Interventionsfor OVCin 4 Sites

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Interventions for orphans and vulnerable children at four project sites in

South Africa
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Interventions for orphans and vulnerable
children at four project sites in South Africa
Edited by
Geoffrey Setswe
& Donald Skinner
Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za
Published by HSRC Press

Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
www.hsrcpress.ac.za
First published 2008
ISBN 978-0-7969-2218-2
© 2008 Human Sciences Research Council
Copyedited by Karen van Eden

Typeset by Robin Taylor
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Contents
Contributors iv
Acknowledgements v
Acronyms and abbreviations vi
Tables and figures vii
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. INTERVENTIONS FOR OVC IN THE

RUSTENBURG AREA, NORTH WEST 3
2.1. Background on the Rustenburg area 3
2.2. Methods 6
2.3. Description of the Tapologo HIV/AIDS and OVC programmes 7
2.4. Partnerships and household visits 26
2.5. SWOT analysis 29
2.5. Conclusion 31

KOPANONG AREA, FREE STATE 33
3.1. Background on the Kopanong Municipality 33

3.2. Methods 34
3.3. Description of OVC interventions at Diketso Eseng Dipuo 35
3.4. Programme evaluation: talking to the beneficiaries 42
3.6. Conclusion and recommendations 54

ORKNEY AREA, NORTH WEST 57
4.1. Background on Orkney and surrounding areas 57
4.2. Methods 59
4.3. Description of OVC interventions at Child Welfare North West 60

MATJHABENG AREA, FREE STATE 71
5.1. Background on the Matjhabeng Municipality 71
5.2. Methods 72
5.3. Description of the interventions of Matjhabeng Joint Venture OVC 73
6. SYNTHESIS OF LESSONS LEARNED 81
7. CONCLUSION 83
APPENDICES 84
1. Map showing two of the four intervention sites in South Africa 84
2. Organisational and service audits at DEDI 84
REFERENCES 87
contributors
Nkululeko Nkomo (HSRC)

Azwihangwisi Matevha (HSRC)
Naletsana Masango (NMCF)
Adern Nkandela (NMCF)
Kerileng Mushi (Tapologo OVC project)
Patricia Leburu (Child Welfare North West)
Jacki Lingalo (Matjhabeng Joint Venture OVC)
Nomthandazo Hlaleleni (HSRC/Matjhabeng Joint Venture OVC)
Phetole Seodi (Heartbeat)
Centre for Development Support (CDS)
iv
©HSRC 2008
acknowledgements
WK Kellogg Foundation
We appreciate the support of the WK Kellogg Foundation in providing funding for
the project and this report. We also appreciate the support given by Bishop Malusi
Mpumlwana, Mrs Vuyo Mahlati, Professor Rukuni, Ms Fernanda Farinha and
Mr Bernard Likalimba.
HSRC
The key drivers of the project at the HSRC were Dr Olive Shisana, Dr Laetitia Rispel,
Professor Leickness Simbayi and Ms Kgobati Magome, who ensured that all elements
of the multi-country and multi-site project were implemented and completed as
planned.
NMCF
We wish to thank Adern Nkandela, Tshepo Mdwaba, Shadi Xaba and other collegues
at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund for being a great link with the project and
being available to visit the sites at different times.
Tapologo OVC project

Acknowledgement is expressed to management of Tapologo HIV/AIDS project: Sister
Georgina Boswell, Ms Hilda de Bees, Sister Rangoaga, Ms Michala van Tonder and
Mrs Lizzy Ogoweng.
Acknowledgement is also expressed to the staff of Tapologo OVC project including

Child Care Coordinators for Freedom Park and Boitekong – Jackie and Lebo, and
Child Care Workers in Boitekong – Mpho Letlhare, Fikiswa Maya, Adelaide Moseki,
Jane and all the Community Care Workers in Freedom Park.
We appreciate the cooperation of the families, parents and children, particularly

OVC that we visited and interviewed in both Freedom Park and Boitekong. The
programme is successful because of your cooperation.
Child Welfare North West

Acknowledgement is expressed to staff of Child Welfare North West for agreeing to
be interviewed and for taking us on visits to the project sites in Orkney, Kanana,
Alabama and Khuma; Annelie van Rooyen, Marie van Rooyen, Annaleen van Staden,
Suzette van Vuuren, Tshenolo, Patricia, Lydia Mabote and all the women and mothers
taking care of children at the safe homes and other projects that we visited.
Matjhabeng OVC Joint Venture

We acknowledge the role played by Ms Jacki Lingala (Fieldwork Coordinator –
Matjhabeng OVC Joint Venture), Ms Nuku Radebe, Mr Buti Radebe and
Ms Nomthandazo Hlaleleni at the Matjhabeng project sites.
Kopanong
We acknowledge the work done by colleagues at the Centre for Development
Support (CDS) in evaluating DEDI and reporting on the evaluation.
Dr Anna Strebel, for editing this document.

©HSRC 2008
acronyms and abbreviations
ACE Accelerated Christian Education

AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
ART antiretroviral therapy
ARV antiretroviral
CBO community-based organisation
CCC Community Care Coordinator
CCCC Community Child Care Committee
CCF Child Care Forum
CCSP Child Care and Stimulation Project
CCW Community Care Worker
CHW Community Health Worker
CPP Child Protection Projects
CWNW Child Welfare North West
CWSA Child Welfare South Africa
DEDI Diketso Eseng Dipuo

ECD Early Childhood Development
FACT Family AIDS Caring Trust
FSP Family Support Programme
GDP Gross Domestic Product
HIV Human Immuno-deficiency Virus
HSRC Human Sciences Research Council
KCP Kinship Care Project
KMD Kerklike Maatskaplike Diens
KOSH Klerksdorp, Orkney, Stilfontein and Hartbeesfontein
MTF Masiela Trust Fund
NGO non-governmental organisation
NMCF Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund
OVC orphans and vulnerable children
PACE Packets of Accelerated Christian Education
PEPFAR President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
PSS psychosocial support
REPPSI Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative
RDP Reconstruction and Development Programme
STI sexually transmitted infection
TB tuberculosis
VEP Victim Empowerment Project
VMCDC Virginia Multipurpose Community Development Centre
WKKF WK Kellogg Foundation
YWCA Young Women’s Christian Association
vi
©HSRC 2008
tables and figures
Tables
Table 2.1: Communities where Tapologo HIV/AIDS project operates, with estimated
population 6
Table 2.2: Partners and their roles or contributions 26
Table 3.1: HIV prevalence for pregnant women in the Free State, 1999 – 2003 34
Table 3.2: An overview of interviews conducted in the four towns in Kopanong,
2007 34
Table 3.3: An overview of training conducted in the four towns in Kopanong, 2006 38
Table 3.4: An outline of home visits in the four towns 39
Table 3.5: Number of people assisted with obtaining documentation and grants 40
Table 3.6: An overview of training conducted for the savings groups in Kopanong 41
Table 3.7: Major positive aspects of the training and home visits by DEDI, 2007 46
Table 3.8: An overview of how successful the project targets were 53
Table 4.1: Population groups in the City of Matlosana, 2001 58
Figures
Figure 2.1: Programme elements of the Tapologo HIV/AIDS Programme 9
Figure 2.2: Programme structure, partners and stakeholders 12
Figure 2.3: Types of households in which volunteers work 13
Figure 2.4: OVC Outreach Structure 17
Figure 2.5: Structure of Tapologo Hospice and In-patient Unit 19
Figure 2.6: ART Programme Structure 22
Figure 2.7: Structure of the Tapologo Outreach Programme 25
Figure 3.1: Organisational structure of DEDI 36
Figure 4.1: Map showing the Klerksdorp-Orkney-Stilfontein-Hartbeesfontein (KOSH)
area 57
Figure 4.2: Organisational structure of Child Welfare North West 62
Figure 4.3: Steps in the implementation of the Asibavikele Project 66
Figure 5.1: Map of the Free State showing the Matjhabeng Municipality 72
vii
©HSRC 2008
chapter 1
Introduction
The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) together with its partners – the Nelson
Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF) in South Africa, Masiela Trust Fund (MTF) in
Botswana and Family AIDS Caring Trust (FACT) in Zimbabwe, were commissioned
by the WK Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) to develop and implement a five-year
intervention project on orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) as well as families
and households coping with an increased burden of care for affected children.
The goals of the project were to:

• improve the social conditions, health, development and quality of life of
vulnerable children and orphans;
• support families and households coping with an increased burden of care for
affected and vulnerable children;
• strengthen community-based support systems as an indirect means to assist
vulnerable children; and
• build capacity in community-based systems for sustaining care and support to
vulnerable children and households, over the long term.
The overall philosophy behind the project was to empower the communities to help
themselves, with a very strong emphasis on sustainability of the project when funding
from the donor had ceased.
The main aims of the project were to develop, implement and evaluate some
existing and/or new OVC intervention programmes that address home-based child-
centred health, development, education and support; family and household support;
strengthening community-support systems and building Human Immuno-deficiency
Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) awareness, advocacy and
policy to benefit OVC.
The HSRC and its partners in the two other countries were required to submit reports
on the description of interventions that focused on selected home-based, child-
centred development programmes focusing on health, nutrition, psychosocial support
(PSS) care, and protection and management of inherited assets; selected family and
household support programmes focusing on care, support and income generation;
programmes aimed at strengthening community-based systems focusing on support
of local initiatives, faith-based organisations, community, government and non-
government organisations; and HIV/AIDS awareness, advocacy and policy-support
programmes for the benefit of vulnerable children, families and communities (Simbayi
and Skinner 2001).
This report describes the interventions for OVC at four sites in South Africa. These
are the Rustenburg and Orkney areas in the North West province, and the Kopanong
and Matjhabeng Municipalities in the Free State.

