuggestionsbelowaremadewiththeunder-standingthattheachievementscitedinthecase

studieswereprobablythebestthatcouldhavebeenmadewithintheconstraintsofresourcesandexper-tise.Itisalsoacknowledgedthatsomeofthesesug-gestionsmaybetransferredtoothercommunities,dependingonexistingsituations.


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1.IntegrationofvillagesavingsandloansclubswithinCBOsTawonga CBO managed to effectively integrateVSLclubswithintheCBOset-uptotheextentthatthetargetedOVChouseholdswithlabourcapacityseemedtoreducedependencyontheCBOforincomeormaterialsupport.Suchintegrationwaslesspromi-nentinChitunguCBO.IntensificationofVSLclubsamongOVChouseholdsandvolunteersinalltheseCBOsisthereforesuggested.Wherepossible,theso-cialcashtransferschemeimplementedinMchinjiandotherdistrictscouldbelinkedtoCBOandVSLinitiatives.

2.SkillsbuildingforteenageOVCSkills building for OVC was identified by all theprojectsunderreviewasbeingvitalforfuturelive-lihoodsdevelopmentof theOVC.However, skillsbuildingwasnotbeinggivenpriorityeitherbecauseofresourcelimitationsorlackofexpertiseandknowl-edge. Institutions like the Good News Children’sHomeoffermuchbetteropportunitiesforchildrentoattendskills-buildingsessionsduringafternoonsafternormalschooland/orweekendsoff.SuchskillscouldbeinagriculturethroughamodifiedformofJFFLSinwhichchildrencouldlearnaboutcropandlivestockproduction,orcraftskillssuchascarpentry,brickworkandtailoring.Thiswouldenhancetheirlivelihoodopportunitiesoncetheyhavegraduatedfromcentres.Similarly,CBOscouldalsouseCBCCstructurestoteachteenageOVCsuchskills.

3.AssistancetovolunteersthatcareforOVCMostof thework in the threeprojectswasbeingdonebyvolunteers. Itseemsthatthesevolunteersoffertheirservicesatenormouscosttothemselves;forexample,theyriskfoodinsecurityintheirownhomesorexperiencemarriageproblems.Currently,theyvolunteerbecausetheyfeelmorally,spirituallyorsociallyobliged,buttheymightnotbesowill-inginthefuture.Resourcespermitting,theprojectscouldannuallyloanvolunteerssomefarminputstoproducetheirownmaize,beansorsoybeans.Vol-unteerscouldthenrepaytheinstitutionsanagreedamountorcontributetothecentre’sfoodbank.Suchaprogrammewouldbenefitbothvolunteersandcen-tres,sincefoodsecurityandself-sufficiencywouldbe

ensured.ThisisonlyonepossiblewayofmotivatingthevolunteersaswellasincreasingfoodandincomesforOVCcareandsupport.

4.CooperatingwithallgovernmentextensionagentsApartfromsocialwelfareofficers,linkagewithothercommunity-basedgovernmentextensionagentswasunclear.Itmustbeemphasizedthatgovernmentex-tensionagentsareimportanttoprovidingtechnicalandpolicyadvice.Therearevariousreasonsfortheweak relationshipbetweengovernmentextensionagentsandtheCBOsorchildcarecentres,but it issuggestedthatstrongrelationshipsbeestablishedinordertoavoidcostlymistakesinthefuture.Althoughitistheresponsibilityofcommunitiestolinkupandseekadviceandservicesfromvariousgovernmentagents, it isalsotheresponsibilityof the latter tocultivateinterestbyvisitingsuchinitiativesandpro-vidingnecessaryadvice.

5.Respondingtothecommunity’sneedsThecaseinwhichChitunguCBOrequestedamaizeshellerandinsteadwasgivenfivedairycowswhichtheyeventuallyfailedtomanageisaclassiccaseofdisregardingpeople’sneeds.AsGroupVillageHead-manMasitimalesaid:“Ifyoubringsomething,wewillneversayno”,butifacommunity’sneedsarenot addressed, they will feel neither committednorresponsibleforaproject inthelongterm.TheChitunguCBOcaseisperhapsanisolatedone,butnonethelessitservesasanimportantlessonforserv-iceproviders,whoneedtolistenandrespondtotheneedsofcommunities.Ifacommunity’sneedscan-notbemet,membersshouldbeinformedandalter-nativessuggestedanddiscussed.

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Part 3: Potential for Scaling Up the Best Practices



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Introduction

Theproblemoforphansandvulnerablechildrenisadauntingchallengetodevelopmentandre-

quires concerted efforts. It is recognized that thesocialandeconomicchallengesthatOVCface,andtheimplicationsofthesechallengesfordevelopment,varyacrosscontextsandover time.Basedonthisunderstanding,thesocialsupportresponsesshouldbetailoredtolocallyrelevantpriorities,preferablyidentifiedbytheaffectedcommunitiesratherthanoutsiders.

SincetheemergenceofAIDS,localcommunitieshaverespondedtotheproblemsofOVCinvariousways.ThereisnodoubtthatsomeoftheresponseshavebeenveryeffectiveinmitigatingthenegativeimpactsandimprovingthelivelihoodsoftheOVCandtheirhouseholds.However,thesesmallscaleor‘boutique’-typeinterventions,coupledwithlittleornoinformationdocumentedorsharedaboutthem,meanstheyhaveremainedsmallandtheirimpactatnationallevelhasbeenminimal.

To effect broader change, it is imperative forallkeyplayerstomakeaconcertedefforttocreateawarenessofthepositiveimpactsofsuchsuccessfulinterventions,withthehopeofscalingthemupatdistrict,nationalorregionallevels.Itisagainstthisbackgroundthat theUnitedNationsandPartners

Allianceon livelihood-based socialprotection forOVCdecidedtoundertakethisstudytodocumentsuccessstoriesoflivelihood-basedsocialprotectionforOVC.

Thisstudyhadfourkeycomponentsrelatedtolivelihood-basedsocialprotectionforOVC:• Analysisofthecountrysituation;• Observationofcasestudiesdocumentingsuccess

stories;• Analysisofthecasestudiesfortheirpotentialfor

scalingup;and• Fieldguideforinitiatingandimplementingcom-

munitydriveninterventions.

Thispartofthereportfocusesonthethirdaspect,i.e.analysisofthecasestudiesforscalingup.There-fore,thisreport:• Brieflyoutlinesthecontextofthecasestudies;• Analyses theperformanceof thecasestudies to

justifytheirinclusionassuccessstories;• Discussesthemodelsofchildcareusedinthecase

studies;• Analysesthepotentialforscalingup;• Identifieskeyissuesforimprovement;• Makesrecommendationsforscalingup;and• Discussesfeasibilityforscalingup.

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Fromtheoutset, ithastobeemphasizedthatincontrasttosomestudiesthathavereviewedbest

practicesimplementedasprojects(externallyinitiat-ed),thecasesselectedforthisstudywereallcommu-nityinitiatedandmanaged.Forthisreason,unlessotherwisespecified,theword‘project’inthisreporthasbeenusedinthecontextofcommunitydriveninitiativesandnotintheconventionalsenseofex-ternallyinitiatedandledruraldevelopmentprojects.

Identificationofthecasestudiesandmethodologyfordatacollection

Identification and selection of micro-level ru-raldevelopmentinitiativesasbestpracticecases

willalwaysbeacontentiousissueduetoproblemsofavailabilityofinformationandsometimesduetodecisionsinfluencedbyvestedinterests.Whilethisstudymaynotbeimmunetothesekindsofhumanbiases,byusingdistrictsocialwelfareofficerswhoare the government officers mandated to overseeall issuesrelatedtoOVCindistricts,andthroughinvolvementofdifferentstakeholders intheselec-tionprocess,itishopedthatselectionbiaswasmini-mized.Itshouldalsobenotedthatalthoughthesearecalled‘bestpractices’or‘successstories’,itdoesnotinanywaysuggestthattheyarethebestinthecountry.Whatthissimplymeansisthatbasedonthesetcriteriaandwithintheresourcelimitationsofthestudy,theselectedprojectsofferedusefullessonsforinitiationandimplementationofasuccessfulprojectwithintheparametersoflivelihoodsupportforOVC.Onthesamenote,whileappreciatingthegrowingimportanceofperi-urbanOVCsituations,thestudydidnotpurposelysamplesuchsettingsandthereforethisshouldberecognizedasoneofthelimitationsofthestudy.

