Alliance roll-out reaches 54,000 children in Zimbabwe
28 March 2007
An Alliance programme for orphans and vulnerable children has used a roll-out approach to mobilise around 80 communities in Zimbabwe, reaching over 54,000 children. It has also successfully challenged traditional attitudes surrounding children’s rights and their participation in decision-making – a process that will now need time and ongoing support to sustain.
Initiated with a USAID grant in 2004, the programme has supported four local partners and their communities to strengthen the care and support provided to orphans and vulnerable children. Zimbabwe has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, and 75% of its orphans have lost one or both parents to AIDS (UNICEF 2005 figures).
During the project the Alliance’s local partners trained community members such as volunteers, social workers and church leaders who are directly involved in taking care of children. They in turn rolled out this training to others, reaching over 4,000 service providers by this method. However, the reliance on volunteers also highlighted the difficulty of maintaining these efforts when they receive few or no incentives, even though many were highly dedicated to their communities.
The Community-Based Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children programme, which came to an end in September, achieved its successes against the backdrop of an economic situation characterised by hyperinflation and unreliable supplies of commodities. The vulnerability of Zimbabwe’s estimated 1.4 million orphans is due not only to the HIV epidemic but also to the socio-economic and political context that affects social structures and networks of support at all levels. A programme evaluation revealed how the economic situation had affected the scope of activities at a partner organisation level.
Although partners saw technical assistance and training as essential to improving the quality of their work, this was limited by the short time frame and partners’ weak capacity, highlighting the need for longer-term commitments. The programme also revealed how an intensive technical support programme hampers partners’ day-to-day activities because of demands on their time. It also showed that collective training was cost-effective but more suitable for partners with similar levels of experience and capacity, as well as similar beliefs and programmatic approaches.
The Alliance is currently supporting UNICEF/Zimbabwe to conduct a three-month capacity assessment of 25 civil society organisations working with vulnerable children.