©HSRC 2008
chapter 2
Interventions for OVC in the

Rustenburg area, North West
Background on the Rustenburg area
Rustenburg is situated some 112 km northwest of Johannesburg, at the foot of the
Magaliesberg in the North West province. The town was founded in 1851 by farmers
who had settled in the area a decade earlier with the Voortrekker leader, Andries
Pretorius.
Rustenburg, the world’s largest source of platinum, is currently the fastest growing
town in South Africa due to the sustained high prices of platinum. The platinum
industry contributes about 66% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the
Rustenburg municipality and further accounts for about 50% of all formal sector
employment opportunities (Nkandela 2006).
Home to migrant labourers from various African countries, the mineworkers live in
single-sex hostels close to the mineshafts. Following in their wake, women have set
up informal settlements on the outskirts of the hostels, providing various income-
earning services and networks to the mineworkers. Over time, retrenched workers
have erected shacks in these settlements as well, hoping to find employment
again on the mines. In this way, shack settlements have grown around the hostels,
accommodating poor, desperate and uprooted people. All of these settlements are
on Bafokeng tribal land. With the Bafokeng not wanting them there, local authorities
are unable to provide services to the area or to secure tenure (Viljoen 2004). There
is a high incidence of HIV infection in the area, due to the extreme poverty of
its inhabitants, a lack of extended families and a lack of personal and community
resources.
The Royal Bafokeng Nation of Rustenburg comprises a population of 300 000 people.
The Royal Bafokeng are members of the Setswana-speaking indigenous community
and rose to some prominence during the 1980s when they demanded compensation
and royalties from mining companies who were mining platinum in the area. The
Bafokeng nation spans 44 farms and extends over 70 000 hectares. The kingdom
is subdivided into 72 traditional wards, each of which is regulated by a hereditary
headman and his wife. Located on the mineral-rich Merensky Reef, the Bafokeng
kingdom has an abundance of chrome reserves and the world’s second-largest
platinum deposits.1
The area of operation of the current Tapologo HIV/AIDS programme is primarily to

the north of Rustenburg and south of the Pilanesberg, an area incorporating rural and
tribal villages, suburban areas of Rustenburg and the burgeoning informal settlements.
The Rustenburg District is an area rich in mineral resources and a number of mines
operate in close proximity to Rustenburg City. Other economic activities undertaken
in the region include agriculture of various forms, including tobacco, various dry land
crops, citrus and, to a lesser extent, dairy farming and cattle farming. Rustenburg
1 www.tourismnorthwest.co.za/bojanala/rustenburg.html

©HSRC 2008
Interventions for orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa
was proclaimed a city in 1998. Aside from the highly developed core of mining,
industrial and other economic activity in the immediate vicinity of Rustenburg, the city
government also administers a range of settlement patterns from peri-urban to rural
communities, including informal settlements.
The platinum mines are currently in an extensive growth phase, encouraged by

the weakening of the Rand and the strengthening of foreign markets for the area’s
mineral wealth, which results in an influx of job seekers and exacerbates the currently
poor social conditions and an escalating HIV infection rate. These, and other factors,
contribute to the Rustenburg area having a high HIV/AIDS infection rate in relation
to the rest of the province and South Africa, borne out by data collated from health
centres within the district and verified by the Provincial Department of Health.
The current infection rate in and around Rustenburg city is about 3.6% with the
Rustenburg Provincial Hospital reporting a 90% infection rate amongst outpatients.
This indicates an HIV-positive population possibly as high as 200 000, based on a
total population of some 550 000 in the Rustenburg District.2
The growth of informal settlements in Rustenburg

During the apartheid years, the system of labour conscription in areas such as
Swaziland, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Transkei and other parts of southern Africa ensured
a large number of migrant workers being employed and housed in single-sex hostels
at the Rustenburg mines. Concentrating a considerable number of migrant workers
in such hostels without family and community support structures has resulted in
disruption to the existing local communities and a breakdown of communal and
moral values in the absence of traditional authorities and structures, as well as the
establishment and spread of overwhelming numbers of informal housing and
indigent communities.
Whilst mining houses in the Rustenburg area have acted cooperatively with the
government in providing formal housing and services to informal settlements,
wherever possible, and moving towards abolishing the hostel system, much work
remains to be done in dealing with the high rates of unemployment and poverty
found in the area, not least of which is encountered amongst those migrants
concentrated in squatter camps.
Freedom Park and Boitekong

There are many squatter camps and informal settlements located near the different
mines. Freedom Park informal settlement is situated next to Impala Platinum Mines,
20 km from Rustenburg, in the North West province. The settlement started in 1986,
when a few people set up tin shacks in order to sell liquor to the miners. It gradually
grew from year to year as people came searching for work at the mines, or the family
of the miners came in search of them, and finding no accommodation, squatted on a
piece of land belonging to the Bafokeng tribe adjacent to the mines.
2 Website of Tapologo HIV/AIDS programme hosted by Sun International at

www.suninternational.com/tapologo/legacy.pdf

©HSRC 2008
Interventions for OVC in the Rustenburg area, North West
The current population of Freedom Park is estimated at 30 000 (Nkandela 2006).

Many of the people in this community come from Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland
and the Eastern Cape. During the apartheid era, the mines did not provide housing
for black miners, which meant that the miners had to live in hostels and had to leave
their families behind in their traditional villages. Due to this prolonged break with
the family, many of the miners set up second and third families at Freedom Park.
Prostitution and homosexuality became rife, and some of the women had to and still
do resort to prostitution in order to get money to raise their families.
Most parts of Freedom Park have no infrastructure – no proper roads, running water,
sanitation, electricity or sewerage. This is partially due to its location and because
the people are not perceived as permanent citizens of this area, and therefore little
is being done to invest in this community. There are no factories or industries in the
immediate surroundings. The mines, local businesses and the construction sector
provide low-skills employment and domestic work for a number of people (Nkandela
2006).
In recent years the work force at the mines has been reduced due to retrenchments.
This has resulted in a large influx of destitute people into Freedom Park, bringing
with it huge socio-economic problems. Because Freedom Park Squatter Camp is

illegal, the normal infrastructure is non-existent, and outside help is slow in coming.
But despite all of this, the inhabitants of Freedom Park are trying to help themselves.
A new section of Freedom Park was developed with Reconstruction and

Development Programme (RDP) houses in about 2002. This section has basic
infrastructure, including water, electricity, a sewerage system and a decent roads
network. Schools, a clinic, recreational facilities and other amenities are being
developed in this section of Freedom Park.
Boitekong is a formal settlement and is a better developed area than Freedom Park. It
has RDP houses and basic infrastructure such as water, electricity and a water-borne
sewerage system. It developed from the same social, economic and environmental
factors that were described in Freedom Park. Boitekong now has an estimated
population of 35 000 people.
Freedom Park and Boitekong are characterised by high unemployment rates,

particularly for women, which in some cases drives them to become commercial sex
workers. The socio-cultural inequalities that prevail in these communities allow men
to have more than one sexual partner at a time, leaving many women vulnerable to
sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Most women are forced to collude with these
arrangements as they are often dependent on the men for economic survival.
The majority of men are reluctant to use condoms and STIs are ordinarily left
untreated, thus leaving men and women vulnerable to contracting HIV. Reluctance to
take an HIV test is common. Even after the tests have confirmed results as positive,
the majority of men continue being in denial and continue to live unhealthy lifestyles
(Nkandela 2006).

©HSRC 2008
Other areas of influence

As a result of the increase in migrant workers and the dearth of traditional
community structures and values, many people living with tuberculosis (TB), HIV/
AIDS and other illnesses are living below subsistence level and dying in conditions of
poverty and squalor. This is attributable firstly to the lack of immediate or extended
family that would, in normal circumstances, in some way be able to care for the
patient adequately; and secondly to the prevailing economic and social conditions,
which mitigate against families being able to care adequately for the patient.
There is no infrastructure in many of the rural communities around Rustenburg

(this is partially due to their location) and patients have very limited or no access to
services to assist them. Tapologo Outreach Programme extends outreach and home
care services into the communities listed in Table 2.1 below.
Table 2.1: Communities where Tapologo HIV/AIDS project operates, with estimated population
Village/settlement Estimated population

Boitekong 100 000
Freedom Park 25 000

Sunrise Park 8 000
Ledig 5 000
Ledig Ext. 2 5 000
Sesobe 7 000
Chaneng 7 000
Tlaseng 5 000
Luka 15 000
Kanana 12 000
Phokeng 40 000
Estimated total population 229 000
Source: Tapologo HIV/AIDS programme website hosted by Sun International at www.suninternational.com/tapologo/legacy.pdf
Methods
A participatory action research approach was used in describing the Tapologo
OVC and HIV/AIDS project. The method was chosen for its potential for achieving
immediate benefits for major time-bound projects like this one (Biersteker & Rudolph
2003). The WKKF-funded project is a five-year OVC project whose aim is to develop
best-practice OVC interventions in selected sites in South Africa, Botswana and
Zimbabwe.
Data reviewing Tapologo OVC and HIV/AIDS interventions were collected through
the review of documents and literature on the projects, site visits to each of the

©HSRC 2008
projects, and key informant interviews with key stakeholders working in or with
these projects.
Review of documents and literature on OVC interventions

Several documents describing the project were reviewed. The researchers also
used published and unpublished reports on OVC interventions at Tapologo. The
website of the project, hosted by Sun International, also provided several documents
describing the different aspects of the project. A presentation made by the PSS
manager at the closing workshop on best-practice OVC interventions in Pretoria,
early in 2007, was reviewed as part of the documents on the project.
Site visits
The researchers visited Tapologo HIV/AIDS and OVC projects in Phokeng, Freedom
Park and Boitekong on two days in September 2006. The purpose of the site visits
was to obtain first-hand information on the projects and to interview key respondents
such as project implementers, household heads and some OVC.
The visits were conducted by the authors of this report who represented researchers
from the HSRC, the project coordinator from the NMCF and programme implementers
from Tapologo OVC project and Heartbeat.
Interviews with key stakeholders on OVC

The researchers interviewed key informants such as staff of Tapologo HIV/AIDS
project. These informants were Ms Kerileng Mushi (OVC and PSS support manager),
Lizzy Ogoweng (social worker), five Child Care Workers in Boitekong3 – Mpho
Letlhare, Fikiswa Maya, Adelaide Moseki, Jane, Jackie; and five Child Care Workers
were also interviewed in Freedom Park.4
Description of the Tapologo HIV/AIDS and OVC programmes

Introduction to Tapologo HIV/AIDS and OVC programmes
Tapologo HIV/AIDS Programmes5 in the Rustenburg area are run by the Roman
Catholic Church and include the following:
• two AIDS clinics (located in Boitekong and Freedom Park);
• one AIDS hospice (located at the Roman Catholic mission in Phokeng);
• a day care centre for children orphaned by AIDS as well as HIV-infected
children (in Freedom Park); and
• one full-time foster care shelter for children orphaned by AIDS, known as
Eco Village.
3 Interviews and household visits with CCWs in Boitekong were conducted on 14 September 2006.
4 Interviews and household visits with CCWs in Freedom Park were conducted on 11 September 2006.
5 Website of Tapologo HIV/AIDS programme hosted by Sun International at www.suninternational.com/tapologo/
legacy.pdf

©HSRC 2008
Neither words nor statistics can adequately capture the human tragedy of children
grieving for dying or dead parents, stigmatised by society through association with
HIV/AIDS, plunged into economic crisis and insecurity by their parents' death, and
struggling without any services or support systems, in impoverished communities
(UNICEF 1999).
The AIDS epidemic has created more than 13 million orphans and 95% of these live
in sub-Saharan Africa (UNAIDS 2000c). Because the extended family system (which
would have traditionally provided support for orphans) is greatly overextended in
those communities most affected by AIDS, it can no longer take care of its orphaned
children. The stigma associated with AIDS deaths in many communities contributes to
the fact that many families do not want to look after AIDS orphans. The consequence
of this is that these children are often socially isolated and deprived of basic social
services such as education, healthcare, and so on.
After their parents' death, children often lose their rights to the family land or
house. Relatives move in and often exploit the children by taking possession of
their property and by not providing any support for them. Because these children
no longer have access to education, and because they lack work skills and family
support of any kind, they often end up living on the streets. Since they have no
money whatsoever, they suffer more frequently from malnutrition, illness, abuse and
sexual exploitation than children who are orphaned by other causes.
AIDS orphans in most cases live without basic human rights and dignity. They do
not know how to protect themselves and they have no access to doctors, nurses, and
other healthcare workers and facilities. Some studies have shown that death rates
among AIDS orphans are 2.5 to 3.5 times higher than those for non-orphans (HIV
Infant Care Programme 2000).
In response to the above dilemma, the Catholic Diocese of Rustenburg, in

collaboration with Heartbeat, Neobirth Crisis Centre and the Tsholofelo Community
College, developed a model for the care of OVC by coordinating efforts in the
Bojanala District to efficiently and effectively deal with the problem in a holistic
approach.
The following programme elements are being implemented in the Freedom Park
informal settlement and in Boitekong to ensure that the abovementioned objectives
are met. It is important to note that this model can be duplicated in any given
number of areas, as the need grows and sustainability and efficiency is proven.
Figure 2.1 illustrates the management and programme elements that are implemented
in collaboration with the Programme Partners.
Programme elements
The Tapologo HIV/AIDS Programme has become the overall implementation
structure for the various programmes run by the Catholic Diocese of Rustenburg,
and provides an opportunity for other role-players in the field to pool resources and
effectively combat the disease.