Basedon theseassertionsand facts, threecasestudieswereselectedfromaninitialshortlistoftenwhichwereidentifiedthroughdistrictsocialwelfareofficesinsevendistrictsacrossallthethreeregionsof the country. The three case studies (Chitungucommunity-basedorganizationinNtcheuDistrict,GoodNewsChildren’sHomeinChikwawadistrict,and Tawonga community-based organization inKarongadistrict)werefinallychosenforanalysisaf-tertworoundsofsitevisits.Duringthefinalvisit,

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participatoryruralappraisaltoolswereusedtoso-licitviewsoftheimplementingcommunities.Ateachsite,mixedgroupsofwomenandmen,andseparategroupsofdirectbeneficiaries(OVCorOVChouseholdheads)wereformed.Eachgrouprespondedtoasetofquestions.Smallgroupdiscussionswerefollowedbyplenarypresentationswheregroupscross-checkedeachotherandaddedorcorrectedsomefacts.Sinceinmostcaseseachof thesmallgroupsrespondedto thesamesetofquestions, itwaseasy toverifyconsistencyoffactsandhowwell informationwassharedamongthemembersofthecommunity.Fo-cusgroupdiscussionswithcommunityleaderswereconductedafterthegeneralgroupexercises.Selectedbeneficiariesnarratedtheirlifestoriesinone-on-onediscussionswiththeresearchers.

Characteristicsoftheselectedsites

Geographic locationEachofthethreeselectedsitesislocatedindifferentregionsofthecountry.TawongaCBOis locatedinthenorthernlakeshoredistrictofKaronga,whichischaracterizedbyshortrainfallseasonsandpersistentdryspells.Thesiteisinaruralsettingwithminimaloff-farmeconomicopportunities.

ChitunguCBOislocatedinthecentralhighlanddistrictofNtcheuwhich ischaracterizedbygoodrainfallandrelativelyfertilesoils.Thesiteiscloseto

thetownofNtcheuandofferssomeopportunitiesforoff-farmemployment.

GoodNewsChildren’sHome(GNCH)is inthesouthernendofthecountryinthelowerShireRiverValley.The location ishotanddrywithconstantdroughtsandfloods,andisinatypicalruralsettingwhereoff-farmeconomicincentivesareminimal.

Objectives and target clienteleTheseprojectswereinitiatedwiththecommonaimofminimizingorphanhoodandtheproblemsfacedbyOVCintheircommunities.Insomeprojectsothervulnerablegroupssuchastheelderly,peoplelivingwithHIV,chronicallyillpeopleanddisabledpeoplewerealsotargetedwithspecific interventions.Forthepurposesofthisstudy,thefocuswasonOVCandOVChouseholds.

Period of existenceEachofthethreeCBOsstudiedhasbeeninexistenceforbetweeneightand12years.Duringtheseyears,theinitiativeshaveallprogressivelygrownbothinthenumberofOVCassistedandinthenumberofinterventionsimplemented.

Atthetimeofthestudy,TawongaCBOwascov-eringtenvillagesunderonegroupvillageheadman(GVH);ChitunguCBOwasoperatinginninevillagesunderoneGVH;andGNCHhadacatchmentof36villagesinfiveGVH.In2008/09,thetotalnumbers

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ofOVCinthecatchmentareasofTawonga,Chitun-guandGNCHwereestimatedat402,525and2,000respectively.

StrategiesThethreecasestudieshaveagreatdealincommon.Firstly,theywereallbornoutoftheneedtosolvetheproblemsthataffectedmanyhouseholdsintheircommunities,i.e.AIDS-relatedillnessesanddeaths,and increasednumbersofdestitutechildren,par-ticularlyorphans.Secondly,theywereinitiatedbyafewmembersoftheircommunitieswhopromotedtheideaandmobilizedothermemberstojointhem.Thirdly,therespectivecommunitiesownedandman-agedboththeprocessesandtheoutcomes.However,therewereslightdifferences intheapproach.TheapproachofChitunguandTawongaCBOswasthatofprovidingassistancetohouseholdswhiletherestoftheprocessofcareandsupporttoOVCorthechroni-callyillremainedtheresponsibilityoftherespectivehouseholds.Intheprocessofscalinguptheirinter-ventions,bothCBOsaddedthedaychildcareandvillagesavingsandloans(VSL)components.Ontheotherhand,GNCHusedtheresidentialchildcareap-proachwheretheyprovidedallthecareandsupportthechildrenneededawayfromtheirhouseholds.Thetwodifferentapproachescanbeattributedtothedif-feringobjectivesoftheprojects.

Inthelightofthesecasestudies,itcanthereforebe concluded that for a community initiated andmanagedgrouptostaytogetherforalongperiodoftime,itneedsthefollowing:• Thereshouldbepeopleinthecommunitywhofeel

passionateabout theplightof theOVCand theneedtodosomethingabouttheproblem.

• Thesecommunityinitiatorsshouldsensitizeandmobilize others so that the problem is felt andownedbythewidercommunity.

While these are fundamental to all community-drivendevelopmentinitiatives,theobservationinthisparticularcasewasoutstanding,consideringthatwiththeemergenceofHIVandAIDStherehasbeenaproliferationofexternallyinitiatedinterventions,someofwhichhavediminishedcommunities’de-siretoseeklocalsolutionstoHIVandAIDS-relatedproblems. ©

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Thispartoftheanalysisreviewstheperformanceofthethreecasestudiesinordertoauthenticate

theircredibilityassuccessfulmodelsof livelihoodsupportforOVC.Theanalysisthereforetriestotackletwobasicquestions:“Whyshouldthesebecalledsuc-cessstories?”and“Whatfactorsqualifythemtobebestpractices?”Inthisregard,threefactors–sustain-ability,effectivenessandefficiency–deemedcriticalforthesuccessofanycommunitydriveninterven-tion,wereconsideredintheanalysis.

Sustainability

Indevelopmentwork,sustainabilityof interven-tionsismostdesiredasawayofensuringlong-

lastingandconsistentimprovementinpeople’slives.Bydefinition,astudyofsustainabilityseekstodeter-minetheextenttowhichtheresultsofaninterven-tionhavehadorarelikelytohavelastingeffectsafterthetimeoftheinitialintervention.Thisdefinitionismainlyfromtheperspectiveofanexternallyiniti-atedintervention.Inthecaseofcommunity-initiatedandmanagedinterventionslikethecasestudiesun-derreview,sustainability isdeterminedbytheex-tenttowhichthecommunity-initiatedprojectwasabletoyieldconsistentresultsoveralongperiodoftime.Withinthiscontext,theanalysisinthisstudyconsideredanumberofaspectsfromboththeinputandoutputsides.

The input side (sustainability of activities and processes)

ProgressiveexpansionofactivitiesandcoverageAllthethreecasestudyprojectsoperatedandprovid-edservicestoOVCforeightyearsormore.TawongaCBOfunctionedaspartofChimwemweCBOfrombetween2001and2004,andhasstoodonitsownsincethen.GNCHwasinitiatedin1998andrecruit-edtwelvechildrenforresidentialcareandsupportin1999,gradually increasingthenumbersuntil itreached107childrenin2008.Chitungustartedin1997andhasprogressivelyexpandeditsservicestoOVCeversince.

AllthreeprojectsgrewfromengaginginasmallnumberofactivitiesandprovidingservicestoafewOVCandOVChouseholds.Theygraduallyexpanded

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therangeofactivitiesandservices,reachingouttoalargenumberofOVCandOVChouseholds.

GNCHinChikwawadistrictstartedwithpersonalcontributionsofmoney,foodandlabourtoconstructthechildren’shomeandinitiallyprovideresidentialcare and support to12children.Thecentregrewthroughengagementinawiderangeof livelihoodactivitiesthathelpedthemtoraiseincomeandcol-lectfoodforresidentialcareofaround100childrenin2008/9.Activitiesexpandedfromprovidingas-sistancethroughfoodcontributionsandganyu(piecework)duringtheestablishmentphaseofthecentre,tothecurrentsituationinwhichitproducesitsownmaizeandvegetablesandsomemeatproductstofeedthechildren.Thecentrealsomanagedtodiversifyitsincome-earningopportunitiestoincludeamaizemill:thiswillensuresufficientgenerationofmoneytobuyfarminputsandmeetthebasicneedsofthecentre.GNCHeventuallymanagedtobuildperma-nent structures for the residence of the children,whichwilllikelytakethemsomeyearsintothefu-turewithoutmajorre-investment.

