Program Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT

2013

ST. CAMILLUS DALA KIYE

CHILDREN WELFARE HOME

A Compassionate Response to

HIV/AIDS Impacts on Children

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Program Profile

Organization: St. Camillus Dala Kiye Children Welfare Home

Program Name: Dala Kiye Program

Programming Areas:OrphansVulnerableChildren(OVC) & HIV/AIDS

Target Client:OVCCaregivers

Program Location: Karungu Division, Nyatike District

Reporting Period:January2013 - December2013

Reporting Person:Fr. Emilio Balliana

Designation:The Program Director

Introduction

St. Camillus Dala Kiye Children Welfare Home is a Faith Based Child focused Organization founded in 1998 by the religious congregation of the ‘Order of the Servants of the Sick’ (Camillians). The program is a constituent of St. Camillus Mission Hospital, situated on the southern shores of Lake Victoria In Karungu division, Nyatike district in the greater Migori county of Nyanza Province in the Republic of Kenya. The program works with and for Orphans and Vulnerable Children In Nyatike and Gwassi constituencies of Nyatike and Suba Districts respectively. However, some children come from other parts of Kenya and Tanzania.

The goal of the program is to improve the quality of life of orphans and vulnerable children.

Dala Kiye program rolls out three models of care namely: Foster family care for children with special needs, Community foster care and Community based care model for orphans and vulnerable children.

Program Interventions Models

A. Community Based Care Model

This model mainstreams program interventions in the community to compliment the responses of the caring community members. The program emphasizes on maintaining and providing comprehensive care and support to children within their community settings. The model appreciates the fact that a majority of children do have at least one extended family member such as granny, uncle, aunt, sibling or in some cases a sympathizer within the community who can be supported to care for the OVC left behind when the parent(s) die(s).

This model is responsive to such challenges as increasing infections among OVC with reduced access to health care services, uncertainty in accessing adequate food and the resultant starvation and malnutrition, dejected life in fear, trauma, stigma and discrimination, school dropout or limited access to educational opportunities, disease prone environmental conditions of unsafe water, compromised hygiene around dilapidated or crowded shelters, lack of clothing, bedding and other household facilities and then the worst scenario of lacking parental guidance.

With this model, Dala Kiye program reached about 2200 OVC and 1000 caregivers.

B. Foster Family Care and Protection for OVC in the Community

This model aims to foster, socially integrate and improve the lives for psychosocially displaced OVC in suitable alternative foster families within the community. This model targets OVC whose life experiences not only include the situations in model one above but also for those living with relatives not willing to maintain a child owing to either poverty, overburdening, or sheer neglect and those children from disjointed families who experience rejection and hostility from the caregiver and from time to time stay with a different caregiver and may not be well socialized into the roles in the community.

The Program reached 34 OVC with this care model. They were taken care of in two community family houses namely, Nazareth for boys and Bethlehem for girls.

C. Foster Family Care and Protection for OVC with Special Needs

This model aims to foster and improve the quality of life of OVC living with HIV and AIDS within environmentally enabling alternative families. A number of OVC living with HIV and AIDS are under the care of poor care givers who are isolated or shunned by the community. Some of

them are elderly and sick. The model provides alternative families with facilities to respond compassionately to the ever-increasing complexities of the needs of children living with AIDS. All the children in this category are already enrolled in ART and are under the care of aged and/ or sick caregivers. All such children are referred from ART points of service presenting with high incidences of malnutrition, non – adherence to drugs, opportunistic infections, demonstrating lower resilience and with poor health seeking behavior.Dala Kiye Program reached 60 OVC with this care model.

Program Performance During 2013

Education and Vocational Training Support

The intervention was aimed at boosting the knowledge of the beneficiaries and promotion of skills development. Under primary school support, Dala Kiye managed to pay school levies to 429 Orphans and Vulnerable children to help retain the in school. The levies catered for OVC in ECD and the ones who were enrolled for Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). The OVC who benefited were drawn from 21 primary schools that are situated in Karungu and Gwassi. Dala Kiye also provided education materials comprising of text books, games skit and balls to 7 primary schools namely Alendo, Aringo, Bondo Kosiemo, Obondi, Sori, Sidika and Paulo Odendo. 2225 OVC from 20 primary schools were supported with school uniforms. Learners’ desks totaling to 521 were distributed to 10 primary schools. The schools that benefited were B. L Tezza Complex, Gunga, Bondo Kosiemo, Lwanda Magwar, Sidika, Paulo Odendo, Nyamanga, Sori, Kopala and Obondi.

The Program also managed to renovate Otati and Lwanda Magwar Primary school and two ECD blocks of two classes each at Wachara and Lwanda Gwassi primary schools.

In secondary, 103 OVC from B.L Tezza Complex Secondary had their school fees paid by the Program and were also issued with a set of school uniforms.Another 20 OVC were supported in other secondary schools.