©HSRC 2008
Figure 2.1: Programme elements of the Tapologo HIV/AIDS Programme
CATHOLIC
DIOCESE OF
RUSTENBURG
(Bishop KP
Dowling)
CATHOLIC CATHOLIC
DIOCESE OF DIOCESE OF
RUSTENBURG RUSTENBURG
(Bishop KP (Bishop KP
Dowling) Dowling)
OUTREACH OUTREACH OUTREACH OUTREACH

PROGRAMME PROGRAMME PROGRAMME PROGRAMME
(Sr B Rangoaga) (Sr B Rangoaga) (Sr B Rangoaga) (Sr B Rangoaga)
OPERATIONS
OUTREACH OVC TRAINING AND ART
IN-PATIENT UNIT
PROGRAMME PROGRAMME PROGRAMMES MAINTENANCE PROGRAMME
(Sr H de Bees)
(Sr B Rangoaga) (DK Mushi) (Sr N Makgatlha) PROGRAMME (Sr G Boswell)
(ME Harvey)
Source: Website of Tapologo HIV/AIDS programme hosted by Sun International at

Freedom Park Clinic

Sister Georgina Boswell of the Catholic Diocese of Rustenburg has been involved
in community health work in the Rustenburg region since 1989. Whilst working in
the rural and informal communities, she realised that the overburdened local health
services were unable to cope with the increased care expectations placed upon
them, and the patients did not have a place to turn to for assistance or treatment to
maintain quality of life and dignity.
In an attempt to contribute positively to those with illnesses and deal with the
effects at local level in and around Rustenburg, Sister Georgina moved her focus,
from Boitekong, to the Freedom Park squatter camp and established a clinic.6 From
humble origins based in a temporary corrugated iron structure in the squatter camp,
the clinic grew to consist of a series of refurbished containers, and was opened with


©HSRC 2008
assistance from Impala Platinum Ltd. Volunteers and trained nursing sisters unselfishly
give of themselves to assist and treat the patients who visit the clinic.
Services that the clinic offers include:

• HIV testing;
• assisting with the treatment of TB and other life threatening diseases;
• general medical treatments for minor ailments such as influenza;
• treatment of STIs and opportunistic infections;
• provision of ante-natal care services for pregnant women;
• child welfare services and immunisation; and
• antiretroviral therapy (ART) at the wellness centre for people living with AIDS.
The Freedom Park Clinic has therefore been instrumental in highlighting the lack of
services available to typical communities of this nature and provides a much-needed
service to the poorest of the poor.
The Tapologo Programme was not intended to be an all-encompassing medical care

centre; however the ability of the programme to access the poor and needy meant it
could act as a facilitation mechanism for more specific health programmes, such as
the provision of ART, as described below.
Tapologo OVC Programme

Goals and objectives of the OVC Programme
The goals and objectives of the OVC Programme are to implement a care programme
for AIDS orphans and HIV-infected and affected children by providing, or assisting
communities to provide, the following services:
• improving the quality of life of OVC;
• ensuring access to basic/essential services;
• strengthening families and households;
• supporting and strengthening community-based systems;
• supporting and strengthening HIV/AIDS care and prevention programmes
through Child Care Forums (CCFs); and
• raising awareness of problems of OVC in local communities (Ogoweng 2007).
Child Care Workers and Child Care Coordinators

Staffing for the OVC Programme
The OVC Programme recruited 20 Community Care Workers (CCWs) and two
Community Care Coordinators (CCCs) – also called Team Leaders – in Freedom Park
and Boitekong respectively. In the initial stage, CCWs identified 200 households
with about 377 OVC. The plan was to have one CCC for every ten CCWs, and
one CCW supervising ten households. CCCs and CCWs have been trained for
their responsibilities, which include providing PSS counselling, managing grants,
identifying and dealing with violence against children and sexual abuse. They also
provide food parcels, when available, and support income generating activities at the
local community centre such as knitting, sewing, gardening and fence-making.7
7 Interview with Kerileng Mushi (social worker) on 11 September 2006
10
©HSRC 2008
Training
The Tapologo OVC Programme involves a degree of human resources development,
commencing with the institution of a community consultative and participatory
process, wherein skills and resources are identified within the community for
inclusion in the project. Human resources are identified at this point, and suitable
training is provided.
Tapologo established a mentorship relationship with Heartbeat – a Pretoria-based

non-governmental organisation (NGO) with experience and skills in the model that
Tapologo wants to emulate for the OVC Programme. The aim of this mentorship
programme is to ensure that the appropriate programme structuring is implemented
in order to alleviate the suffering of OVC in the Bojanala District, by integrating OVC
Programmes in designated areas.8 Training continues to be provided by the social
workers or by Heartbeat on relevant topics to ensure that CCWs are up-to-date with
the knowledge and skills required for their work.
Family, OVC and community capacity building, education and

awareness workshops
Every programme of care and support for OVC and affected families includes training
to enable the children and families to cope more effectively with the situation in
which they find themselves, or to undertake the roles they are required to fulfil.
Family, OVC and community capacity building, education and awareness workshops
were coordinated and conducted by Neobirth, according to the need of the specific
family or community and included the following:
• basic parenting skills;
• nutrition and food security;
• home environment, hygiene and universal precautions (infection control);
• treatment and healthcare;
• protection against discrimination, stigmatisation, abuse and neglect; and
• communication and counselling skills.
The intention is that through capacity building, Tapologo would provide these
members of the community with the skills to initiate personal and community-based
developments. Thus, the skills gained by participants in the programme relate directly
to community empowerment initiatives.
Community involvement in the OVC Programme

The Tribal Authorities and other community structures are being introduced to
and educated on OVC models. This is reinforcing the capacitation and institutional
strengthening of the community to care for their own children (see Figure 2.2).
The aim of the OVC Programme is to foster a sense of ownership of the programme
by the broader community via the participation of the community (and in particular
the foster parents) in training programmes that will teach and help them to care for
their own orphans.

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Programme staff educate the families and community through their involvement in
the care of their own orphans, by creating general AIDS awareness to help break the
fear, ignorance, prejudice and negative attitudes towards people with HIV/AIDS.9
CCWs attended a course on care for carers and the care provided to them includes
counselling from the social worker, debriefing with CCC on Fridays, and individual
emotional counselling. The concept of CCW is sometimes used interchangeably with
Community Health Worker (CHW) in literature.
Figure 2.2: Programme structure, partners and stakeholders
TAPOLOGO
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
PROGRAMME
RGCCF
PARTNERS
Government Funding Agents

NEOBIRTH HEARTBEAT
Departments (NMCF)
Community Leaders Royal Bafokeng

CHATCLUB Spin-off Projects
and Stakeholders Administration
Rustenburg
Freedom Park Communities OVC Mining and Business
Local and District
Children’s Shelter Feeding Scheme Concerns
Municipality
Boitekong
Freedom Park Boitekong
Community
CCCC CCCC
& Youth Garden
OVC Outreach Community

Capacity Building Community Foster Skills Development
Programme and Education and
Programme Care Programme Programme
Training Awareness
Note: RGCCF – Rustenburg Governing Child Care Forum
Source: Ogoweng (2007)

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Roles and responsibilities of CCWs

Magongo (2004) describes CCWs as a bridge between community members and
healthcare and social services systems. Their duties centre on preventing disease and
minimising the impact of existing disease through providing health information, social
service care coordination, client intake and orientation, and outreach.
CHWs are usually indigenous to the communities in which they work. Ethnically,
culturally, linguistically, socio-economically, and experientially they are able to bridge
gaps in language, culture, economic status and education, and are able to connect
diverse communities with the health and social services they need (Quijano 1996).
CHWs also advocate on behalf of individuals and communities for improvements in
health and social conditions.
CHWs carry out enabling services to help families navigate sometimes fragmented
healthcare systems and create a bridge between the medical regime and the contexts
of the community members. Activities include screening of individuals who come
in for care, locating and coordinating both medical and social service resources,
educating families, and lending emotional and practical support for management of
care in home settings (Ochola, 1992). This role is needed in all communities.
The OVC staff and volunteers work in four types of households:

• child-headed households;
• granny/relative-headed households;
• youth-headed households; and
• potential child-headed households.
Figure 2.3: Types of households in which volunteers work
Relative-headed
households
Potential
Youth-headed child-headed
households households
Child-headed Granny-headed
households households
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Supervision
Supervisory systems have been built into the existing structures at the two project
sites. These systems ensure that there are mentorship programmes, support structures
and capacity building activities for CCWs.
CCWs and CCCs work under the supervision of two social workers who meet with
them for counselling, debriefing, administration purposes, and to review progress
with regard to their work.
At management level, the OVC and PSS manager coordinates all CCW activities. She
coordinates training for CHWs, and provides supervision, support and mentoring
to NGOs or community-based organisations (CBOs) and other programmes that are
utilising CCWs in their operations. At the community level, CCCs – one for each of
the two project sites – provide supervision and support on day-to-day challenges of
caring and support for households and children.
Funding
The budget for the OVC project comes from funds allocated by WKKF through
the HSRC and the NMCF. Each of the project sites has been allocated a budget
to implement this programme. The OVC and PSS manager presents a budget and
workplans according to the NMCF funding guidelines. The budget provides subsidies
for activities related directly to the programme. This includes training of CCWs,
stipends and operational activities for the programme.
Stipends
CCWs receive a stipend of R300 per month for the work they do with households
and children. This is to discourage the high turn over of community health workers
from programmes that are unable to pay their volunteers. It is the responsibility of
the OVC and PSS manager to ensure that CCWs are paid their stipends. The stipend
of R300 per month is a challenge, as other voluntary workers in the communities
where they work receive stipends of around R500 to R800 per month and it makes
the CCWs feel that their service is not valued.
Challenges
Some of the challenges faced by CCWs include lack of food parcels and ability to
provide consistent nutritional support for OVC and their families, lack of sustainability
of income-generating projects, and slow progress with a key initiative of getting the
Bojanala Goelama CCF off the ground.
Child Care Forums