TawongaCBOinKarongadistrictalsorecordedgrowthintermsofactivitiesforassistingOVC.Atthetimeofestablishment,Tawongadependedonraisingmoneythroughganyuandcontributionsofmoneyandfoodfromthecommitteemembersandthecommu-nityinordertoassistOVCandOVChouseholds.Ithassincegrownandenhancedtheabilityofsometargethouseholdstobeself-sufficientinfoodandincome.Throughprovisionoffarminputs,guineafowl,goatsandpigs,theprojecthasenhancedlivelihoodoppor-tunitiesforthebeneficiaryhouseholds.ItsgrowthhasalsobeenrecordedintheexpansionprogrammeoftheVSLschemewherebeneficiaryhouseholdshaverecordedsuccessinsavingandaccumulatingincomesfortheirhouseholds’day-to-dayneeds.

ChitunguCBOhasasimilarstory.Whenitwases-tablishedin1997,itcouldonlyprovidesomehelpto50OVCwithmoneyraised(aboutK3,800)throughafund-raisingwalkknownasthe‘BigWalk’,andganyu(aboutK500).By2009theywereabletoreachoutto561OVCwithdifferentkindsofsupport.Atthetimeofthestudy,theCBOhadjustreceivedagrantof27pigsfromOrphanSupportAfrica,threeforeachoftheninevillagepiggeriesmeantforbreedingpur-posesanddistributiontoOVCinapass-onschemein

therespectivevillages.In2007,20OVChouseholdseachreceivedagoat.Althoughfourofthe20goatsdied,the16thatsurvivedhadallreproducedinthefirsthalfof2009,giving17kidsintotal.Sofar,16moreOVCareexpectedtobenefitfromtheschemethroughsecond-generationoffspring.TheCBOalsocompletedinstallationofamaizemillwhich,ifwellmanaged,willreducedependenceonoutsidehelpinfundingcommunity-basedchildcarecentres(CBCC)activitiesandserviceprovisiontoOVChouseholds.

Overall, this is an incredible recordof successconsideringthatmostdevelopmentinitiativesrarelyexist beyond five years after initial intervention.Therefore,thethreecasestudiescould,intermsoftheirperiodsofoperation,besaidtohavesurpassedexpectation.

The output side (sustainability of outcomes and benefits)

PredictableaccesstofoodandnutritionbyOVCthroughouttheyearThechildrenofGNCHreportedhavingtastyandnu-tritiousmealsthreetimesadayduringtheirstayatthecentre.Thismealschedulecontinuedevendur-ingleanperiodsoftheyearandintheyearsofacutefoodshortageinthearea. IntheCBCCs,childrenreceivedmealseverydayirrespectiveofthetimeoftheyear.Throughsuchinterventions,childrenwereencouragedtostayinthechildcarecentresbecausetheyknewtheywouldeatsomethingorevenbetterfoodthantheywouldnormallyeatathome.

PredictableaccesstoeducationforOVCThroughsupporttheyreceivedfromtheprojects,theeducationofsomeOVChadimproved.Thoseinresi-dentialcarecentre(GNCH)wereassurededucationsupportaslongastheywereinthecentre.ThroughtheCBOs,someOVCreceivededucationsupportintheformofschoolandexaminationfeegrants.

SustainablemeansofearningincomesforOVCandOVChouseholdsSome beneficiaries acquired capacity to fend forthemselves.Thefollowinghighlightsomeofsuchopportunitiesthatwereprovidedthroughthethreeprojects:


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• InTawongaCBO,in2008,75OVChouseholdspar-ticipatinginaVSLschememanagedtosaveandshareK536,039,andin2009theywereplanningtobuyandinstallamaizemillinthevillage.

• OVC and OVC households that received guineafowl(TawongaCBO)hadthepotentialtoraisenotless thantenguineafowlayear.Fromeggsalesalone,theywouldbecapableofearninganesti-matedamountofK100,000peryearfromabout2,000eggs,consideringthateachhenlaysbetween250and300eggsperyear.Guineafowleggsareusuallysoldatahigherprice(betweenK50andK60each)thanchickeneggs(betweenaboutK25andK30each).

• SomeoftheOVCwhograduatedfromGNCHbe-tween2006and2008were implementing skillshadlearntduringtheirstayatthecentre,andweregrowingandsellingvegetablestoraisemoneytomeettheirlivelihoodneeds.

Factors that contributed to the sustainability of activities and services

AbilitytodealwithconflictsandchallengesDuring thesemanyyearsofexistenceandservicedelivery, members of these community-managedprojectsacquiredvitalexperience throughresolv-inginternalconflictsanddealingwithchallengestheyfaced;butmoreimportantwastheirresiliencetochallengingcircumstances.Ifitwerenotfortheircoherenceandresilience,thechallengeshighlightedbelowcouldeasilyhavedestroyedtheirzeal,andaf-fectedprogress.

Maize mill project ThemaizemillprojectforChitunguCBOwasbothachallengeandasuccess.Itwasachallengebecausetheprojecttooksixyearsbetweeninceptionandim-plementation.In2003,theybidforandreceivedagrantforamaizemillfromMANASO.TheyreceivedaninitialsumofK59,100fortheconstructionofthemaizemillhouse.Uponcompletionofthebuilding,MANASOaskedtheCBOtoinstallelectricitybeforethemaizemillcouldbesupplied.Itturnedoutthatelectricity installationwastoocostlyforthecom-munity.Theprojectwastemporarilysuspendedun-tilOrphanSupportAfrica(OSA)wasapproachedfor

support.OSAprovidedmorethanK600,000forthepowertransformer,aswellasotherfundsforwiring.However,whenthisworkwascompletein2007,MA-NASOwasunabletosupplythemaizemill. IttooktheinsistenceoftheCBOcommitteeduringseveralfollow-uptripstoMANASOheadofficeinBlantyre(sometimesaccompaniedbyofficersfromthedistrictsocialwelfareoffice),forthemaizemilltobedeliv-ered.Eventhen,somevitalpartssuchasthestarterandbeltsweremissingfromthemaizemill,sothecommunityhadtouseotherfundstopurchasethemissingparts.Ifithadnotbeenfortheirinsistenceanddecisiontoseekalternativefunding,theprojectcouldhavefailed.Accordingtothecommunity,theyfeltfrustratedaboutthewayMANASOhandledtheproject,yetwerealsodeterminedtohavethemillinstalledandrunningbecausetheybelieveditwastheirssinceMANASOhadformallycommitteditselftoprovidingitinthefirstplace.

Similarly,themaizemillprojectforGNCH’swasbothachallengeanda success.Thechallenge forGNCH’smaizemillwasslightlydifferenttothatofChitunguCBOthough.In2005,theysubmittedaproposaltoChitunguCBOMASAFforamaizemillpropelledbyadieselengineandreceivedK1,666,664.However,when fundingcameandthemillhousewasbuilt,thewomenobjectedtotheideaofadie-selenginemaizemillbecausetheybelieveditmadethe flour smell smoky.Analternativeplanwas toinstallanelectricmotormaizemill.Whenevery-thingwaspurchasedandwiringcompleted,ESCOM(ElectricitySupplyCorporationofMalawi)demandedK3,000,000forthepowertransformerwhichthecen-trehadnotincludedintheirproposal.MASAFwasunabletoprovideadditionalfundsandtheprojectstalledforthreeyearswhiletheCBOdecidedhowtogetaroundtheproblem.Itwasonlyin2008thattheydecidedtobuildanotherstructureatalocationwheretherewasanexistingtransformer,tenkilome-tresawayfromthecentre.Workwascompletedandthemaizemill startedoperating inJanuary2009.Whenothergroupsmighthavegivenup,thisCBOmanagedtofindasolution.

