Founded 14 years ago, CHILDHOPE-ZAMBIA is one of the children's development organizations in Zambia. We work in the Southern Province of Zambia in Mazabuka, Monze, Choma and Kalomo districts to alleviate poverty and promote child rights in order to raise them out of poverty and support inclusive education. CHILDHOPE works with families and their communities in the targeted districts in supporting the children. We offer our help to the children who need it the most-those living in the rural areas of Zambia. The organization is independent, with no religious, political or governmental affiliations. CHILDHOPE`s work is to reduce poverty, HIV/AIDS ,improve the living standards of children and promoting child rights in order to raise them out of poverty .
Some of the areas in which CHILDHOPE works work in are as follows
A. Education
CHILDHOPE believes that education is crucial for development and one of the most powerful tools in breaking the poverty cycle.
CHILDHOPE puts in more in education than any other programme area and works to ensure that children, young people and adults get the knowledge and life skills they need to realize their full potential. The school improvement programme, which is part of our formal education work, delivers:
- Support to every aspect of a school essential in creating the best learning environment for children there by providing adequate and appropriate teaching and learning materials for the basic school children.
- Supporting education through the provision of school furniture.
- Child representation on every school committee and training of school management committees which are tailored towards making schools more transparent. As parents and children realize that they are key stakeholders in the running of schools, they will begin to take decision-making seriously and begin to demand explanations on the way their schools are run.
- Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE)
Many children in the targeted districts benefit from CHILDHOPE-ZAMBIA early childhood care development and education (ECCDE) work through supporting their physical and emotional development. CHILDHOPE Initiatives include construction of early childhood care, development and education centers,establishingday care centers and pre-schools, stimulating children's learning through play, pre-school, feeding programmes, community capacity building and adult literacy classes to improve their reading and writing skills. CHILDHOPE believes early childhood programmes make for strong foundations and pay high dividends which have significant impact on children's health and readiness to learn brings important economic returns later in life.CHILDHOPE does not only work with communities to construct ECCDE centers, it also encourages and supports ECCDE management and governance. This promotes awareness of education and creates ownership of structures by the communities.
Ø Improving performance at school
For instance in Mazabuka, primary school teachers in the targeted communities have reported that children who enroll for the first class at primary-level after having attended CHILDHOPE ECCDE programme perform better academically, socially and emotionally than their classmates. CHILDHOPE ECCDE programmes have been most successful where strong relationships among the communities and the basic school teachers have been formed. Our basic school improvement work involves child participation and school governance.
In 2009, CHILDHOPE trained 40 pre-school teachers, 80 community members in TB Direct observed treatment(DOT) and psychosocial counseling, 120 women in safe motherhood and HIV/AIDS,80 community members in ECCDE care giving,80 community members in parent management committees, supported 240 people living with HIV/AIDS through the provision of Home based care kits. For example in 2009 in Mazabuka district, CHILDHOPE supported 800 children in ECCDE.
Under health, CHILDHOPE supports pre-school and primary school children. This school health component of the project avails common drugs to the children e.g. de-worming drugs, anti malaria, anti bilharzia, Panadols, aspirin etc. The CHILDHOPE health programmes help to save thousands of children's lives every year.
Our community-level initiatives also include immunization, child nutrition and hygiene promotions which are done hand in hand with the local health centers. Other health programmes include malaria, reproductive health, diarrhea, malnutrition prevention among the childrenwith HIV and AIDS education.CHILDHOPE works with the local health centers in supporting health for the children
C. Sexual health and HIV/AIDS
Pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) affect many children and youths in the rural areas because they are denied the right to protect themselves. CHILDHOPE awareness-raising and direct response programmes help to empower children and young people so that they can realize their rights and achieve their full potential. CHILDHOPE directly involves children and young people in all of its work by helping them to identify problems and find solutions. We work with partners and communities to:
- Advocate for the rights of children and youths living in a world with HIV
- Provide prevention, care and support services to the people living with HIV and AIDS including children.
- Confront beliefs and attitudes that maintain unequal power relations between the sexes.
- Support quality reproductive and sexual health education and services
- Provide home-based care kits and train caregivers.
- Strengthen/ form HIV/AIDS school clubs.
- Provide HIV/AIDS adolescent youth awareness and education program through peer education and moral upbringing to fight HIV/AIDS in the rural communities. The organization uses;
Sport to disseminate information about HIV/AIDS. These are football, netball and volleyball. Villages compete with each other and the best teams get prices. This encourages the communities to do more in HIV/AIDS activities. Other messages on HIV/AIDS are disseminated as they engage in sporting activities. Drama, poems and songs to disseminate information about HIV/AIDS. Peer educators have been trained to handle most of the HIV/AIDS programmes in the communities.
- Provide food and medicines to the people living with HIV/AIDS. On the provision of medicines to the people living with HIV/AIDS, CHILDHOPE avails Panadols, asprin.ORS and procaine penicillin etc. These drugs suppress other diseases that may affect the bodies of the people living with HIV/AIDS due to weak anti bodies caused by HIV/AIDS.
- Conduct home visits to the people living with HIV/AIDS through CHILDHOPE caregivers. The caregivers feed, wash and clean the homes of the people living with HIV/AIDS that do not have the energy to do this for themselves as a result of sickness. The caregivers also help in turning the bodies and applying medicine to the people living with HIV/AIDS that have developed sores due to over sleeping on one side.