CCFs have been established in Boitekong and Freedom Park to deal with child
health problems and ensure that complete governance, monitoring and community
involvement is sustained. The CCF involves all stakeholders, i.e. police, ward
councillors, nurses, youth, community representatives, funding agents, local and
provincial government departments, etc.
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The role of the CCF is to identify, prevent and deal with childcare problems in the
community. There is a concern with the level of participation of men in CCF and care
of OVC.
A Community Child Care Committee (CCCC) in each village has also been
implemented. These members are representative of the community and include police,
ward councillors, nurses, tribal leaders, community leaders, church representatives,
youth, etc. One of the big challenges has been to get ordinary men in the community
to get involved in the care of OVC in general and to participate in CCF.
The CCF in Freedom Park meets at the clinic centre and is very active, while the CCF in
Boitekong has been slow to develop as it does not have a specific venue for meetings.
The Bojanala-Rustenburg Goelama CCF has been established to serve the needs
of children in the greater Rustenburg area. It is hosted by the Rustenburg Local
Authority and includes stakeholders from government departments, such as Social
Development and Education, and other NGOs in the area.
Eco Village Foster Care Shelter

Eco Village10 is a foster care shelter for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and is
located in Eco Park, Boitekong.
Community foster care model

The model involves the establishment of foster homes, offering care and support
to OVC in a caring home environment in a non-institutional manner, by identifying
suitable foster parents within the community.
By implementing a foster care model as described above, Tapologo promotes the

sustainable development and community ownership of HIV/AIDS Intervention
Programmes. The foster parents are identified from within the community that the
child is from, and undergo extensive interviewing and assessment before they are
then procured as suitable guardians for the children.
Each of the foster parent units are monitored and managed by the home-based
care team as described above, under the management of the social worker with the
assistance of the home-based health caregivers from the Outreach Programme.
Traditional foster parenting models which tend to remove the child from the
community of origin are not sustainable within our typical third world circumstances.
Moreover, we have experienced community rejection of these systems, as they
are suspicious of outside parties looking after their children. Recent statistics also
indicate that there are going to be too many OVC for any external (not within the
community) fostering system to be able to cope with.
This model allows for the capacity building and empowerment of the community
to deal with the effects that HIV/AIDS has on the children, and the management

15
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level support provides for sustainability and monitoring of the children’s welfare in
accordance with international norms.
Goals of the Foster Care Programme

The main goals of the Foster Care Programme are to:
• Educate and assist the community to care for their own orphans, and in this way
scale down the number of orphans who are debilitated by AIDS.
• Assist the community in dealing with the dramatic increase in the burden of
caring for OVC due to the prevalence of the disease in the area.
• Provide the OVC with a safe and caring environment, in which to remain a part
of civil society where his or her basic needs are catered for.
• Provide emotional and spiritual support to OVC.
• Provide the foster parents and community with the knowledge and skills to care
for orphaned children and families with children, i.e. training programmes in
child welfare, nutrition, access to health and education services, assistance to
obtain government grants, access to support programmes, etc.
• Provide a structured management system through which a professional standard
of care will be administered. This will comprise experienced regional social
workers who monitor and assist a group of foster parents and the children in
their care.
OVC Outreach Programme

The community development model as developed for Tapologo Outreach
Programme11 has proved very successful for the delivery of primary healthcare.
This model can translate into a childcare model, due to its emphasis on community
involvement and development, i.e. the community recognises and deals with its own
problems, with the support of a professional and structured management system
and other programme elements such as the Tapologo Outreach Programme, Daycare
Centre. The structure of the OVC Outreach Programme is illustrated in Figure 2.4.

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Figure 2.4: OVC Outreach Structure
OVC PROGRAMME MANAGER

(Social Worker)
PROGRAMME
CHILDCARE FORUM
ADMINISTRATOR
Programme Partners:
Neobirth, Tsholofelo and
Heartbeat
CHILDCARE COORDINATOR CHILDCARE COORDINATOR

(Freedom Park) (Boitekong)
Community Child Care Community Child Care

Committee Committee
10 Child Care Givers (CCG) 10 Child Care Givers (CCG)
Max of 6 foster families Max of 6 foster families

per CCG per CCG

Youth skills development programme

Khulisani Abantu provides a portion of the training for the OVC, in partnership with
the Education and Production Department of the Tsholofelo Community College,
which trains the technical skills component. The training takes place at the Tsholofelo
Community College in Boitekong.
Khulisani Abantu has been accredited as an official training provider for the Micro-
MBA programme and has been operational for several months. Khulisani Abantu also
raised funds from the Lions Club of Rustenburg to train ten youth between the ages
of 15 and 22 in entrepreneurial skills in the Rustenburg area.
The training package for the OVC consists of the following:

• The power of self esteem.
• The power of purpose.
• Micro-MBA entrepreneurial skills training.
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©HSRC 2008
These courses are the foundation courses provided by Khulisani Abantu, and will
be coupled with some technical skills training such as welding, woodwork, knitting,
sewing, vegetable gardening and cookery.
The technical skills training depends on the preference of the individual student. A
variety of technical skills are being explored that empower the student with practical
skills required in their daily lives, to improve the quality of their lives and those
members of their family who depend upon them.
Micro-MBA
The Micro-MBA (also known as the One-Up Business Course) provides a solution to
this dire need. It provides people with the relevant practical skills they need to start
a business venture. The training includes skills in the areas of costing and pricing,
buying, investigating markets, writing a business plan, money management and
stock control.
Tapologo Ya Morena Hospice

As an extension of the Tapologo Outreach Programme, this functional hospice facility

provides the necessary care for AIDS patients in the terminal phase of the disease,
providing an atmosphere of compassion and caring to both patients and loved ones.
The Tapologo Ya Morena Hospice12 is a home where people who are very near to
death with AIDS, and who cannot be cared for in the home, come to die with dignity
and in peace. Through the Tapologo spirit, those working in the hospice care for
them with love.
Another important aspect of the hospice is community participation, whereby friends

and family members of the patient are encouraged to come to the hospice and assist
the staff to care and support the patient.
The hospice provides care for patients from all the villages and settlements in the
Rustenburg area, and from the villages of the Bafokeng Nation, but is also open to
any person with AIDS who has no one to care for them as they come close to death.
The series of hospice modules involves caring for up to 20 patients each. They have
been constructed progressively according to need. Figure 2.5 illustrates the structure
of the hospice and in-patient unit.

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©HSRC 2008
Figure 2.5: Structure of Tapologo Hospice and In-patient Unit
HOSPICE MANAGER
(Sr H de Bees)
Medical Practitioner Administration and

(Dr van Schalkwyk) Data Capturing
Hospice North Wing Hospice South Wing

2 Wards 2 Wards
10 Patients 10 Patients
Professional Nursing Voluntary and

Staff Support Staff
• Housekeeping Supported by
4 Professional
4 Enrolled Nurses • Cooking Outreach Home-
Nurses
• Laundry Based Caregivers
• Maintenance
Supported
6 Hospice
by Outreach Family and Friends
Caregivers
Professional Nurses
(Supervisors)

Tapologo Administration Centre

As the need to coordinate properly the various HIV/AIDS programmes and other
role-players became apparent, the concept of an overall administrative unit was
included in the programme, namely the Tapologo Centre.13
The Tapologo Centre accommodates the administration, management and public

interface functions, including counselling, training and other related functions. The
centre also performs the management, coordination and operations function for the
Outreach Programme.
The Tapologo Centre includes a dedicated and general purpose training facility,
consisting of a lecture hall, catering centre, pantry and multiple composting toilet
block for trainees.

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The centre provides managerial and operational support services to:

• The Outreach Programme;
• Tapologo Ya Morena Hospice;
• Tapologo Eco Village; and
• Tapologo ART Programme.
The centre also provides a focal point for coordinating the efforts of other role-
players, who include mines and businesses, in combating the disease in the area.
Anti-retroviral treatment programme

Tapologo started its roll-out of antiretrovirals (ARVs) in March 2004 and is a very
large roll-out programme, which aims at providing no less than 26 400 infected
individuals with ARVs in South Africa under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR) initiative within the five-year programme.14
Tapologo’s scale-up projection is as follows:

300 patients = 2004/5
600 patients = 2005/6
1 200 patients = 2006/7
The Tapologo ART site was the first site in South Africa to receive approval by
and work in collaboration with the South African Government and to sign the
agreement. The Tapologo ART programme was established in conjunction with role-
players and stakeholders such as the Catholic Relief Services, South African Catholic
Bishop’s Conference, Catholic Medical Missions Board, Institute of Human Virology,
Interchurch Medical Assistance and the Futures Group.
The aims of the ART programme are to initiate the provision of antiretroviral
therapy to patients living with AIDS in a resource limited setting, and to provide the
necessary support mechanisms to support the patients, families and the communities
in the sites allocated to participate in the programme.
The support mechanisms for patients on ARVs are the Counselling and Emotional
Support Services, HIV/AIDS basic education workshops, Positive Living Programme,
Food Security and Nutrition Programme, Implementation of Support Groups and
Clinical Services.
The ART programme assists government with providing a protocol and framework, in
order to initiate comprehensive, coordinated and planned treatment of AIDS, taking
cognisance of the limited resources available in the area to do so.
A consortium’s ART programme is funded for a five-year period by the PEPFAR

funding, and is rolling-out ART programmes into 44 home-based care programme
sites that are managed by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

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Challenges with the ART programme

The ART programme is having to deal with many difficulties, due to the
epidemiology and status of the communities that the programme serves. These
difficulties include:
• stigma, illiteracy and mis- or uninformed communities and patients;
• high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the area;
• patient enrollment restrictions, i.e. numbers of patients able to receive
treatment, etc.;
• exploitation of women and children;
• poverty and malnutrition;
• traditional values, beliefs, medicine and healers;
• severe medical conditions; and
• limited resources, especially the ability to recruit professional staff to serve
these communities and patients efficiently.
Current provincial statistics for the North West province indicate a 25% HIV/AIDS
infection rate in the adult sexually active population. This translates to approximately
11–13% infection rate in the overall population.
Local regional statistics are not generally known and tend to be sector specific,
however they provide an indication of the regional epidemiology. The mines are
currently conducting testing within their workforce, families, and so on, and have
recorded the regional infection rate as 16–17%.
At Freedom Park Clinic, Sister Georgina Boswell tested both pregnant mothers and
general clinic patients. In pregnant mothers the 2001 HIV prevalence was 42.5%,
and in 2002 it was 47.5%. In general patients the 2001 HIV prevalence was 47%, and
in 2002, it was 57%. These prevalence rates indicate that the site exhibits infection
statistics higher than average provincial figures, which can be expected in these social
conditions. Extrapolation of the figures to overall community statistics was not done.
Figure 2.6 shows the programme structure of the Tapologo ART programme.
21
©HSRC 2008
Figure 2.6: ART Programme Structure
ART
PROGRAMME
Programme Manager Medical Practitioner

(Sr Georgina Boswell) (Dr van Schalkwyk)
Administration
Psychosocial
and Data
Services
Capturing
ART WELLNESS
CENTRES
Freedom Park Tapologo

Clinic Hospice
Outreach Village OVC

Centres Programme
ART Social
ART Programme ART Medical
VCT Support
Enrolment Protocol
Programmes
Pre- and Post Psychosocial

TB Testing Referrals
Test Counselling Analysis
Home-Based
HIV Staging as
Rapid HIV Test Drug Education Care via Tapologo
per WHO
Outreach
ART Programme
CD4 and Viral Group Work and
Readiness
Load Testing Counselling
Counselling
Source: Website of Tapologo HIV/AIDS programme, hosted by Sun International at

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Tapologo Outreach Programme

The Tapologo Outreach Programme15 has been in operation since 1994. The main
goals of the Outreach Programme are to:
• assist the community in dealing with the dramatic increase in the burden of
home-based healthcare due to the prevalence of the disease in the area;
• provide counselling services to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS; and
• provide emotional and spiritual support to those living with the disease.
The Tapologo HIV/AIDS Outreach Programme trains volunteer workers in a variety

of skills, in addition to providing management training at local and district level.
Data collection and interpretation, a function of the Outreach Programme, provides
valuable insights into the status of the disease on an ongoing basis, and provides
a yardstick to measure the efficacy of education and awareness campaigns in
these communities.
Services offered by the Tapologo Outreach Programme

Counselling and emotional support
The Outreach Programme provides the following forms of counselling to the various
communities in which they operate:
• Pre-HIV test counselling is provided to individuals who are considering being
tested. All the patients visited by the Home Caregivers receive ‘one-on-one’
counselling in the privacy of their home or counselling rooms allocated at the
Freedom Park Clinic.
• Post-HIV test counselling is undergone to inform the patient of the test results.
• Other forms of counselling for both HIV-infected and affected persons include
spiritual, emotional and bereavement counselling.
• Patients are given palliative care.
HIV/AIDS education and awareness

Education on HIV/AIDS is provided directly into the home by the Outreach
Programme. Often neighborhood support for families under strain is sought by
the Home Caregivers and thus community education is achieved at the same time.
HIV/AIDS education and awareness is perceived by the government as a major
milestone in the prevention of HIV/AIDS, hence it is envisaged that more emphasis
on education will be implemented within the programme.
Positive living programme

During their visits to patients the Home Caregivers and Voluntary Care Supervisors
educate and counsel the patients on life skills, correct health choices and
coping skills.