Dairy cow project In 2006, Chitungu CBO submitted a proposal toMASAFforamaizede-hullerorsheller;insteadthey

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receivedfundingforfivedairycows.Housingstruc-tureswerebuiltandthecowswerebought.Sincetheydidnothaveanexoticbulltomatewiththecows,theyengagedanartificialinseminationtechniciantoservicethecows.Unfortunately,theartificialinsemi-nationwasunsuccessfulevenafterseveralattempts.This,coupledwith the fact that theCBOwasnotreadyforthecowsintermsoffeedingandgeneralmanagement, ledtotheCBOrequestingtosellthecows.Moneyrealizedwasusedtobuygoatswhichweregivento20OVC.TheCBOobviouslyshowedsignsoffrustrationatbeinginadequatelysupportedtechnicallyandatnothavingtheir initialrequestgranted,yetwhenthecowprojectfailedtheyfoundameaningfulalternative.

Theseareonlysomeoftheissuesthatdemonstratetheresilienceoftheprojectsandmembers’abilitytosolveorcircumventmajorchallenges.Thespiritofresilienceandthecouragetofacechallengesandseekalternativesolutionshascontributedtothelongsurvivaloftheprojects.Significantly,theseprojectsalldemonstratedsignsofprogressfarintothefuture.

DevelopmentofinternalcapacityformanagementofprojectsandactivitiesCapacityto technically, financiallyandadministra-tivelymanageprojectsandtheiractivitiesiscrucialfortheirsurvival.Enhancedcapacityofcommuni-tiestomanagetheirprojects isafair indicationofsustainability.Thethreeprojectsdemonstratedinter-nalcapacitytocarryoutandsustainsomeactivitiesontheirownwithoutmuchdependenceonoutsidehelp.Thefollowingaresomeoftheachievementsthatwerenotedasevidenceofthiscapacity:

1. Technical capacity•Pig production. Exoticpigsareusuallyaproblem

tomanage,particularlyamongsmallholderfarm-ers,butTawongaCBOmanageditspigproductionproject sowell that from four sowsobtained in2007,theydistributed15pigletstoOVCin2008,andwereexpectingtodistributemorein2009.

•Vegetable production. GNCHsuccessfullymanagedtoincorporatemodernmethodsofvegetablegar-dening such as the trench method (which usesorganicmanure)andthesackmethod(plantingvegetablesinsackswhichcaneasilybetransported

orplantedinabackyardinlimitedspace).Withtheseskills,theywereabletoproducemorethanenoughvegetablestofeedthechildrenandforsalelocally.Itwasencouragingtonotethatincreasingnumbersofpeoplewerecomingtothecentretolearnaboutthenewtechnology.Thetechnologywasalsotaughttotheboysandgirlsatthecentre.

•Construction. Inall thethreeprojects,structureswerebuiltusinglocalartisans.Thisnotonlymadeconstructioncheaperbutalsoincreasedopportu-nityforlocalsolutionstolocalproblems.Thecon-structionprojectsincludedbricklaying,carpentry,shallow-wellconstructionandwiringofbuildings.

2. Financial capacity•Sourcing funds for projects. Inallthethreecasestud-

ies,thecommunitiesdemonstratedskillsandex-perienceindevelopingandsellingproposalsfortheirdevelopmentinterventions.Asaresult,do-norswerewilling to fundsomeof theactivitiestocomplementthecommunities’efforts.Allthreeprojects receivedgrants from somegovernmentprogrammessuchasMASAFandNAC.Inaddition,ChitunguCBOsecuredfundingfromOSA,Africare(I-Lifeprogramme)andMANASO.TawongaCBOreceived additional support from World Vision,whileGNCHreceivedadditionalgrantsfromwell-wishersforaborehole,installationofasolar-waterpumpingsystemandasolarlightingsystem.

•Financial accountability. Thefactthattheseprojectsreceivedfundsanumberoftimesfromdifferentdonorsisafairindicationthatcommunitieswereable to account for money they received. In allthreecases,communitiescouldprovideevidenceofhowdonormoneywasspentandmanaged.Theseskillsmightalsohavehelpedtosustaintheper-formanceoftheprojects.

3. Administrative capacity GNCH has an established structure comprising aboardofdirectors(representedbythetraditionalau-thorityofthearea,allthegroupvillageheadmen,thefoundingmemberofthecentre,andrepresenta-tivesofvillageheadmen,OVChouseholdsandthecentrecoordinator).Thecentrecoordinatorissup-portedbyastorespersonandvolunteers.Thiskindofstructureensuresaccountabilityandtransparency


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whichareimportantingredientsforsustainability.ThetwoCBOs(TawongaandChitungu)havestand-ardstructures,assuggestedbytheMinistryofWom-enandChildDevelopment intheirguidelines fortheestablishmentandmanagementofaCBO.Moreimportantly,thetwoCBOshavedecentralisedpartoftheresponsibilitytoindividualvillagesthroughvillagecommittees.Allthreeprojectswereformallyregisteredwiththeirrespectivedistrictsocialwelfareofficeswhichmakesiteasierforthedistrictassemblytoprovideadviceandsupportandtointervenewheretheyseeaproblem.

Self-dependenceOnereasonwhymostruraldevelopmentprojectsfailtosustainthemselvesbeyonddonorinterventionistheirunwillingnesstouseinternalsupportasameansfor self-reliance in the long term. However, whatmakesthesethreecasestudiesuniqueisthattheydependedlessonoutsidehelpandmoreontheirownresources.Theyusedmorelocalresourcesandonlyre-ceivedexternalassistancetosupplementtheireffort.

ThepeopleinvolvedinGNCHprovedtheirde-terminationbyusingtheirownmoneytoconstructapermanentbuilding(brick-walled,cementedfloorandiron-sheetroofing)comprisingtwodormitoryrooms(boysandgirls),amulti-purposehallandanoffice/storeroom.Theyalsoconstructedakitchenandsickbay(forisolationofsickchildrenwhoresideoncampus)withoutanymajorsupportfromoutside.Theyusedthecommunity’sresourcestoprovidepo-tablewatertothecentrethroughthreeshallowwellswhichweredugandhadwaterpumpsinstalled.Theyalsocontributedmoneytobuyfarminputsandla-bourtocultivatethecentre’sgardens.Thisachieve-mentis incredibleconsideringthatthispartofthecountry is perpetually affected by droughts andfloods,andpovertyisrampant.

Similarly, intwooftheCBOs,peopleprovidedlabourforcultivationofcommunalgardensandfortheconstructionofCBCCsandotherstructures.

Thecommunitymembers,inmostcases,contrib-utedmoneytobuyfarminputsforthecommunalgardens.Inallthreecases,outsiderswerewillingtocontribute towards theactivitiesafter seeinghowmuchhadalreadybeendonebythecommunitiesontheirown.

StrategiesforsustainabilityThethreeprojects implementedstrategiesthaten-hancedthesustainabilityofinterventions. Someofthestrategiesdeployedwereeffectiveinbuildingsus-tainablegrowthoftheprojectsaswellasprogressivecareandsupportfortheOVCandtheirhouseholds.Someofthestrategiesforsustainabilitywere:•Food self-reliance. Projectsprogressedfromreliance

ondonationsanddoor-to-doorcontributions toproductionoftheirownfoodtofeedOVC.Thisre-duceddependencyanduncertainty,andenhancedself-relianceandsustainabilityinprovidingfoodassistancetoOVCandOVChouseholds.Theyhadbeenforcedtochangetheirstrategiesbecauseoftheridiculetheyhadsufferedatthehandsofsomecommunitymemberswhentheywentdoor-to-doorbeggingfordonationsoffoodorcash.Donationsalsotendedtobeerraticsincetheydependedongeneralavailabilityoffoodinthecommunity.

•Decentralised management. TwoCBOs (ChitunguandTawonga)were in theprocessofdecentral-izing activities to village level by progressivelyincreasingthenumberofvillageandbeneficiaryOVCand/orhouseholdinterventionsandreduc-ingcommunalinterventions.Atestablishment,theCBOshadonecommunalgarden,butthey laterdecidedtohavevillagecommunalgardensinad-ditiontosupportingindividualOVChouseholdswithfarminputstoproduceontheirown.Simi-larly, individualpiggeriesweresetupineachofthenineparticipatingvillagesofChitunguCBO,andindividualOVCorOVChouseholds ineachparticipating village of Tawonga CBO managedtheirownpiggeries.Thisreducedworkloadsandbroughtthedecision-makingprocessclosertothetargetclientele.

