We work with local leaders and school administrators to identify OVCs. Our staff build rapport with children and their families before conducting in-depth situation assessments to assess their WASH, education, health and nutrition needs.
The situation assessment findings help us to tailor our interventions to address the unique needs of children while uploading the cultural defines of particular locations. We premise impact assessment and evaluation of our program activities on the findings from situation assessments
We use tailored intervention strategies depending on the context and target group. For rural families which house OVCs, we use Community-Led Total Sanitation and Personal Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) approaches. These are participatory approaches that reveal to families that their members including children are falling sick and dying from diseases like diarrhea because of the practice of defecating in the open, while encouraging communities to improve hygiene behaviors & proper water management. In urban slums, we use PHAST to trigger the need for better sanitation and end open defecation. When communities are declared open defecation free, we provide safe water depending community technological choice and hydrological conditions. We facilitate the formation and training of water user committees to manage the water supply systems for functional sustainability.
We use tailored intervention strategies depending on the context and target group. For rural families which house OVCs, we use Community-Led Total Sanitation and Personal Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) approaches. These are participatory approaches that reveal to families that their members including children are falling sick and dying from diseases like diarrhea because of the practice of defecating in the open, while encouraging communities to improve hygiene behaviors & proper water management. In urban slums, we use PHAST to trigger the need for better sanitation and end open defecation. When communities are declared open defecation free, we provide safe water depending community technological choice and hydrological conditions. We facilitate the formation and training of water user committees to manage the water supply systems for functional sustainability.
In schools, our staff employ School-Led Total Sanitation to put children at the center of promoting sanitation and hygiene at schools and communities coupled with child-friendly approaches such as Child Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation. We work with individual children, WASH clubs members, Headteachers, teachers, PTAs & SMCs. Our interventions in schools are play-based and sports directed. Using appropriate supply technologies, we provide safe water supply to our partner schools. We facilitate the formation & training of WASH clubs in school to manage water, sanitation and hygiene (including Menstrual Hygiene Management) services in schools and also act as change agents in their homes and communities.
In schools, we aim to create a healthy environment that can promote learning for all. When there is clean water at school, proper sanction, handwashing facilities, availability of pads and changing rooms for girls, children able to stay in school. Girls are able to learn even during their menstrual periods. We support OVCs’ access to healthy foods while at home and in our partner schools to ensure good healthy and proper learning. We train families and schools in nutrition activities to establish agricultural farms to meet the dietary needs of their members. We work with partners and donors to access scholarships to support OVCs in partner schools.
Healthy families and schools with access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, coupled with education scholarships and good nutrition, Orphans and Vulnerable Children are able to stay in school. They become healthy and therefore able to stay in school and improve learning performance at school. OVCs are able to better their lives and facilitate the development of their families and communities. After implementation and monitoring of project activities, our staff gather endline data to assess the impact of intervention. Data is analysed to inform decisions