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©HSRC 2008
Nutrition programme
The Counselling Center at the Freedom Park Clinic, in collaboration with the
Outreach Programme, currently has the following community-based programmes:
• a ‘feeding scheme’ where the children, OVC or otherwise, attending the crèche
or school receive a meal per day;
• bread manufacturing, for sale or as emergency food supplied to patients and the
Outreach Programme; and
• food parcels donated by NGOs such as the Lions and Rotary Clubs, and from
Woolworths-Rustenburg, are distributed to the neediest in the community.
Support groups
The Tapologo Outreach Programme Home Caregivers and Village Centre Supervisors
form the support group for the patients. This service has been extended by
implementing the Nutrition and Food Security Support Group. Individual support
groups have been formed for mothers who are breastfeeding (e.g. Preventing Mother
To Child Transmission).
Adherence programme
The Tapologo Outreach Programme assists the Department of Health with its TB
Treatment Programme via the Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course mechanism.
The Home Caregivers and Voluntary Care Supervisors assist the Department of Health
by monitoring patients’ adherence to the medical regime and also any other treatment
that may be issued by the Freedom Park Clinic.
The number of patients and villages being served is increasing dramatically,

which indicates that the Tapologo Outreach Programme is well entrenched in the
communities as illustrated in Figure 2.7.
Day care and after care centre

There are about 40 children at the day care centre, some of whom are orphaned or
infected with HIV/AIDS.
There are four teachers/childcare workers who have been trained in basic childcare
and support. Services offered at the crèche include social/emotional activities to
develop self-esteem, confidence and independence, to seek or give help where
necessary, and to release emotions. Physical services offered include the development
of fine motor skills and combined motor skills. Children learn vocabulary, speech, to
use language to imagine, report and direct self and others. Intellectual services help
children to match, sort and classify, identify differences, solve problems and reason,
create and imagine, and develop concepts of time and space.
Parents are requested to make a donation of R10 per month, so that they appreciate
the service offered at the crèche. A very real need of the day care centre is for basic
recreational equipment such as swings, toys, paper, crayons and so on.16
16 Interview with Ms Kerileng Mushi (social worker) on 11 September 2006.
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©HSRC 2008
Figure 2.7: Structure of the Tapologo Outreach Programme
MANAGER
(Sr B Rangoaga)
Administration and Health

In-service trainer
Management Information Collection
(Sr N Makgatlha)
(T Vosloo and M Vosloo)
VILLAGE CENTRE SUPERVISORS

(These centres also act as ART
Wellness Clinics)
BOITEKONG KANANA
(Sr S Tshelane) (Sr A Ledwaba)
CHANENG LEDIG 1 & 2

(Sr G Cuna) (Sr W Dontache)
FREEDOM PARK LUKA

(Sr S Masilo) (Sr G Cuna)
PHOKENG SESOBE
(Sr D Segakweng) (Sr C Sithole)
SUNRISE PARK TLASENG

(Sr S Tshelane) (Sr B Rangoaga)
100 HOME-BASED CAREGIVERS

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©HSRC 2008
Partnerships and household visits

Partnerships between government, private sector, civil society
and traditional healers
Table 2.2: Partners and their roles or contributions
Partners Roles/Contributions
Catholic Diocese of Rustenburg Manage the overall programme
Heartbeat Provides mentorship for the OVC programme; also
provides training to CCWs and establishment of
CCFs
Deloitte and Touche Provides the finance director
Anglo Gold, Anglo American, Anglovaal, Provides funding, builds the capacity of staff in
Goldfields and Impala Platinum mines various areas
Celemo - a Catholic organisation in the Provides funding, builds the capacity of staff in
Netherlands Irish Aid organisation various areas
Van Velden-Duffey Attorneys Provides legal assistance and advice
Boitekong Education Forum and Manage the education component of the community
Tsholofelo Community College college
Rustenburg District Municipality Donated the land on which the community college
is built. Has been mandated to choose, monitor
and evaluate the implementing agency, under the
Goelama Project
Neobirth – a crisis centre for teenagers Provides training on parenting skills, foster care and
food parcels. It also provides life skills and peer
support training to children and youth
Department of Social Development Collaborates on social grants, statutory work and
poverty alleviation projects
SOS Children’s Village Long-term care for children with social problems
Source: Davids & Managa (2005)
Case studies of household visits in Boitekong

Five families were visited in the Boitekong area in September 2006. All the visits
attested to the community description provided earlier in this document. There were
great disparities in the provision of infrastructure and basic amenities. Three of the
families had basic shelter in four-roomed, township-style houses with water, electricity
and water-borne sewerage systems. The other two families did not have proper
shelter, electricity or water-borne sewerage systems. At least there is a standpipe
outside each of these houses to provide water. Most, if not all, of the families we
visited required support with basic needs – food, social support networks, economic
security, counselling and PSS support and retraining in parenting skills.
A description of the five households that we visited in Boitekong follows. The

household heads have been allocated pseudonyms that denote the position they hold
in the family. The real names of all household heads have been withheld to protect
their identity.
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©HSRC 2008
A. Ausi: Child headed household

Ausi17 is 19 years old and has a child of her own, who is about eight months old.
She dropped out of school in Grade 11 at the local high school and wants to return
to school next year. The family stays in a four-roomed township house. The house
looked neat and well cared for. Ausi has no identity document. Her birth certificate
is with the uncle who stays in another village. The uncle does not want to give her
the birth certificate. Ausi knows that she needs a birth certificate to apply for an ID
but suspects that the uncle has kept her birth certificate so she can remain dependent
and accountable to him.
Ausi says her mother died of AIDS-related complications in 2003. The father had not
been part of the family – they do not know much about him. Ausi has a 22-year-old
brother, who is unemployed and stays home.
There are two school-going siblings aged seven and 11 years old. The school
remitted school fees for the two siblings, after motivation was received from the
CCW. Both siblings are not getting a child support grant because Ausi – the head
of the household – does not have an ID document to enable her to apply for child
support grants for both siblings.
B. Mmane: Aunt/Family-headed household

Mmane18 is about 30 years old and has a boyfriend who works in the mines and
supports the family. She has one child of her own aged about three years.
Mmane’s sister died of AIDS-related complications in 2004 and left behind two
school-going children. Both children’s school fees have been remitted at the local
school. The family lives in a small one-roomed tin shack. The yard has no fence or
electricity but there is a water tap.
The school-going children are aged seven years and 14 years. The 14-year-old is an
adolescent and has started disappearing now and then with a boyfriend. The CCW
has spoken to her and she is back at home, and at the time of the visit, was doing
well at school. Neither of the children is getting a child support grant because they
do not have birth certificates, and their guardian, Mmane, says she does not have
money or time to go and apply for an ID document.
C. Magogo: Granny-headed household

Magogo19 is about 70 years old and originally comes from a rural village near the
Pilanesberg mountains. She gets an old age pension and lives in a two-roomed
RDP house.
Magogo’s daughter died of AIDS-related diseases in 2004. She left behind three
children – a 14-year-old girl, a ten-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl. The child
support grant for the seven-year-old girl had been approved, while the one for the
ten-year-old was being processed after the documents were resubmitted.
17 Ausi is used in this context to mean sister.

18 Mmane means ‘aunt’ in Setswana.
19 Magogo is a township name for an old woman.
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©HSRC 2008
Magogo’s other daughter is in her mid-twenties, unemployed and lives in the

backroom. She assists with care of her sister’s children and applies for grants and
sorts out other needs of the children. She helps with cooking, laundry and cleaning
at the household, and now and then volunteers to work with CCWs.
D. Sisi: Potential child-headed household

Sisi20 is in her mid-30s and originally comes from the Eastern Cape. She came to
the Rustenburg area to stay with her boyfriend who works underground in the
platinum mines. She stays in a small two-roomed tin shack with her boyfriend and
seven children. Her oldest child is 20 years and her youngest is one year and still
breastfeeding. The boyfriend supports the family, with a clear bias toward his own
two biological children.
The 20-year-old son runs a small business selling vegetables to support his mother
and other siblings. Sisi is HIV-positive but still looks healthy. She also spoke of
having visited the clinic where she has been told she has symptoms similar to cancer
of the cervix. Sisi is uneducated, speaks only Xhosa and has no identity document.
None of her children have immunisation cards, birth certificates, or are getting social
grants.
She has attempted on several occasions to apply for an ID document but the
Department of Home Affairs officials told her to bring along someone from her
family who is ten years older than her, to testify that she is South African. She says
there is no family member who can testify as such – she has to go and fetch one
from Transkei in the Eastern Cape. The CCW has linked Sisi with the local counsellor
so she can get help in getting the ID. Sisi is demotivated with the procedures for
obtaining an ID and other official documents for herself and her children. During our
visit, she promised to work with the CCW and the counsellor to ensure she gets the
necessary documents. Communication with her was a challenge, as only the CCW
understood her properly.
E. Smatsatsa: Youth-headed household

Smatsatsa21 is a 24-year-old woman who lives in a four-roomed township house with
one of her two siblings. Her mother died of AIDS-related disease in 2004. The house
is well furnished but was packed with furniture and clothes – it could do well with a
tidy-up.
Smatsatsa’s siblings are firstly a 12-year-old boy who now stays with his aunt in
another part of the township. He goes to school and his needs are taken care of
by the aunt. The other sibling who stays with Smatsatsa is eight years and goes
to school.
The family’s source of income is the employer’s insurance payout after the mother’s
death. Neither sibling is getting a child support grant. Smatsatsa says the social
workers at the Department of Social Development indicated that the children do
20 Sisi is a common IsiXhosa name for sister.