•Education and training support. Byinstitutingandsupportingeducationandtrainingdevelopment,theprojects increased future livelihood-earningopportunitiesandself-relianceofOVC.Withsup-portandbettereducationandlearningenviron-mentsprovidedthroughprojects,somechildrenobtainedverygoodschoolcertificategradeswhichincreasedtheirchanceofenrolmentintotertiaryeducationinstitutions.Otherslearntsomeskills,suchasvegetableproduction,whichwerealreadyhelpingthemintheirday-to-daylives.

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•Asset protection and building. Thelivestockpass-onschemes(goats,pigsandguineafowl)anddirectdonationtotheOVCisalivelihoodstrategythatwillboosttheOVC’sassetsandimprovetheirstatusintheircommunities.

•Environmental protection. Treeswereplantedtopro-tectbuildingsagainststrongwinds,andGNCHwasalsoabletocontributetothelong-termprotectionoftheenvironmentandtheprovisionofwoodre-sourcesforcurrentandfutureuse.

• Investment in long-term projects for earning income. AdurablemeansofearningincomethroughmaizemillprojectsandVSLschemesmightinfuturere-ducetheneedforoutsidefinancialassistancetoprovidecareandsupporttoOVC.

Overall, thesurvival,growthandsustainabilityoftheprojectsandinterventionsweregreatlyenhancedthroughtheimplementationofsuchsustainabilityenhancingstrategies.

SenseofownershipAnotherimportantelementofsustainabilityiscom-munityownershipoftheprocessandoutcomes.Mostdevelopmentprojectsfailbecauseofthebeneficiarycommunities’inabilitytoowntheirprocessand/oroutcomes.

Thestrengthofthesethreeprojectsinthisregardisthattheywereinitiated,managedandownedbytheirrespectivecommunities.

The strong sense of ownership was not onlydemonstratedthroughtheirwords,suchas“Wedidthis...wetriedthis...wesoughthelpfrom...”,butalsothroughhardevidenceoftheircommitmenttowhattheyweredoing.Thevillagecommunitiesconcernedcontributedmoney,foodandlabour–notbecauseoffearofcoercionorinanticipationofsomereward,butbecausetheyfelt thattheywerehelpingtheirownchildrenandrelatives.Theythoughtitwastheirresponsibilitytodosomethingabouttheproblemsinceitwastheircommunity’sproblem.

Insummary,thethreecasestudiesdemonstratedthatcommunityinitiatedandmanagedOVCliveli-hoodprojectshavepotentialforsustainabilityandgrowth,andthatforthistooccurthereisaneedto:• Developcapacityforresolvinginternalconflicts

andhavetheresiliencetostanduptochallenges;

• Developinternalcapacityforeffectivetechnical,fi-nancialandadministrativemanagementofprojectsandactivities;

• Developandimplementstrategiesthatenhancethespiritofself-relianceandsustainability;

• Devolvepowersandresponsibilitiestothelowestlevelpossible,suchasvillagecommittees;and

• OwntheprocessofprovidingcareandsupporttoOVCandtheoutcomeofimprovedlivelihoodsofOVCasanimportantissueofthevillageandnotindividualOVCperse.

Effectiveness

Effectivenessassessestheextenttowhichobjec-tivesorintentionswereachievedandintended

targetswere reached. In thiscase, it isnoted thatdemonstrableevidenceofchangesthattookplaceamongthetargetclientele is importantifthecasestudiesunderreviewaretoberecommendedforscal-ingup.Itshould,however,beacknowledgedthatat-tributionofsuchsuccessestoaparticularprojectorinterventionisusuallydifficult.

The followingare thehighlightsofbeneficiar-ies’sentimentsregardingsomeofthechangestheyexperiencedintheirlivesasaresultoftheprojectsunderreview:

Food and nutrition securityImprovedfoodsecuritywastheimmediateissuethatOVCandOVChouseholdshighlightedinallthesites.Forchildreninchildcarecentres(dayorresidential),foodwasprovidedonadailybasis,andthechildrenortheirguardianshadenoughreasontopraisetheeffortsoftheprojects.

Households that received farminputs reportedincreasedyieldsandproductionwhichledtomorefoodfortheirhouseholds.

Increasedproductionincommunalgardensalsomeant that the quantity per household and thenumberofbeneficiaryhouseholds increased.Theincreaseinmaizeproductionfromyeartoyearwasreported inall,exceptGNCHwhosecropproduc-tionfor2008/9waslowerthanin2007/8duetoaprolongeddrought.However,theyhadplansforex-pandingwintercroppingtocompensateforreducedrain-fedcropproduction.


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Increased income and income earning opportunitiesThe75OVChouseholdsparticipating inTawongaCBOvillagesavingsandloanschemereportedsavingmoremoneythanbefore,anddiversifyingincomesourcesthroughmoneyborrowedfromthevillagebank.

Withthemoney,somewereabletopaysecondaryschoolfeesfortheirchildren,andothersboughtfarminputs(fertilizersandseeds)whichhelpedincreaseproductionandthereforeincome.Someotherswereengagedinpettytrading,whichhelpedthemtoearnandsavemoremoney.Similarly,the33householdsthatweremembersofChitunguCBOvillagesavingsand loans scheme reported that with money bor-rowedfromthevillagebank, theyhaddiversifiedtheirincome-earningopportunitiesbyengaginginproducetrading,producingandsellingconfectioneryandothertradesratherthancompletelydependingon farming.Theyalso reportedusingmoneybor-rowedfromthevillagebanktoeducatetheirchildrenandinvestinfarming.

TawongaCBOhouseholdsthatreceivedguineafowlfromtheCBOwereearningadditionalincomebysellingguineafowleggswhich,atalmosttwicethevalueofachickenegg,earnedgoodincome.

Improved self-esteemThroughsupporttheyreceivedfromtheprojects,thechildrenwhopreviouslyhadnohopeforthefuturehadtheirself-imageimprovedandwereplanningtodomoreusefulthingsinlife.

Forexample,theChitunguCBOchairpersonres-cuedayoungorphangirlfromherruthlessgrand-motheraftersomecommunitymembersbroughtthegirl’splighttoherattention.Thegirl’sgrandmoth-erused to shutheroutandevenmakeher spendnightsoutdoorswithoutfood.TheCBOchairpersonrequestedthegrandmothertoletherlookafterthechild.Sheagreed,andsince2006thegirlhasbeenlivingintheCBOchairperson’shousehold.Whenaskedaboutherstory,thegirlwasverygratefultoherfosterparentsandsaidshewouldtryherbesttocom-pletehereducationandjointhenursingprofession.Whilethismayjustbeadream,thegirl’splansforthefutureserveasimportantindicatorsofimprovedself-confidence.

All27girlsandboyswhograduatedfromGNCHsaidtheyweretreatedlike‘kings’whentheyreturnedhomesincetheyhadacquiredabettereducationandworebetterclothesthanmostoftheirpeers.

Attainment of better educationSomeOVCwhoreceivededucationsupport(second-aryschoolfees)passedtheMalawiSchoolCertificateofEducationexams.Fiveofthe27boysandgirlswhograduatedfromGNCHscoredbetween25and36ag-gregatepoints.Thesequalifiedthemtositforpublicuniversityentranceexaminations.

ChitunguCBOassistedwiththesecondaryschoolfeesofthreeyouthswhowrotetheMalawiSchoolCertificateexams.Twohadpassedandwereawardedcertificates.Ofthese,onehadfoundemploymentandtheotherhadjoinedatechnicalcollege.Thethirdyouthwasalsoseekingemployment.

Similarly,someboysandgirlswhohadfinancialassistancewithsecondaryschoolfeesfromTawongaCBOpassedtheirMalawiSchoolCertificateswithgoodgrades.Someofthemhadenrolledataruraltradeschoolinthearea.

Increased assetsTawongaCBOgaveoutpigsto15OVChouseholds.With good management, each one of them hasthepotentialtoearn,conservatively,anincomeofK100,000inthefirstyearandmuchmoreinsubse-quentyears.Fortunately,themarketforpigsisabun-dantasthesehouseholdsareclosetotheKayelekeraUraniumMineworkers’campwherethedemandforpigsishigh.

