Church Alliance Strengthens Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Namibia

JANUARY 2007 — Namibia has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world, creating a crisis for a generation of children.

Namibian research organizations estimate that 180,000–200,000 children under 18 have lost one or both parents. Of that total, approximately two-thirds were orphaned due to AIDS-related illnesses. The number of orphans continues to rise, and the Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services anticipates that by 2020 it will exceed 250,000.

Violence and abuse of women and orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC), particularly girls, pose major obstacles to children achieving their potential. And stigma and discrimination hinder effective care and support of OVC, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Initial programs in Namibia focusing on children provided inadequate financial and technical assistance to local churches and other faith-based organizations; limited economic and vocational capacity building for OVC and their caregivers; irregular health and nutrition support; and an insufficient number of skilled staff, such as social workers and counselors, UNAIDS reported.

Response to OVC Needs Strengthened

The Church Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) has significantly strengthened the national response to such critical OVC needs as nutrition, psychosocial support, health care and legal protection. CAFO—the only interdenominational faith-based organization in the country focused on OVC—is a national network closely affiliated with the Council of Churches in Namibia. CAFO was conceived in 2002 and launched the following year by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare. The organization has been supported by the Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care (IMPACT) Project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and managed by Family Health International (FHI).

"Churches have a long history of helping others. Our faith teaches us to care for the needy," said Reverend Doctor Henry Platt, the director of CAFO. "Churches provide a safe environment for children and have the infrastructure to initiate programs in the best interest of children."

CAFO encourages and helps Namibian churches and other faith-based organizations provide comprehensive emotional, spiritual and material care and support to OVC. "We believe that all children should be given the opportunity to fulfill their God-given potential," Platt said.

Under his leadership, CAFO has grown from a six-member organization to a network of 380 churches and other local faith-based organizations. It operates through 68 ecumenical pilot committees in towns and villages throughout all 13 regions in Namibia. The organization is governed by a broad-based board of trustees that includes representatives of the Lutheran, Catholic and African Methodist Episcopal Churches; Apostolic Faith Mission; and Bahai and Jewish communities. "We do not teach dogmas; we teach skills," said Platt, who also serves as chairperson of the Care and Support Unit of the National Task Force on OVC and previously chaired Namibia's first voluntary counseling and testing center.

Advocacy, Capacity Building and Financial Assistance Assigned Priority

Child advocacy is one of CAFO's priorities. The organization trains pastors and community leaders to mobilize their respective communities to meet the needs of OVC and reduce stigma against them.

In addition, CAFO staff and volunteers strengthen the capacity of local church leaders, community volunteers and caregivers to provide psychosocial care, counseling, pastoral training, leadership development, team-building and HIV/AIDS education for youth.

Further, the organization provides small grants to CAFO members for activities benefiting OVC, mostly education, psychosocial support, child rights advocacy, general health needs and supplemental nutrition. The organization also supports income-generating activities, including raising goats and poultry, growing Mahangu (a millet grain), planting vegetable gardens and needlework.

CAFO gives member churches an initial incentive grant of up to N$15,000 (US$2,143) and, if that is successful, CAFO may offer a larger special support grant of up to N$30,000 (US$4,286). Each grant helps between 100 and 200 children over a six-month period. Preference is given to small projects that serve extremely needy orphans and other children not receiving assistance elsewhere; provide multiple services to the children; link needy OVC with other support services in a community; and help children live as normally as possible, preferably in family settings rather than orphanages.

Platt said caregivers of the assisted children play an important role in these CAFO activities. Most of these caregivers are the children's grandmothers and other relatives. "We reach out to them and give them training to cope and care for the children," he said. "They are critical to our efforts and are greatly involved and enthusiastic. They are engaged in gardening to produce food for their children and sewing to make clothes for them, and form support groups to support and learn from each other."

Beneficiaries Target Exceeded

Supported by FHI under the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, CAFO exceeded its target of providing care and support to 5,000 OVC in 2006. This includes children reached through CAFO's role as one of FHI's three partners in The Community Faith-Based Regional Initiative for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children (FABRIC), a five-year program that strengthens and expands services for OVC in Namibia, South Africa and Zambia. In addition, CAFO has trained 245 caregivers to offer psychosocial support to OVC.

Platt said these programs have produced significant improvements in the children's quality of life. "Malnutrition has been reduced among children, and psychosocial and emotional problems have been lessened. What's more, the children's clinical health has improved under these programs."

The organization's response to these problems will be further strengthened by a three-year grant of more than US$1 million it received in December 2006 in the first round of the U.S. government's New Partners Initiative. Through this program, the Emergency Plan builds international community organizations' capacity to develop long-term responses to HIV/AIDS.

Further Measures Required

Despite its successes, CAFO must take further measures to meet growing OVC needs, Platt asserted. This includes expanding its income-generation activities and broadening its geographical coverage. Platt said CAFO should also build closer relationships with Namibian schools and with similar organizations addressing OVC needs. "I would like to exchange ideas with other comparable organizations and share lessons learned. This occurs now on a limited scale and I want to expand that, especially with organizations in the United States," he said. Platt said children in Namibia are facing a crisis, and churches and other faith-based organizations must assume leadership in addressing it. "It confronts churches to transform the life situations of OVC to become what we all are—children before God," he said.

Photo: The Rev. Dr. Henry Platt, director of CAFO, poses with President and Mrs. Bush at the White House in conjunction with World AIDS Day events in December 2006. CAFO received a three-year grant of more than US$1 million that month in the first round of the U.S. government's New Partners Initiative. (The White House)