21 Smatsatsa is a common township expression for a beautiful young woman.
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not need the grant as there is income from their mother’s insurance. She has not
attempted to apply for the grant again.
Smatsatsa has an eight-month-old child of her own. She no longer has a romantic
relationship with the father of the child, as she claims that he assaulted her during
pregnancy. She wants him to visit the child, but has serious reservations as he comes
drunk at night to see the child. He also wants to get back with Smatsatsa but she
does not want a romantic relationship. In fact, she says she does not want him to
support the baby financially, and wants to obtain a restraining order against the ex-
boyfriend. She is seeking advice from the CCW. The social worker and CCW set up
an appointment to discuss this matter with Smatsatsa, so that she does not take an
emotional decision that is not in the best interest of the child and herself.
SWOT analysis
Strengths
The commitment and dedication of CCWs is the greatest strength of this project. Many
of them have developed close personal relationships with their households. They
love the children and have learned to be patient to identify problems with children.
They have also learned to talk to people in the community to solve problems. They
help children get grants and have learned the value of work and life. They use public
transport to reach their adoptive families. Over a period of time, CCWs have earned
respect from households, neighbours and government officials. Some talk about
helping parents to stop drinking alcohol, closing shebeens and teaching parents to
budget for grants appropriately. Most of the CCWs are also comfortable dealing with
problems of people living with HIV/AIDS in their communities.
The relationship between the CCWs, the CCCs and the social workers is also
very positive. CCWs meet with CCCs once a week for a debriefing and to review
challenging situations. They look forward to these sessions with enthusiasm.
The training of CCWs has prepared them to handle the major challenges such as
PSS problems, management of grants, violence against children, sexual abuse and
many others. Training and support received from collaborations with Heartbeat and
Neobirth help staff and volunteers to be up-to-date with new approaches for dealing
with challenges facing children in communities.
The OVC Programme is part of the comprehensive HIV/AIDS programme at

Tapologo. The strength of this arrangement is that CCWs can work with other
components of the programme to deal with household social problems.
The base and support provided by the Roman Catholic Diocese in Rustenburg gives
the OVC Programme legitimacy and a strong presence in the area. A church provides
a sense of belonging and ownership to many families and communities, and when
there is orphanhood in a family, a church-affiliated NGO becomes the first port of
call for these families.
Another of the great strengths of the OVC project is the community-based model,
which involves a community consultative and participatory process, wherein skills
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and resources are identified within the community for inclusion in the project. The
community-based model is based on four leading principles: community ownership,
children’s rights, protection and participation (Ogoweng 2007).
Weaknesses
The stipend for Child Care Workers is R300 per month, and this has caused a lot
of discontent among them. Other NGOs doing similar work or home-based care in
the area are offering R500-R800 per month – CCWs know about this rate and want
Tapologo to show that their services are appreciated by increasing the stipend.
About five of them have resigned in each of the two areas in the past year. This
adds a burden of households to remaining CCWs.
Sustainability of income-generating projects has been a problem. Several projects

such as sewing, knitting, gardening and fence-making have been started, but are not
converted into viable small businesses that bring income for individuals and their
families. Many participants in these projects are comfortable with hand-outs and are
unable to convert their income-generating projects into viable businesses.
There has been slow progress with the Bojanala Rustenburg CCF. There is a lack
of commitment from the host agent for this forum. Since its launch, there has not
been a single meeting, and issues affecting children are not dealt with. Progressive
organisations such as Tapologo are disappointed with the lack of progress with
this important forum, and one social worker commented that ‘they are failing the
children’ with this lack of progress.
Many households in both areas are very poor and desperate for food, and they
request food parcels and nutritional support from CCWs when they visit to provide
PSS support. CCWs do not have a supply of food parcels, and this does not go down
well with families whose priority need is food and not PSS support.
There is a challenge of getting funding for OVC activities and increasing the
stipend for CCWs. Funding agencies require researched and professionally-prepared
proposals to consider. NGOs such as Tapologo are thin on resources and most of the
workers are on the ground working with children and dealing with their problems.
Opportunities
Partnerships that Tapologo OVC Programme has developed with other NGOs,
funding organisations and government departments provide it with valuable
opportunities for referral, fundraising and abilities to deal with child-related social
and household challenges, such as birth certificates, identity documents and social
grants of different sorts.
Tapologo is surrounded by platinum mines, and there are good opportunities for
funding their activities from their corporate social investment programmes. The
mining charter expects the mines to empower local communities.
CCWs will in future have an opportunity to progress in their career to become Social
Work Assistants. Some universities have already developed the curriculum and have
30
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also obtained accreditation to offer the course. CCWs who are currently working with
children and households would be the first to be considered for training.
Threats
There is competition from other NGOs that apply for funding from the mines and
other common sources of funding. These NGOs allocate considerable resources to
preparing high quality proposals for funding their projects. These NGOs are a threat
to Tapologo as they encroach on the usual funding sources of the OVC Programme.
Other NGOs are actively recruiting Tapologo CCWs, by offering them a higher
stipend than Tapologo is able to offer. It is costly to train CCWs and then not retain
them. The unemployment rate is fairly high, and any new NGO that starts in this area
will actively recruit from an established project such as Tapologo.
If the economic situation declines and the price of platinum declines, the mines will
start retrenching workers, as happened in the 1980s and 1990s. If this happens, many
migrant workers will probably return to their home countries and will leave children
born to local mothers behind. These children will be left without financial support,
and the number of OVC will increase, as is the case in Stilfontein where Durban
Roodepoort Deep mine was closed in 2004.
Burnout, stress and lack of career progression for CCWs are some of the threats
facing this project. CCWs deal with emotionally exhausting problems that affect
the young children in their own communities. They sometimes feel helpless when
they do not have basic resources and food to give to children and families with
the greatest need. This often leads to burnout, stress and frustration. Lack of career
progression is also a threat, as employees generally thrive in work environments that
appreciate their talents and prepare them for bigger challenges and growth.
Conclusion
Tapologo OVC Programme has grown over the years to become a model for
implementation of OVC interventions in peri-urban communities around the
platinum mining town of Rustenburg. The programme has shown that a faith-based
organisation can be a catalyst for bringing together government, the mining and
business sector, communities and civil society, to deal with problems facing orphans
and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS and other socio-economic conditions.
The OVC Programme was instrumental in facilitating and mobilising the development
and continuity of local CCFs and/or committees, which are comprised of teachers,
health workers, religious leaders and people from the community, who may have no
formal employment or education.
Key activities of the OVC Programme are in family support services, which include
among others, day care, parenting programmes, home visits, with a strong emphasis
on psychosocial counselling.
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However, Tapologo OVC Programme has challenges of retaining their childcare

workers, by improving their conditions of service and generally creating a caring
community that sees value in volunteering to deal with socio-economic conditions
affecting children and vulnerable people in society.
It is also a challenge to have adequate funding for the needs of OVC, and to
deal with associated public health problems, such as violence against children,
provision of food parcels, etc. Another challenge involves sustaining a large number
of collaborators and partners who have different levels of contribution to the
partnership. Some collaborators cooperate only when there is direct benefit for their
organisations, while others lack capacity and/or skills in a variety of areas, and as
soon as they get the capacity, skills and funds, they go their own way.
Despite all these challenges, Tapologo OVC project has a solid base from the
Catholic Church, and good support from funders such as the platinum mines and the
surrounding businesses such as the Sun City Hotel complex.
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chapter 3

Kopanong area, Free State
Background on the Kopanong Municipality
Kopanong Municipality is located in the southern Free State and comprises about
11.7% of the area of the province. The municipality forms part of the Xhariep
District Municipality and comprises fifteen town. The eight towns that were part of
the intervention were Reddersburg, Smithfield, Bethulie, Jagersfontein, Philippolis,
Springfontein, Fauresmith and the mainly commercial farming area between the
small towns.
The total population for the municipality is just less than 56 000.22 Overall the
municipal area has 2.1% of the Free State’s population and contributes 1.3% to the
province’s economy.23 Between 1996 and 2001, the population growth rate in the
Xhariep District was 1.9%, which is considerably more than the average for the Free
State (0.6% per annum). The economy of Kopanong is based mainly on two sectors,
namely agriculture and community services. An estimated 22 000 people, or 40% of
the total population live in poverty.24 This percentage of people living in poverty is
slightly more than the 38.6% for the Free State.
A number of comments need to be made in respect of the small town environment:

• there has been a considerable decrease in the number of skilled people in these
towns;
• at the same time, a large number of unskilled workers – mainly former farm
workers – have urbanised to these small urban areas; and
• a significant percentage of households are dependent on breadwinners working
elsewhere (Krige 1995).
It is probably also fair to comment that the southern Free State, including Kopanong,
has not always been high on the development agenda of government agencies. Not
only is the overall population small, but the economic contribution of the area is
virtually nil, when one takes the size of the Free State economy into consideration.
In the context of the National Spatial Development Perspective and the Free State
Growth and Development Strategy, the overall development potential, as well as
development need, is extremely limited in the area.
HIV/AIDS and malnutrition

The Free State Growth and Development Strategy estimates that HIV prevalence for
women in Xhariep is 25.7%, with a total infection rate of 12.3% (see Table 3.1).
22 According to Statistics South Africa, Census 2001

23 Free State Growth and Development Strategy, 2006
24 Free State Growth and Development Strategy, 2006
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As Kopanong is located in the Xhariep District, it is possible to assume that the HIV/
AIDS infection rate stands at about 12% of the population. This is considerably lower
than the average of about 17% for the province.
Table 3.1: HIV prevalence for pregnant women in the Free State, 1999 – 2003
Projected HIV infection

District 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 % for the population
Xhariep – – – – 25.7 12.3
Motheo 26.6 29.6 28.5 31.0 36.3 22.9
Lejweleputswa 31.9 30.1 41.1 29.8 33.3 19.9
Thabo Mafutsanyana 27.9 27.2 27.8 26.0 28.0 14.6
Fezile Dabi 27.6 21.1 29.4 28.1 23.8 10.4
Source: Free State Growth and Development Strategy, 2006
Methods
The methodology included three main approaches. First, there were in-depth
interviews with the staff of Diketso Eseng Dipuo (DEDI). The focus during these
interviews was on obtaining an overview of the services delivered, the process
followed, and their own evaluation of the services provided. These interviews also
assisted in obtaining baseline information from DEDI. In addition, the evaluation team
took a brief look at their systems to record this baseline information.
Second, the tasks required an overview of basic statistics. In this regard statistics
were gathered from a number of government institutions, from the Free State Growth
and Development Strategy, and from baseline information available from the CDS.
However, obtaining information from government departments was far more difficult
than had been anticipated. The Department of Social Development was unable to
provide any information, while no response whatsoever was forthcoming from the
Department of Health.
Table 3.2: An overview of interviews conducted in the four towns in Kopanong, 200725
Location Individuals Savings societies CBOs

Philippolis 4 3 0
Trompsburg 3 2 3
Fauresmith 4 1 2
Jagersfontein 0 1 1
Total 11 7 6
25 This interview included 12 members who also attended the training sessions and benefited from the home visits.
In addition to the individuals in the focus group, interviews were also conducted with nearly a 100 people in the four
towns. It should also be noted that the interviews in this area have been a mix of questions on savings groups and
individual interviews.
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Interventions for OVC in the Kopanong area, Free State
Third, interviews were conducted with the recipients of services. These were
divided into 11 interviews with households receiving the respective services (all
with women), 13 focus group discussion with the savings groups, and an individual
interview with the CBOs with which DEDI cooperated in the respective towns. The
breakdown of the interviews that were conducted is reflected in Table 3.2.
Description of OVC interventions at Diketso Eseng Dipuo