Twenty-sevenboysandgirlswhograduatedfromGNCHwereeachgivenagoat.Iftheyresistsellingthesegoatsprematurely,theycouldmultiplytobe-tweeneightandtengoatswithinthenexttwoyearswhichwouldhavevalueofbetweenK40,000andK50,000atcurrentmarketprices.The16OVChouse-holds that receivedgoats fromChitunguCBOarelikelytoreceivesimilarbenefits.

Attainment of skills for earning livelihoodsGraduatesofGNCHacquiredskillsinmodernmeth-odsofvegetableproduction.Somelearntcarpentrywhileothersweretaughttailoring.Theseskillsmighthelpthemtoearnbetterlivingsinthefuture.

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Table1.Someofthelivelihoodactivitiesimplementedbythethreecasestudyprojects

Intervention GNCH Tawonga ChitunguTotalnumberofOVCinthearea 1800 402 561

Livelihoodsinterventions

Numberofpigs 0 6 27

NumberofOVCthatreceivedpigs 0 15 0

Numberofgoatsraisedcommunally 26 0 20

NumberofOVCthatreceivedgoats 27 0 20

Numberofrabbits 12 0 0

Numberofchickens 100 0 0

Numberofguineafowlraisedcommunally 0 25 0

NumberofOVCthatreceivedguineafowl 0 75 0

Maize(50kgbags)producedin2008/9 162 100 81

Vegetables(kg)producedin2008/9 0 0 80

Beans(kg) ? ? ?

Soybeans(kg) ? ? ?

Householdsthatreceivedfarminputs(2008/9) 0 40 ?

GeneralOVCcareandsupport

OVCreceivedfoodregularly(2008/9) 107 185 50

OVCreceivededucation/scholasticsupport(2008/9) 107 185 50

OVCreceivedclothes,blankets,shoes,etc.(2008/9) 107 167 261

OVCaccommodatedbytheproject(2007/8) 107 0 0

Householdsassistedwithmodernhouses(2007-8) 7 0 0

Members of VSL schemes generally acknowl-edgedthattheirknowledgeofvillagebankinglearntthroughtheCBOwasvitalandwouldimprovetheirlives.Asaresultofthiseffort,somewereplanningtobuyamaizemillandinstallitinthevillage.

Lives savedSinceGNCHenrolleditsfirstchildrenin1999,nodeathsofchildrenhadoccurred.Thisisanextraor-dinaryrecordconsideringthatthecentreadmitschil-drenwhoareusuallymalnourished,andsometimesevenveryyoung.Forexample,severalyearsagoasix-month-oldbabywastakentothecentrefollow-ingthedeathofhismother.Atthetimeofthestudy,theorphanedboywassevenyearsold,healthyandgoingtoschool.

Better accommodationChildrenenrolledatGNCHreceivegoodaccommoda-tionandmealswhichhaveimprovedtheirlivelihood

situation.Similarly,byassistingwithbuildingma-terials forhouses forsevenelderlypeople lookingafterOVC,thecentrehasenhancedthelivelihoodsituationsofthehouseholdsconcerned.

Onthebasisofeffectiveness,itcanbesaidthatthethreecasestudiessucceededindealingwiththefundamentalissuesimpactingonOVC’slivelihoodsandthereforesetagoodexampleforothers.

Efficiency

Inthisstudyreport,efficiencyhasbeenconsideredmostlyfromthecosteffectivenessperspectiveand

notcostbenefitanalysis.Acosteffectivenessanalysisattemptstoestablishtherelationshipbetweenthecostofprovidingtheservice(inputside)andtheben-efitsaccrued(outputsandoutcomes).

Table1highlightssomeoftheoutputsrealizedfrom interventions implemented by the projects.It specifies quantitative benefits or numbers of


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OVC or OVC households that benefited from theintervention.

ThefiguresdemonstratecommitmentofprojectstothereductionofproblemsfacedbyOVCbyassist-ingthemandtheirhouseholdswithbasiclivelihoodsupport.Itshouldbenotedthatthestudywasunabletoquantifyallthesupporttheprojectsprovidedtotheir targetclienteleover theyearsdue to lackofinformation;itmanagedtodocumentonlythekeyones.Itwasalsodifficulttoqualifythesupportre-ceivedbytheclientele(OVCandtheirhouseholds)duetothesporadicnatureofthesupport;butinthecaseofGNCH,wherefoodsupportwasgivendailyandsomeinformationwasavailable,anattemptwasmadetocomputetheannualcostoffeedingachildresident at the centre, asdetailed inTable2.ThecomputationisbasedonarationofnsimaandthefollowingcombinationsoffoodasstipulatedintheGNCHweeklymenu:• Meatthreetimesaweek• Vegetablessixtimesaweek• Beans/peasthreetimesaweek• Fishtwiceaweek

WhenGNCHhad107residentchildren, thecom-munityspentanestimatedK3,420,148perannumonfeedingthechildren.Thisisasubstantialfigure,andifcommunitymembershadbeenaskedtomakecashcontributionstheywouldprobablynothaveman-aged.However,sincetheyproducedmostofthefooditemsontheirown,theactualcashcontributionwasminimal.Consideringthebenefitstothechildren,thesumofUS$228.31(K31,964)perchildperyearorUS$19perchildpermonthisreasonable.Fixedassets

suchasbuildings,waterandsanitationfacilitieshavebeenomittedfromthecomputationduetothediffi-cultyofdistributingthecostovertimeagainstwide-rangingnumbersofbeneficiarychildren.

Fromthisanalysis,theonlycriticismregardingtheefficiencyofthethreecasestudiesisthatsincemostofthecareandsupportwasprovidedbythecommunity, iteliminatedtheadministrativecostsusuallyassociatedwithimplementationofprojects.Localsourcingofmostofthefoodandothermateri-alsmightalsohavereducedtransportcostsinvolvedwiththeprovisionofcareandsupporttoOVC.

Table2.TheannualcostoffeedingachildatGNCH

Fooditem Qty/child/yr Unitcost Cost/child/yr

Maize 112kg K40/kg K4,480

Vegetables 29.2kg K70/kg K2,044

Meat 29.2kg K500/kg K14,600

Beans 29.2kg K200/kg K5,840

Others(sugar,salt,tea,cookingoil,etc.) K5,000

Totalannualfoodcost K31,964(US$228.31)

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Discussionsinthesubsequentsectionsarebasedonthemodelsofchildcarethatwereusedin

thecasestudiesunderreview.Thecasestudiesiden-tifythreemodelsofchildcare.Forthepurposesofthisstudyreport,thesearenamedanddescribedasfollows:

Communityassistedhouseholdchildcare

Underthismodel,thecommunityprojectassistedhouseholdswithbasicnecessitiesasandwhen

needsarose,withintheavailableresources.Thecom-munityalsotriedtoenhancethehouseholds’op-portunitiesforself-reliance.TheOVCwerethereforedirectlyorindirectlyassistedthroughtheirrespec-tivehouseholds,andallthedecisionsandrespon-sibilities for care and support remained with thehouseholds.Thestudymakes itclearthatthisap-proachenablesthecommunityprojecttoreachouttoalargenumberofOVCwithinarelativelyshortperiodoftime.Therewaslimitedneedforextensivephysicalstructuressuchasbuildings,andthereforemoreresourceswerechannelledtothetargetgroups.However,thesupportofferedtoindividualOVCandhouseholdswassporadicandindeterminate.

TawongaandChitunguCBOswereformedaroundthecommunity-assistedhouseholdchildcare(CAHC)model.GNCHimplementedelementsofthismodel,althoughnotassystematicallyasdidtheothertwoCBOs.

Community-managedchildcare

Underthismodel, twotypesofchildcarewerepractised:

• Community-manageddaychildcare (CMDC) inthe formof community-basedchildcare centres(CBCC)–mainlyforchildrenunderfive.

• Community-managedresidentialchildcare(CMRC)intheformofchildren’shomesforchildrenupto18years.

WhiletheCMDCorCBCCapproachiswellestab-lishedandpractisedinmanycommunitiesacrossthecountry,CMRCisunique.Withinthecommunity-managedchildcare(CMC)model,theprojectspro-videdcareforchildrenatacentrallocation.Under

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theCMDCmodel,childrenreceivedsomeformofeducationandweregivendaytimemeals,butresi-dential care remained the responsibility of theirhouseholds.InthecaseofCMRC,thechildrenwerebroughttothecentreandgivenallthecareandsup-porttheyneededwhichincludedaccommodation,meals,basicmedicinesorreferralstoclinics/hospi-tals,andeducational,socialandspiritualsupport.

