Programmes
Vana Vetu
(Our Children)
Founded in 2007, the Vana Vetu programme exists to offer orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) appropriate care and support to equip them to reach their optimum potential. The Programme is currently funded by the United State’s President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The programme seeks to ensure that frameworks for the protection and promotion of the rights of children are implemented at all levels.
The programme’s vision is to ensure that orphaned and vulnerable children receive appropriate care and support to grow to their full potential. Working in five provinces in South Africa, Vana Vetu provides these services:
- identify OVC/child/grandparent headed households & assist them with application for identification/birth registration and child grants through referrals
- monitor & refer children in need of protective services
- access legal services for OVC families
- offer HIV prevention education
- offer pychological care & psychosocial support
- monitor & refer children to hospitals for general health & other pyschological and social problems
- offer educational support through provision of school uniforms & stationery; assistance with school fee exemption
- run afterschool programmes through aftercare assistance and offer school holiday & survivor camps for the children.
Global Fund OVC & HBC Programme
The Global Fund Orphaned and Vulnerable Children Programme offers the comprehensive OVC programme, similar to the Vana Vetu model, and Home-based Care to all the inland dioceses while Vana Vetu works in coastal Dioceses.
Other Programmes
The Anglican Aids and Healthcare Trust has implemented various programmes and successfully exited them to dioceses, communities and provincial structures. The Programmes were: Families Matter!; Siyafundisa (Teaching Our Children); Sikhula Ngolwazi (Growing Through Knowledge) and Siyakha (We are Building)
Families Matter! 2010 – 2011
AAHT piloted a new Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and prevention developed, evidence-based (proven effective) programme in Zululand (Kwa-Zulu Natal Province) and False Bay (Western Cape Province). The Families Matter! programme is designed to help parents with (content and method), talk with their 9 -12 year old children about sex and HIV. Research has shown that when parents talk with their children about sex, the children not only get sound information but the parents also communicate their values about sex-related topics.
Siyafundisa – Teaching Our Children (2005 – 2010)
The Siyafundisa Programme – funded by PEPFAR was an HIV and AIDS Prevention Programme that emphasized “abstinence” and “being faithful in relationships” as two of several best practice strategies for educating youth. The project focus included life skills that address the avoidance of unhealthy and risky behaviors affecting the safety and well-being of youth in the Southern African Province of the Anglican Church. The Programme reached several hundred thousand young people between the ages of 10 and 24 through peer education, life skills training and social mobilisation. Through the programme, young people are able to make even after completion responsible decisions; empower influential adults to become positive change agents and role models to young people; promote discussion in the wider community around the factors fuelling the HIV pandemic; promote and provide HIV Counselling and Testing to encourage people to know their HIV-status.
Sikhula Ngolwazi 2009 – 2010(Growing Through Knowledge)
AAHT has been/is always striving towards innovative ways to improve, monitor & evaluate its effectiveness and strengthen capacity of staff and dioceses in managing projects. A one year grant was awarded by the Canadian International development Agency (CIDA) to implement Sikhula Ngolwazi.
Sikhula Ngolwazi was aimed at:
- enabling project staff to provide timely feedback to managers, project planners, policy makers and funders.
- strengthening capacity of the staff at all levels, on MER accountability systems in implementation of projects from planning to post evaluation after completion of projects.
- strengthening capacity of projects in addressing the needs of the poor, marginalised and vulnerable groups.
Siyakha (2007 – 2009)
The DFID funded Siyakha Programme seeked to strengthen understanding among church and community leaders on HIV and AIDS, with a particular focus on the reduction of stigma, through care and impact mitigation and marginalization and to reduce the further spread of HIV.
Siyakha was set up to build on the skills and capacity developed in the Isiseko Sokomeleza Programme and supporting and expanding projects initiated at each diocese.
The Programme’s major areas of concern were:
Prevention; Capacity Building and Training, Home Based Care; Care for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children; Income Generation and HIV Counselling and Testing.