This section provides a description of the interventions implemented by DEDI in
terms of the funds received from the NMCF. It includes an overview of DEDI (their
approach and organisational structure) and of the programme under evaluation.
We also provide a description of the three main components of the interventions
in Kopanong, namely the support for families and children, assistance with
documentation and, finally, support for the savings groups.
DEDI, based in Bloemfontein, received a grant from the NMCF to implement its
Family Support Programme (FSP) in the Kopanong and Mohokare municipalities
in the Free State. The FSP is a child-centred, family and community development
programme. The stated goal of the initiative is to strengthen the family environment
such that it provides adequate support for children. Because the children
contemplated in this intervention tend to fall into the six years of age and younger
bracket, the programme may be seen as incorporating elements of Early Childhood
Development (ECD). DEDI has been implementing its FSP methodology in the
Free State since 1999. DEDI’s portfolio suggests extensive experience in providing
FSP services, while an external evaluation of DEDI suggests that the organisation is
performing a service urgently required in the Free State.26
DEDI’s intervention in Kopanong involved the screened selection of families in each

of four locations, namely Fauresmith, Jagersfontein, Philippolis and Trompsburg.
Each site was assigned a training facilitator who, inter alia, held workshops with
the community. The workshops are complemented by a programme of ongoing
home visits, some of which have distinct objectives, for example, child assessment,
or to assist households in completing documentation to qualify for social grants. The
intervention also has a local economic development dimension in that families are
encouraged to form small savings societies (stokvels) and they receive basic guidance
in establishing themselves as micro-enterprises.
DEDI have two main principles in operationalising their programmes. The one is
that they believe that development is something people should do for themselves.
They are therefore trying to function in such a way as not to create dependency. The
training and individual support aspects of the programmes are thus crucial. Secondly,
it was also evident that they try to build on existing knowledge. For example,
providing training on the development phases of children will be based on existing
knowledge, by asking caregivers what they do and how they do certain activities.
DEDI was established in 1999 and currently has 11 employees. A profile of the
current organisational structure is provided in Figure 3.1.
26 Evaluation conducted by Olive Organisation Development and Training. The document is entitled ‘Evaluation of
Diketso Eseng Dipuo Community Development Trust, 2005’.
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Figure 3.1: Organisational structure of DEDI
Director
CBO empowerment: Financial management Family empowerment:

programme coordinator and administration programme coordinator
2 practitioner trainers 3 administrative staff 3 training facilitators
The family empowerment department (shaded grey) has been the implementing
section for the programme funded by the NMCF. Although the position of coordinator
is currently vacant, the evaluation team was able to discuss the programme with the
previous coordinator.
Overview of the project

This section reflects on the information provided by DEDI during the interviews
at their offices. The appendices that were completed are attached as Appendices 1
and 2. Before a detailed discussion of each of the services provided by the project,
a general overview is provided of the relevant targets to be achieved by DEDI. The
general targets are to:27
• train and empower vulnerable children in childhood learning, care and
development within the family institution (also strengthening the family well-
being);
• test and enhance livelihoods interventions;
• strengthen three existing group savings societies;
• research on policy issues regarding OVC;
• document and share information with key stakeholders;
• identify 135 families able to stimulate and give appropriate care to children by
the end of 2006;
• identify 540 children benefiting from the social security support services by the
end of 2006;
• have 270 families (women) economically strengthened through group savings
societies;
• ensure that three existing group savings societies have bank accounts, meet
regularly, and, have increased their savings;
• have 135 families benefiting from activities by the end of 2006;
• have 540 children benefiting from activities by the end end 2006;
• have 450 young people informed on sexuality and the impact of HIV/AIDS; and
• ensure that nine family support workers are able to create partnerships (at least
one in each area) with critical stakeholders including CBOs, local government,
and donor organisations.
27 Grant Funding Agreement, 3501/1, 2006
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©HSRC 2008
It is possible to combine the above envisaged outcomes in three services, namely,

family support, which includes extensive services for vulnerable children within their
family context, support in respect of documentation in order to access various grants,
and support in respect of savings groups. As already mentioned, these targets should
also be understood in the sense that only 57% (four of seven towns) are applicable
to Kopanong.
Implementation process
Before providing a detailed description of the main services in the project, the report
provides the background to the development of the services. The implementation
process started off with a community profile of the various communities under
consideration. The community profile did not only assist DEDI in understanding the
respective communities, but also gave them an opportunity to introduce themselves
to the various role-players and communities. It also provided the opportunity to
create networks with existing organisations.
The following key challenges faced by families were documented after the
community profile:28
• Most families are unemployed and cannot afford to take their children to ECD
centres. Child support grants are the only income that can assist families to
survive.
• A large number of families do not have identity documents to enable their
children to access social security grants. A significant percentage of these
families are from Lesotho.
• Families and institutions have limited knowledge about policies that afford
children access to educational institutions, regardless of their circumstances.
• Families are reluctant to send their children for immunisations.
• Families are not participating in local government planning processes so as to
influence government policies, nor in planning sessions to prioritise children’s
needs.
• The foster care grant application process is a very lengthy one, as most families
have been waiting for years.
Although DEDI’s analysis has probably been done to emphasise the extreme cases
(using words such as ‘most’, ‘large number’, ‘not’), the identification of these aspects
is probably correct. Our report will later reflect on the manner in which services
addressed some of these needs.
Family support
The Family Support Project focused on the following aspects in an integrated manner:
• It provided training to caregivers of children. In many cases this training was not
given to the actual parents, but up to 50% had been to grandmothers or stand-in
caregivers.29
• The training was followed up by home visits to the individual caregivers.
28 Progress report, July 2006

29 Estimate made by DEDI staff
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©HSRC 2008
DEDI’s intervention was guided by three principles:

• in order to make a contribution to the life of vulnerable children, the focus was
on the family;
• all children in the lower-income areas were regarded as vulnerable; and
• a deliberate attempt was made not to create dependency.
Family support and training

The progress report in July30 mentioned that relations were established with 135
families in Kopanong (excluding those in Mohokare): 30 each in Jagersfontein,
Fauresmith and Philippolis, and 45 in Trompsburg. When considering the overall
target of 135 for both Kopanong and Mohokare, it seems as if more families were
recorded than the contract between the NMCF and DEDI had stipulated.
However, being recorded did not mean that the individuals would attend the training
sessions or participate fully in the intervention. The following training sessions were
conducted in each of the localities (see Table 3.3).
Table 3.3: An overview of training conducted in the four towns in Kopanong, 2006
Month and description of service Trompsburg Philippolis Fauresmith Jagersfontein

Milestones in the development 34 22 12 19
of a child (April)
Developing the child through 16 18 20 22
play (April)
Child assessment (May) 22 9 27 27
Grant applications and IDs 13 11 25 30
(June)
HIV/AIDS (June) 29 16 19 14
Safety (July) 20 12 15 16
Nutrition (August) 27 30 23 20
Child resilience (September) 22 19 18 11
Source: Information obtained from DEDI and verified in terms of their systems
Overall, the number of caregivers who attended varied between 70 and 90 for the
respective training sessions. Comparing this to the overall target of 135 – of which 57%
was applicable to Kopanong – it seems well within the initial target set by the NMCF.
At an average of two children per caregiver this means that the service benefited
approximately 160 children.31 Furthermore, it should be noted that the number of
people who attended the session is considerably less than the number who originally
registered. However, this is still within the targets set for the programme. Reasons for
this trend are that people find work, have other commitments on that specific day, or
that they might not be interested in the longer term.32
30 DEDI progress report, July 2006

31 Assumption made by the research team.
32 Reasons suggested during the interviews with DEDI staff.
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Overall, the manuals (slides to guide discussions) used in each of the training
sessions are well developed for the purposes of conducting the training. However,
not all the manuals that were assessed had been developed in the same depth,
nor had they employed the same methodology. Although, this is probably not a
concern when DEDI delivers a specific service, it is more problematic in terms of
both replicability and of institutional memory. Some of the core aspects linked to the
training might be lost, where there is rapid staff turnover, if these are not effectively
captured in the manuals. In our opinion, the manuals should not only set out the
content detail, but also provide guidelines on how to conduct specific training
sessions.
Generally, the above training seems extremely relevant and appropriate to the
intended beneficiaries. It seems as if it was presented adequately and at a level that
was understandable. Obviously, the evaluation team did not have the opportunity of
sitting in during these sessions, but as the reflections from the people who benefited
from the programme will later indicate, it seems as if the training content was
presented in a satisfactory manner.
Home visits
Home visits formed an integral part of the programme. The motivation behind these
visits was to assist caregivers with practical implementation of aspects conveyed
during the training sessions. In addition, they afforded individuals who had attended
the training an opportunity of asking questions. A profile of the home visits that were
conducted is provided below in Table 3.4.
Table 3.4: An outline of home visits in the four towns
Month Trompsburg Philippolis Fauresmith Jagersfontein

April (10-11) 18 22 16 20
May (16-17) 14 15 24 12
June (21-22) 23 19 18 15
July (12-13) 11 21 9 16
Aug. (20-21) 19 11 16 21
Sept. (13-14) 13 15 15 17
Oct. (11-12) 19 22 23 18
Nov. (16-17) 12 21 12 17
It seems that, on average, between 65–80 households were reached in this manner –
still within the targets set. Although a more thorough assessment is provided later in
the report by the caregivers who were visited, it seems as if home visits had been
one of the main positive aspects in respect of the programme. The importance of the
home visits was two-fold:
• to build an individual relationship beyond the training sessions; and
• to assist the facilitators from DEDI to showcase practical implementation at the
household level.
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©HSRC 2008
Practical examples from the DEDI staff regarding the benefits to families and
children are:
• they could in a number of cases alert caregivers to the dangers of open
electricity supply;
• in one case they could indicate the danger of a refrigerator standing outside;
• they could provide individual advice on family matters; and
• they could determine the need for IDs, birth certificates, etc.
It should also be noted that the number of people visited at home is somewhat less
than the number attending the training sessions. Once again the availability of people
on a specific day is probably the main contributing reason. At the same time, the
facilitators also expressed the opinion that the home visits were emotionally draining.
This reality holds the implication that some attention should be devoted to the
psychological well-being of the facilitators at an institutional level.
Assistance with documentation

DEDI was instrumental in assisting people from the four towns to access IDs, birth
certificates and grants mainly directed at children (child support grants, disability
grants and foster care grants). According to the DEDI staff, there is a large need for
these services as:
• some people are from outside South Africa, and have married South Africans,
but cannot provide proof of marriage;
• the offices of the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Social
Security Agency are located far away in Bloemfontein, which makes access to
these offices difficult; and
• a large number of people are also not aware of the specific grants that are
actually available.
Operationally, DEDI first provided people with information on what they needed to
do to obtain the necessary documentation or grants. Then the Department of Home
Affairs and the South African Social Security Agency were invited to visit the areas
and help with registrations or applications. A profile of the number of people assisted
in this way is provided in Table 3.5.
Table 3.5: Number of people assisted with obtaining documentation and grants
Month Trompsburg Philippolis Fauresmith Jagersfontein Total