TheCMCmodelprovidedconsistentandpredict-ablesupporttoOVC.Thecommunityfeltobligedtoprovideforthechildren,evenunderdifficultcircum-stances.Whenassistancewasprovidedcentrally,itensuredthatthechildrendirectlybenefitedfromtheassistanceanditminimizedhouseholddistributionbiasesasisusuallythecasewithCAHCmodels.Theresidentialmodelalsoensuredprovisionofotheras-pectsofcaresuchasimprovedaccommodationandeducationenvironment,regularmeals,andmedicalcare,whichmayallsometimesbeproblematicintheCAHCmodel.However,theCMCmodeltendedtobemorecostlyordifficulttoimplementduetothebuild-ingandvolunteerrequirementsnecessarytoprovidetheserviceonadailybasis.Inthecaseofresidentialchildcare,thereseemedtobelesscontactbetweenthechildrenandtheirhouseholdmembers,whichcouldinsomecasescauseproblemswithre-integrationwhenthechildrengraduatefromthecentre.Fortunately,inthisparticularcase,noproblemsofre-integrationwere

reportedbytheboysandgirlswhentheyreturnedtotheirhomesandvillages.

GNCHfallswithintheCMRCmodel,whileChi-tunguandTawongaCBOseachhadacomponentoftheCMDCorCBCCmodel.

Thediscussiononthethreemodelsofcommunitychildcareonlyattemptstohighlightsomeoftheis-sues:detailedanalysisoftheseissuesisbeyondthescopeofthisstudy.Forthisreason, it issufficienttostatethattheCAHCandtheCMDCmodelshavebeenwidelypromotedacrossthecountry,butnotusingthenomenclatureusedinthisreport.Accord-ingtothepolicyofgovernment, institutionalizedchildcare(informoforphanages)shouldbethelastresort.Inthecaseofthisstudy,CMRCwasincludedasabestpracticeinitiativeduetothecommunity’suniquecommitmenttoprovidingsuchaserviceattheirowncost.Ifinitiatedandcarefullyimplement-edbymanycommunities,CMRCmaybeanoptionthatcouldchangethelandscapeofOVCcare,andprobablyevenreducetherelatedproblemsofstreetchildren.Althoughitwouldbedifficulttocommentwithauthorityonconcernsaboutchildsafety,secu-rityandprotectionfromabuseasexpressedbysomeobservers,sincethestudydidnotincludethislevelofinvestigation,it isbelievedthatsuchissuesmaybeablyhandledbythecommunitiesastheyhavesofarbeenatGNCH.

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This reporthighlights that themost successfulinterventionshaveremainedsmallandatmicro

levelduetolackofdocumentationandsharingofles-sonsandexperiences.Bythesametoken,anumberoflivelihoodinterventionsforOVCimplementedacrossthecountryhavefailedtosurvivebeyondthreeyearsduetovariousreasons.

Thedocumentationandanalysisfromthisstudythereforeattemptstoprovidesomekeylessonsdrawnfrom the three case studies that couldbeused toimproveexistingcommunity-ledinterventions,orforsuccessfulinitiationandimplementationofnewlivelihoodsupportinterventionsforOVC.

Lessonsforscalingup

Scalingupisgenerallydescribedastheprocessofexpandingtheimpactofasuccessfuleffortbe-

yondasingleorlimitednumberofcommunitiestotheregional,nationalorevenmultinationallevel.Byextendingthebenefitsofaninitiativetomorepeo-ple,thechancesofmaximizingresourcesandinvest-mentmadeindevelopingtheapproachareincreased.Itmayalsoincreasesupportforpolicychangeandresourceallocation.

Intheprecedingsection,evidence for theout-standingperformanceofthethreecasestudieswasprovidedasargumentforreplicationbyothercom-munities.Thereareanumberoflessonsthatcouldbedrawnfromthisexperience.

Insummary,theanalysishassofardemonstratedthatifothercommunitiesneededtoinitiateandim-plementsustainableandeffectiveprojectsforsup-porting livelihoodsofOVC, the following factorswouldbecriticalandshouldbecarefullyconsidered:• Theneed todevelopcommitmentandskills for

solvinginternalconflictsandchallenges.• The need to develop internal capacity to man-

agetechnical,financialandadministrativeissueswhichwillenablethemtoeffectivelymobilizeandmanageinternalandexternalresources.

• Inculcationofaspiritofownershipandself-reli-ancewhichwillhelptosustainprovisionofsup-porttothetargetclienteleatreasonablecost.

• Theneedtoputinplacestrategiesforsustainableprovisionofservicesandbenefitstotargetclienteleand,ontheotherhand,tominimizestrategiesthat

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createdependencyonexternalassistance.• Theneedtoworkwithandthroughlocalleadership

inordertogarnersupportfromthecommunity.• Theneedfortechnicalsupportfromgovernment,

NGOanddonoragenciesinorderforCBOstoavoidcostlymistakes.

• Theneedforleadershiptobetransparentandac-countabletothemembersandthecommunityinordertogainconfidencelocallyandamongexter-nalsupportagencies.

Theseweresomeofthefactorsbehindthesustain-abilityofthethreeprojectsunderreview.Ifdiligentlyfollowedandimplemented,theguidingpointswillassisttheimplementingcommunitiestorealizethefollowingpotentialbenefitsthattheprojectsman-agedtoachieve:• PredictableaccesstofoodandnutritionbyOVC

throughouttheyear.• Predictable access to educational support and a

conduciveenvironmentforOVCtoimprovetheirlevelofeducation.

• Increasedincomeandincome-earningopportuni-tiesforOVCandOVChouseholds.

• IncreasedassetbaseforfuturelivelihoodneedsofOVC.

• OVC’sacquisitionofvitalskillsforsecuringfuturelivelihoodsandself-reliance.

• Asenseofachievementandmotivationbyimple-menterstosustaintheinitiatives.

Whattoscaleup

EffectivescalingupofasuccessfulpracticecanbedoneifNGOs,governmentagencies,communi-

ty-basedgroups,andbilateralandmultilateralagen-ciesareabletotakeuptherecommendedpractice.Thismaybeintheformofadaptationtofitvaryingprogrammecontextsorneeds.Rarelywillsuccessfulsmall-scaleinterventionsbereplicatedwithoutmodi-fication.Forthisreason,theanalysisinthisreportfocusedonelementsoftheseinterventionsthatcouldbetakentoscale.

SincetheCAHCandCMDCmodelsarealreadywidelypromoted inall thedistricts throughCBOstructuresandhaveusuallybeenundertakenasapackage,themainrecommendationistoscaleupthe

methodologyandthestrategiesdocumentedfromthecase studies.Thismightentail reviewingandrevisingtheguidelinesforinitiatingandmanagingCBOsinordertoincorporatelivelihoodaspects.FortheCMRCmodel, itspromotionasanalternativemodelofchildcarewhichcommunitiesthatfeeltheneedcouldundertakeisrecommended.Orientationofthecommunitiestothemodelsothatthoseshow-ingrealneedandinterestcouldbeassistedtoiniti-atetheirownisalsorecommended.Inallthethreemodels,implementationofspecificactivitieswillbedependentonneedandsituation.

Scaling up can be done in a number of ways:

Association:ExpandingprogrammesizeandcoveragethroughcommoneffortsandalliancesamonganetworkoforganizationssuchastheUNandPartnersAlliance.

Grafting:Addinganewprogrammetoanexistingprogramme.

Diffusion:Otherslearningfromtheapproachthroughaccesstomaterialsandcasestudiesandreplicatingtheapproach.

Planned expansion:Asteadyprocessofex-pandingthenumberofsitesforaparticularprogrammemodelonceithasbeenpilot-testedandrefined.

Explosion:Suddenimplementationofalarge-scaleprogrammeintervention,with-outanycultivationofpolicysupportorgradualorganizationaldevelopmentpriortoimplementation.