The Program also managed to support 6 OVC in various vocational training institutions and a further 4 OVC in special education. 18 OVC received education support in various colleges and universities.

Food and Nutrition Support

Under food and nutrition support, Dala Kiye Program managed to reach 1000 Children enrolled in B. L Tezza Complex, Rabuor and Kaduro Primary schools with school feeding programme. This comprised of breakfast and lunch that was provided to the children during school going days. The intervention was important since it helped in reducing cases of school absenteeism by the OVC.

To help address the food security situation to vulnerable OVC households, the Program carried out monthly distribution of food items such as maize, beans, cooking oil and rice. Those targeted were very old grannies and caregivers with poor health.

Dala Kiye also carried out regular nutrition education sessions to caregivers and OVC from various schools. The sessions were facilitated by the nutritionist and dwelt on areas such as food preparation, food choices and ways of enhancing food security at the household level.

Health support

With this intervention the Program sought to improve the physical and psychological well being of all the OVC under her care and support. A total of 1600 OVC from 20 Primary schools and B. L Tezza Complex secondary school were referred and treated in various health facilities that included St. Camillus Mission Hospital, Sori Sub – District Hospital, Nyamanga Dispensary, Otati Dispensary, Riat Dispensary, Seka Dispensary, Lwanda Magwar Dispensary and Lwanda Gwassi Dispensary.

80 OVC living with HIV and AIDS are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) at St. Camillus Mission hospital and continue to demonstrate improved health.Some children from B. L Tezza Complex primary who had hearing impairment were referred for screening in Kisumu and Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.660 OVC from 20 primary schools received guidance and counseling services from Dala Kiye staff to help address their emotional and psychological well being.

So as to enhance hand hygiene in schools the Program initiated a hand washing campaign in 18 primary schools by erecting 3 hand washing points in each school. The Program also successfully facilitated Global Hand Washing Day celebrations that were marked at Sori Primary School on 15th October 2013.

The Program also distributed sanitary towels to vulnerable girls in B.L Tezza Complex Secondary school to help retain them in school and to avoid disruption of their normal learning during their menstrual cyle. In total, 32 girls benefitted throughout the year.

Shelter and Care Support

The Program reached 94 OVC with foster care services. Out of the number, 60 OVC were accommodated in foster care for children with special needs while the remaining 34 wereaccommodated in community foster care. The program also managed to construct 30 semi permanent houses to identified OVC households. Under clothing support, the Program distributed second hand clothes to 2,000 OVC from 18 primary schools that are situated in Karungu and Gwassi.

Dilapidated shelter Improved Shelter

Child Protection and advocacy

The intervention was meant to help address the rights of the children in the Program. This covered areas such as birth registration, carrying out sensitization sessions with caregivers in schools and celebrating of community open days that aimed at advocating for child rights. In this line therefore, 304 OVC were helped to process their birth certificates. The Program also hosted World OrphansDay (7th May 2013) and The Day of the African Child (16th June 2013). The two community open days provided an open forum for all the stakeholders in the field of OVC care and support to show solidarity and commitment.

HIV and AIDS education in schools

Because of high prevalence of HIV in the area, the Program aggressively rolled out HIV and AIDS education sessions in 45 primary schools in Karungu and Gwassi. The sessions targeted the children enrolled in classes 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Dala Kiye staff facilitated all the sessions. The sessions were conducted through group work, demonstrations, lectures and drama. In the end 7407 children were reached with these sessions. After the sessions, Dala Kiye staff also managed with the help of the teachers to establish one HIV and AIDS peer club in each of the 45 schools. Dala Kiye after helping to establish the peer clubs in the targeted schools also managed to carry out an intensive peer educators training to 5 peer club members from each school. A total of 225 peer educators benefited from the training.

As part of its efforts to sensitize a wider audience on the issues related to HIV and AIDS the Program hosted World AIDS Day celebrations on 1st December 2013. The theme of the celebration was ‘getting to zero’, with a sub – theme of zero new HIV infection, zero AIDS related deaths and zero discrimination.

Economic empowerment to caregivers

This initiative is meant to enhance sustainability. The Program managed to extend material support to 6 caregiver support groups in order to jump start income generating activities of their choice. The groups supported were as follows: - Aringo (Poultry project), Nyatambe (Poultry project), Kopala (Poultry project), Agolomuok (Poultry project), Lwanda Magwar (Horticulture Project) and Obondi (Horticulture Project). With the support, the groups are expected to use the proceeds generated from their projects to help their members in providing the essential services to their households without necessarily depending on Dala Kiye Program.

Partners/Organizations

• PROSA
• Salute Sviluppo
• Intervita Onlus
• Italian Cooperation
• Fathers Table Foundation
• Bambini Del Mondo Onlus
• Una Strada Onlus

Report prepared by

George Anyanga

Program Coordinator

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