Project profile — Building Sustainable Livelihoods for AIDS Orphans and Caregivers

This project provided tools to grassroots, community-based African HIV/AIDS organizations, AIDS orphans, and caregivers, to reduce their socio-economic vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. It used a coaching and mentoring approach to capacity development. It assisted community-based organizations (CBOs) in developing systems, processes, policies, and relationships with other institutions. It also helped the CBOs create simple, sustainable, and transparent processes and systems for decision-making and accountability, project planning and implementation, client-focused service delivery, revenue generation, and financial management. The CBOs developed and coordinated the delivery of vocational skills training and employment support to AIDS orphans and caregivers. The vocational and business training incorporated life skills training, including basic HIV awareness and more sensitive topics such as gender relations and gender equality, negotiating safer sex, and preventing and responding to violence. The CBOs coordinated self-employment skills development activities for participants and microsavings and lending mechanisms that facilitated participants' access to financing for their businesses.

Results achieved: (1) 366 youth and 119 caregivers were supported with combination of Vocational Training and Small-Enterprise Development Support activities; (2) 232 youth were supported in pursuing Vocational Training; (3) 227 youth successfully graduated from programs in vocations including Carpentry, Catering, Hair Dressing, Stone Masonry and Tailoring – 189 of whom are gaining earnings and through their chosen vocations; (4) 134 youth were selected for small enterprise management of whom 130 graduated and 128 developed business plans and were provided with inputs (capital and/or equipment) to develop new micro-enterprises – 120 of these youth are currently generating earnings; (5) 115 caregivers completed small business training, developed business plans and were provided with inputs, of whom 85 are gaining improved earnings; (6) earnings gained by beneficiaries in this project are proving adequate in overcoming extreme poverty as evidenced by the ability of 100% of beneficiaries gaining earnings to achieve household food security; (7) 368 beneficiaries are able to support school fees for orphans in their care; (8) 1,081 AIDS-orphans are now attending school; (9) 308 beneficiaries participated in comprehensive HIV&AIDS and Life Skills training, which help to secure the sustainability of new earnings and empower them as educators and advocates for HIV prevention, elimination of stigma and the need to address the socio-economic vulnerabilities of AIDS-affected households; (10) a group of youth was facilitated in forming HIV&AIDS Peer Educator Groups of whom 3 are girls only clubs; (11) strengthening the capacity of four local community-based organizations (CBOs) to seek funding for and implement crucial HIV&AIDS activities and to advocate for and support the livelihoods of HIV&AIDS-affected households; and (12) four local implementing partners were supported with infrastructure, trained in financial management, governance and project implementation.

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