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Basedonthesecasestudies,thefollowingarekeyissuesforimprovement:

Integrated approach. ThetechnicalviewofOVCinter-vention,whichisalsoreflectedatcommunitylevel,ismorecompartmentalizedaccordingtotheareasofneedor interest(health,agriculture,education,etc.)andrarelyviewedfromtheperspectiveofanintegratedpackage.Forexample,CBCChousescouldhavebeeneffectivelyutilized for afternoon skillstraining forprimaryschoolageor teenageschooldropoutsratherthanonlybeingusedformorningkindergartensessions.Similarly,childrengraduatingfromGNCHcouldhavebeenengagedinaday-releaseskillstrainingprogrammeatthecentretoenhancetheir livelihoodopportunities,andtheproductsofthe trainingcouldhavebeenused for thecentre.Integrationofsuchprogrammeswouldnotonlyas-sistyouthsinacquiringvital livelihoodskills,butwouldalsobenefittheCBCCsorthechildren’shomesthroughskillstrainingby-productssuchasvegeta-bles, livestockproducts,basicfurnitureandschooluniformsthatwouldbegiventoorboughtbythecommunitiesforCBCC,OVCorHBCprogrammes.Similarly, if care and support were viewed morebroadly,thecommunitieswouldbeencouragedtointensifylocalproductionandtheprocessingofsoy-beans,fruitsandvegetables,livestockproductsandotheritemsforuseintheCBCC,OVC,HBCorschoolfeedingprogrammes.

Technical support. In the threecase studies, itwasobservedthatattimesimplementingcommunitiesmadecostlytechnicalmistakes:forexample,keep-ingrabbits inacement-flooredhousewhichmadeitdifficultfortherabbitstobreed;ornotinstallingtherighttechnologyforirrigationaswasthecaseatGNCH;orfailingtomanagedairyanimalsaswasthecasewithChitunguCBO.ThereareprobablymanymoresuchexamplesamongCBOsacrossthecountry.Althoughtechnicalerrorsare, tosomeextent, in-evitableandprobablygoodforinstitutionalgrowth,itraisesquestionsregardingtechnicalsupportthatvarioussectorsaresupposedtoprovideinsuchcom-munityinterventions.It isthereforeimportantforthedistrictassembliestoassesstechnicalsupportof-feredtocommunityinitiativesandurgetherelevant

technicaldepartmentstotakeaninterestandassistthecommunitieswherenecessary.

Role of NGOs, government and other agencies. CBOsorCMCinitiatives,NGOs,governmentandotheragen-cieshavean important role in facilitating serviceprovisiontoOVC.Inthesethreecasestudies,agen-ciesassistedbyfundingspecificinterventionswhileensuringthatthecommunitiesretainedownershipofboththeprocessofserviceprovisionandtheout-comes.Thiskindofrelationshipshouldbeenhancedinallcommunity-initiatedprojects.

Volunteerism. Itwasclearfromthestudythatthesuc-cessofCMCdependsonvolunteers’commitmenttoprovideresourcesandtime.Whilevolunteerismisthemainstrengthofsuccess,itmayalsobeitsweak-est link.Community initiativesoftenfailbecauseofvolunteer fatigue.Forexample, inmanyof theCBOsvisitedoutsidethisstudy,itwasnoticedthatCBCCsusuallyclosesessionsbetweenDecemberandJanuaryorFebruarybecauseofinadequatefoodandduetovolunteershavingtospendtimeintheirowngardens.Children,particularlyOVC,areindesper-ateneedoffoodsupport,whichmeanssuchclosurestendtodisadvantagethechildren.Forthisreason,in-kindmotivationofvolunteersmaybecrucialforsustainabilityofCBCCoranyotherOVCactivities.OneoftheCBOsinMchinjihasnotonlymanagedtomaintainthemotivationofvolunteersbutalsoenhancedfoodproductionfortheCBCCprogrammebygivingfarminputstovolunteerstoproducethecropandthenrepayanagreedamounttotheCBO.Anotherin-kindincentiveforvolunteersistoengagethevolunteersinincomegeneratingactivitiesand/orinvolvetheminVSL.

Key Issues for Improvement


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Recommendations

Thefollowingaresomespecificrecommendationsonscalinguplivelihood-basedsocialprotection

forOVC:

1. The Ministry of Gender, Children and Community Development, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, should serious-ly consider strengthening the livelihoods component as the VSL National Plan of Action for OVC is being reviewed and once the social support policy has been approved and implementation programmes are being made, by among other things:

• Considering designing functional linkages be-tweenOVCinterventionsandagriculturalexten-sionservicesforefficientuseoftheinputsubsidyprogrammeinordertoincreasetheirself-relianceandsustainabilityofbenefits.

• Integrating relevant and market-oriented skillsbuildingmoresystematicallyintoOVCprogram-ming,especiallyforolderOVC.

2. NGOs, government and donor agencies supporting CBOs or any such community initiatives should pro-vide loan incentives (farm inputs or cash) to volunteers for production investment which could be repaid to the CBO in the form of food items or other materials for use in CBCC, OVC, HBC or school feeding programmes.

3. The Ministry of Gender, Children and Community De-velopment should develop a detailed plan of action and time scale for implementing lessons learnt from the study. For example:

• Developmentofalivelihood-basedsocialprotec-tionguide.

• Developmentofalivelihood-basedsocialprotec-tiontrainingmanual.

• Orientationtrainingfordistrictsocialwelfareof-ficersanddistricttrainingteams.

• Systematicreviewoftheexistinginterventionsinordertostrengththelivelihoodscomponent.

• Identif ication and training of communityinitiators/facilitators.

4. Communities and NGOs currently implementing or planning to initiate OVC livelihoods support pro-grammes should incorporate VSL schemes. Where feasible, incorporate the social cash transfer scheme

within the context of VSL to assist the OVC households that cannot afford to raise money for savings.

5. NGOs, government and donor agencies should enhance and continue to facilitate training, technical support and provision of resources to community initiated and managed childcare projects in order to support effec-tive management.

6. New and existing programmes should consider im-plementing OVC programmes as a holistic childcare package integrating protection (from deprivation and destitution), prevention (from sliding back into depri-vation and destitution) and promotion of livelihoods for self-reliance.

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Potentialpolicyandfinancialsupport

TheMalawiGovernmentfullyrecognizestheneedtoupliftthelivelihoodsofOVCthroughvarious

policies,strategiesandlegalinstruments.The2003NationalPolicyonOrphansandotherVulnerableChildren,theoverarchinggoalofwhichis“tofa-cilitate support for care,protection, anddevelop-mentofOVCinacoordinatedmannerinordertoprovidethemwithanenvironmentinwhichtheyrealizetheirfullrightsandpotentials”,atteststothiscommitment.TheNationalPlanofActionforOVC2005-2009hasimprovedfundingopportunitiesandenhancedresponsiveactionforOVCinterventionsbygovernmentanditspartners.TheplancommitstheGovernmentofMalawitotakingpracticalstepsthatwouldensurethattherightsofallOVCarefullymet.Onepracticalstepistoimplementstrategiesthatpro-tect,enhanceandsustainthelivelihoodsopportuni-tiesandcapabilitiesoftheOVC.ThisimpliesthatastheNationalPlanofActionisbeingreviewedandtheSocialSupportPolicyabouttobeapprovedforimplementation,strategiesforsustainablelivelihoodsforOVCshouldbeseriouslyconsideredandgivenpriority.Lessonsfromthestudyshowthatcommu-nitiescanonlydosomuchontheirown:withoutstrongsupportforagriculturalproduction,incomegenerationandeducationfromgovernmentandoth-eragencies,suchassistancetoOVCwillusuallybeindeterminateandunsustainable.

This,therefore,justifiestheneedtoconsiderop-portunitiesforscalinguplessonsfromcasestudieswithappealfor.

Technicalfeasibility

Technically,thescaling-upapproachrecommend-ed in this study is feasible considering that it

proposesusingexistingmechanismsandstructures.Districtsocialwelfareofficersarefullyconversantwiththeapproaches,andnearlyeverydistricthasastrongteamoftechnicalexpertsinareassuchasag-riculture,education,communityservicesandhealth.Anunderstandingandappreciationofthelessonsdrawnfromthestudyarevital.

Feasibility of Scaling Up and Policy Implications

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FAO Regional Emergency Office for Southern Africa (REOSA) 11 Naivasha Road, Sunninghill, Johannesburg, South Africa. Tel: +27 (0)11 517 1500. E-mail : [email protected]. Web site: www.fao.org/emergencies/country_information/list/regional/regionalafrica0/en/

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