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Community-Based Care for
Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)
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| Introduction
More than 15 million children under the age of 18, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa, have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Millions more children are highly vulnerable because their parents are suffering from AIDS or because their families are heavily affected by the pandemic. Children orphaned or made vulnerable by AIDS (OVC) are more likely to be malnourished, less likely to be educated, more likely to be abused and suffer severe psychosocial distress. In many communities, traditional ways of caring for orphans and vulnerable children, such as the extended family system, are being severely strained by the multiple, mutually exacerbating impacts of HIV/AIDS. The challenge is to find ways to help communities care for the unprecedented number of children and families rendered vulnerable by HIV/AIDS.
Model: Community Care Coalitions
World Vision seeks to assist these children by strengthening and extending the work that communities are already doing to assist orphans and vulnerable children. WV does this by mobilizing and strengthening community care coalitions, or coalitions of community groups and volunteer caregivers that identify and care for OVC.
Mobilize: World Vision starts by convening a group of concerned community members who are already taking responsibility for assisting OVC and other vulnerable community members, or are interested in doing so. These community members often come from one or more community-based organizations, the private sector, government, churches, other faith communities, and other local institutions. Communities typically choose to form a broad-based community care coalition (CCC) focused on orphans and other vulnerable children, or on overall community responses to HIV/AIDS. The coalition then takes responsibility for identifying OVC in the community and recruits volunteer home visitors: caring community members committed to visiting the homes of OVC regularly.
Strengthen: World Vision strengthens community care coalitions by providing training and other technical assistance to enhance capacities specific to caring for OVC. World Vision trains home visitors in OVC-care skills such as: child monitoring and protection, psychosocial support, HIV prevention, facilitating access to education, healthcare and nutrition, and facilitating care for chronically-ill family members. Also, as resources allow, World Vision helps community-care coalitions provide key direct services like primary and secondary school fees, school uniforms and supplies, immunizations, mosquito nets, home-based care to adults and children living with HIV/AIDS, clothing and shoes, and blankets and bedding. Finally, World Vision helps link the community initiatives to information and funding opportunities at district and national levels to enhance their effectiveness and help them become sustainable.
World Vision is committed to being a learning organization. WV tracks the progress of its OVC programs through a monitoring and evaluation system and special operations research projects, and then uses the data to strengthen and refine our programming approaches.
The following programs offer a snapshot of some of World Vision's OVC oriented programs:
The Dominican Republic - Caring for Those with HIV/AIDS in Villa Altagracia
The Dominican Republic - Caring for Those with HIV/AIDS in Sabana Perdida
Kenya - Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Budalangi
Rwanda - Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Gikongoro
South Africa - Strengthening Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Okhahlamba
Burundi - Mobile Health Clinic for Cankuzo, Karusi and Muyinga
Kenya - Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV in Teso District
Malawi - Home-based Care Kits for People Living with HIV/AIDS
Zambia - Home-based Care Kits for People Living with HIV/AIDS |
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