D. Nutrition
Nutrition plays an important role in the up-bringing of children. Many orphans and other vulnerable children suffer from increased malnutrition and reduced opportunity for education due to lack of nutrition support. Without adequate care and support, many children are exposed to exploitative child labor and abuse and face increased vulnerability to HIV infection.
CHILDHOPE supports the nutrition of the children through the provision of soya meal, mealie-meal, sugar, cooking oil, Kapenta, beans and salt. This has encouraged orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs) attend school.
CHILDHOPE also teaches the communities on the importance of nutrition to the children. The organization provides food and nutritional security to the malnourished children directly or indirectly affected by HIV/AIDS. This is done as the immediate nutritional support to the children identified as acutely malnourished through a monitored supplementary feeding programme.
Communities through the support of CHILDHOPE has established communal gardens which increase the food and nutritional security of the malnourished children identified as stunted.80% of the vegetables in the gardens are consumed by the children and 20% of the vegetables are being sold for the continuation of purchase of seed for gardening.
CHILDHOPE educates the communities on the importance of feeding the children with locally available nutrition foods to improve their health. CHILDHOPE nutrition support for the children is also done hand in hand with the local health centers.
E. Provision of clean water and sanitation
CHILDHOPE understands that the provision of clean water and sanitation is critical for the development of a child therefore; the organization strives to provide clean water and sanitation to the rural communities in early childhood care, development and education centres and the basic schools.
The organization works with it partners towards making ECCDE centers and basic schools healthier and more attractive to the children, especially girls by providing them with clean water and sanitation. CHILDHOPE imparts knowledge on access to basic health care, water and sanitation especially for children and their mothers.
CHILDHOPE believes that provision of clean water and sanitation leads to healthier children who are more effective learners and spend less time fetching water and have more time for school. Due to clean water and sanitation, children themselves have become the agents of change in their families and communities at large. The organization also raises awareness on the importance of sanitation for the children and the community as a whole in the targeted areas in order to avoid contaminating food and water supplies.
For example, CHILDHOPE supported the building of 8 V.I.P toilets in Mazabuka district at the ECCDE centers and Simwaba basic school and was able to sink a borehole at one of the ECCDE centers.These facilities are managed and maintained by the communities through a chosen committee.
F. Income generating activities
Income generating activities are important for sustainability of community projects. CHILDHOPE is working with communities in supporting income generating activities (IGAs).Under IGAs, CHILDHOPE is working with communities through supporting vegetable gardens to support IGAs for the OVCs and the PLWHA.
This has helped to boost child nutritional food consumption and generate cash for continuous community IGAs. The organization is also supporting communities with goat rearing as an IGA. Communities are provided with faming inputs such as fertilizer and seed to help them farm and generate income for the children and the people living with HIV/AIDS. Communities are alsotrained on the best methods of farming.
There are mothers clubs who sew different children's clothes, jerseys, uniforms and table clothes. After these have been done, they are sold to the communities at a minimal fee to raise funds for the support of the children and the people living with HIV/AIDS. CHILDHOPE has also supported communities with hammer mills for income generating activity. Funds raised from the hammer mill are used to support the children at the ECCDE centers and the people living with HIV/AIDS.
G. Community and Child empowerment programme
CHILDHOPE believes that empowerment of children, their families and communities to participate in their own development is essential to the alleviation of poverty therefore; CHILDHOPE facilitates child rights, gender and HIV/AIDs trainings.
H. Inclusive education
CHILDHOPE works with communities and districts to support inclusive education for the children in the rural areas. The organisation supports low vision, blind and the physically challenged children. CHILDHOPE supports sensitization and coordination activities at community and district level. The organisation also supports the welfare of the physically challenged children and distributes equipment. CHILDHOPE supports health and nutrition of the children.
CHILDHOPE works in a developing country called Zambia. It focuses on reducing poverty and HIV/AIDS, improve the living standards of children and promoting child rights in order to raise them out of poverty.
I.How we work
i. Our approach
Children are the focal point of everything we do. CHILDHOPE is a child development organization in Zambia. We work with children, their families, women, youths, communities, organizations and the government to bring about positive development and reduce poverty among the children. CHILDHOPE provides opportunities for these groups to participate at different levels based on their strengths and life experiences.Families and community representatives also participate as advisers and/or decision makers. CHILDHOPE believes that when children, adults and communities work together it is most likely that programmes will be booming and there will be sustainability.
Listening to what children say about their rights, needs and concerns is key to our approach. CHILDHOPE encourages and helps children to take an active role in finding solutions to their problems and realizing their full potential towards their development. In our programming, we also support children with special needs especially the disabled.
ii. Accountability
Our organization is committed to making lasting improvements to the lives of children living in poverty in Zambia. CHILDHOPE recognizes its duty to be as effective and efficient as possible and to be accountable to all its stakeholders.
J.Our core areas of activity include:
- Education
- Child empowerment
- Health and HIV/ AIDS
- Income generating activities
- Nutrition
- Provision of clean water and sanitation.
- Inclusive education
k. Child survival and developing
CHILDHOPE also strives for equal access to quality primary health care services, with a particular focus on reducing maternal and child mortality. We also work to ensure youth-friendly sexual health services, and access to safe water and sanitation in communities.
CHILDHOPE promotes and facilitates quality education and early childhood care for all children, especially girls and the creation of self employment opportunities for youths.