Identification
documents 85 55 66 93 299
Birth certificates 110 67 105 76 358
Grants
(child support,
foster care,
disability) 26 82 16 17 141
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Table 3.5 shows that a large number of people were assisted with obtaining
documentation and grants. DEDI managed to get staff members of the respective
departments to visit the various communities on a specific Saturday. As will be seen
later in the evaluation by the people on the ground, this was appreciated and should
be seen as a major achievement in service delivery to the poor. DEDI was also seen
as having some form of magic in getting government departments to actually come
to the respective communities. From the information provided by DEDI, it seems as
if once such session took place per town during the course of 2006. Although this
should be adequate in the short term, a longer-term arrangement with the respective
government institutions would be appreciated.
Savings schemes
The aim of the savings schemes has been to ensure a larger degree of self-reliance
and to benefit the children in times of need. The savings schemes went hand-in-hand
with extensive training (see Table 3.6).
Table 3.6: An overview of training conducted for the savings groups in Kopanong
Month and description of service Trompsburg Philippolis Fauresmith Jagersfontein

Constitution (August) 47 54 20 20
Post banking (September) 47 54 20 17
Bookkeeping (October) 32 52 20 26
Budgeting (November) 47 54 20 20
Overall, ten savings schemes were established in the respective towns. The intention
was that the savings schemes should be used to make people more financially
independent, as well as assist in paying for children’s school fees or other needs in
times of financial hardship. From the interviews with DEDI staff it was found that
they could not provide one example of where the schemes were used to make
people more financially independent. Examples of how the savings were used varied
from school fees for children (a legitimate reason) to buying household goods.
Further positives in this respect identified during the discussions with DEDI were that
the schemes:
• assisted in creating confidence among the women;
• promoted relationships between community members;
• brought some hope, in that the group worked together towards a specific goal;
• encouraged people to share; and
• brought a sense of ownership and belonging.
On the negative side, the following aspects were mentioned:

• the savings scheme did not really assist in income generation;
• membership of savings groups did not remain consistent; and
• not many members viewed it as something more than a savings club.
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HIV/AIDS awareness
The following numbers of young people were reached through the programme:
• Trompsburg: 41;
• Philippolis: 298;
• Fauresmith: 134; and
• Jagersfontein: 262.
The programme contained information on HIV/AIDS. As this was done only in

February 2007, it is too soon to reflect on the service or to evaluate it.
Programme evaluation: talking to the beneficiaries

This section provides an overview of the reflections of households and individuals
who benefited from the programme. A number of individual householders, all
women, were interviewed concerning the family training and ECD training provided
by DEDI. DEDI personnel were not in any position to affect the conducting of
these interviews.
Training, home visits and documentation

Content of training
All of the respondents responded to this question at some length, indicating a high
degree of retention and that the DEDI training had made an impression. Without
exception, they incorporated considerations pertaining to children into their answers.
While different interviewees naturally dwelt on different aspects of the training, the
specific items that were recalled included the following:
• the importance of the family unit;
• how to behave in front of children;
• the importance of communicating with children;
• how to get on with neighbours;
• conflict resolution;
• the need for avoiding back-stabbing and gossip;
• the need for open communication, i.e. not to harbour ill-feelings;
• children's nutritional needs – meal by meal;
• the importance of breakfast;
• fairness and discipline in childrearing;
• how to spend money effectively;
• industriousness (avoiding idleness) and small home-industry;
• respectful behaviour both towards and from children;
• respectful communication with children;
• how to form small self-help societies (pooling of resources);
• the advantages of vegetable gardens;
• the importance of play and contact with small children;
• how to detect abnormalities or potential deficiencies in infants;
• how to make inexpensive toys;
• how to go about securing birth certificates, IDs and grants;
• basic healthcare and good housekeeping;
• identifying stages of childhood development;
• the importance of stimulation for mental development;
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• the correct way to handle babies;

• potential dangers of household appliances for small children;
• dangerous situations with buckets, baths of water, etc; and
• the need to keep medications away from infants.
It was a formidable array of lifeskills and basic competencies that were imparted.
Underpinning the iteration of these points by the interviewees, a marked yearning
and appreciation for domestic harmony and order, that seems to have made the
respondents especially receptive to DEDI’s training precepts, may be discerned. The
fact that approximately 80 households benefited from these aspects in an area where
no such service exists can be seen as an achievement.
How has the training been applied?

The women were unanimous in affirming that DEDI’s training had had a favourable
impact on their domestic situations and that they were able to put the training
into practice. A number of respondents pointedly made mention of how they had
implemented DEDI’s advice, and invariably with favourable outcomes. One woman
from Philippolis said: ‘[T]hey also taught us how to speak to your children and I can
see the difference since doing what they told us to do, as you know to become a
mother there is no school that prepares you as to how to become a good mother.’
Another said: ‘Since the training I now live well with my children.’ A respondent from
Trompsburg said, ‘There has been a lot of difference in my home since practising the
advice I get from them…’ and from Fauresmith – ‘Yes, I practise what I learn from
them and, if we were at my house, you would see the difference, for the behaviour
of my children is very good since applying the skills I learnt from DEDI. There is
a lot of improvement in my children. The children accept the changes in a positive
light. I give them more attention than I used to before, I even now can sit with them
and play games.’ Comments such as these typify the interviewees’ responses. More
care was also being taken with nutrition, and one mother mentioned how she now
made sure her children ate before they left for school in the morning.
Two women drew attention to their vegetable gardens, while others were pleased
to produce tangible evidence of how they were keeping themselves occupied
with sewing, baking and so forth (‘you are not supposed to just sit around and do
nothing’). Others made mention of how they had been able to earn some money
through baking, and how they now had a better grasp of how to save money in small
groupings. So despite the fact that DEDI staff earlier suggested that their programmes
had but limited impact on creating a larger degree of independence, it seems as if, in
some cases, they had some positive spin-offs.
Several women intimated that there were fewer rows in their homes (‘my family is
happier now’), and also that their children were better behaved as a result of the new
ways they had acquired of communicating and dealing with conflictual situations.
Good-neighbourliness appears also to have increased.
How meaningful was the training?

From the foregoing section it is very clear that the DEDI training was meaningful to
the women. But even a couple who intimated that it was in fact nothing new, and
that they had always known these things, (‘I have been doing it before, it was my
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life that I came with it from home.’), were nonetheless gratified to see their personal
principles and beliefs affirmed by the content of the training (an important aspect of
parenthood). Many women pointedly commented on how they had spoken to their
peers outside of the training about what they had learnt, and they were hardly likely
to have done so had they not found the training relevant to their circumstances.
One may reasonably assume that the womens’ enhanced feelings about their
circumstances finds some resonance within the lives of their children.
Home visits
It was obvious from the interviews that this was an aspect of the DEDI programme
that was much appreciated, and that it was of special importance. Some women
intimated that there were matters they had been too ashamed about, or too shy, to
broach in a group setting before, but that they had appreciated being able to talk
about them in confidence. They seemed particularly gratified that someone was
‘looking out for them’, even if they had not been at home at the time the DEDI
worker called. As one respondent put it: ‘When they come to your house, they bring
you out of your misery with all sorts of advice, like sometimes when you have a
negative mind they will leave you feeling positive again. They even make people
love one another.’
Not everyone had been the recipient of a home visit, though. Only six of the 11
interviewees reported having been visited at home; yet, the others seemed to imply
that they could have had home visits had they requested them. They seemed content
to meet in group settings. There was no sense of having been neglected. It also
seems that group meetings were held in homes on a rotating basis.
Some of the issues that had been dealt with in the home visit context, as recorded by
the beneficiaries, were:
• checking to see why someone was not at a group meeting and that they
were alright;
• doing inspections to see how the training was being implemented;
• checking for the safety of home appliances;
• communicating times and venues of upcoming meetings;
• clarifying possible misunderstandings and doing follow-up on familial
problems; and
• assessing and advising on household documentation needs.
One woman from Fauresmith neatly encapsulated the general feeling about home
visits: ‘Yes, they always make a turn to my house; that is why you saw that they
know where we all stay. The support helps a lot because when they come to my
house, then you form some kind of a friendship with them, and you even learn more
from them, as at your home is a relaxed setting where you can ask them whatever it
is you don’t understand.’
It was not clear that children derived any direct benefit from the home visits other
than tangentially by, for example, the mother being relieved of stressful feelings,
having her questions answered, or the dangerous use of electrical appliances being
pointed out. However, these aspects in themselves are, in our opinion, sufficient
justification for such a project.
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Use of clinics
Nearly all of the respondents mentioned that DEDI encouraged them to avail
themselves of their local clinic’s services, but most suggested that they needed no
prompting to do so. One woman responded that ‘if we don’t go to the clinics the
welfare department will cut us out of the system’, which sounds incorrect but which,
if true, or if believed to be true, at least confirms that the message in respect of clinic
visits has made an impression. Another said they were told that a child cannot get
a birth certificate unless he or she has a clinic card – something stressed during the
training sessions and home visits.
The necessity for children to be immunised had evidently been explained to the
interviewees, but one gains the impression that DEDI was preaching to the converted
in this regard. There was no evidence that respondents were using their clinics any
more than they might otherwise have done. One woman, however, was so enthused
by DEDI’s advocacy of clinic services that she claimed to be now working at her
local clinic as a volunteer. A number of people associated questions about the clinic
with health-related advice they recalled having heard from the DEDI facilitators.
Documentation
DEDI came in for considerable praise in respect of the way in which it had facilitated
the acquisition of IDs, grants and so forth. This praise was unanimous, with no
locational differences and no dissenting points of view. The organisation has
obviously done outstanding work in this regard, and interviewees marveled at the
way DEDI seemed able to ‘push all the right buttons’. DEDI had not only arranged
for Home Affairs officials to visit the townships on Saturdays (thereby facilitating
documentation for inter alia farm workers), but they also took up difficult individual
cases with the departments concerned and stuck with these cases until they were
brought to a satisfactory conclusion.
Many respondents also commented on how courteously and considerately they had
been treated by the officials, and what a change this had been from what they were
used to. It was also much appreciated that DEDI advised people in advance what
kind of information they should have with them when meeting the Home Affairs
officials. Many mothers were able to access child grants as a result of DEDI’s efforts,
although it was pointed out that some parents misused the grant money. Interestingly
enough, the complainants went to remonstrate with the offending parents in this
instance (they told them they should be using the money for school uniforms), which
presumably is indicative of DEDI’s philosophy having a knock-on effect within the
communities. DEDI has obviously made a tangible difference (most immediately
via access to state grants) in very many people’s lives by assisting them with
documentation.
It was felt that in addition to Home Affairs officials having come on Saturdays with a
view to accommodating those working on farms and those who could not get time
off work, they could still also make extra efforts to see people outside of normal
working hours. DEDI can presumably only achieve so much in this regard – they
probably cannot be seen to be trying to dictate the department’s overtime policies. It
was also felt that different departments should synchronise their visits to Philippolis.
While this would no doubt be the ideal situation, it is difficult to see how DEDI can
be expected to achieve this kind of logistical inter-departmental cooperation.
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Unmet needs
Certain needs were expressed that are not within DEDI’s stated aims or capacities,
for instance, the stricter policing of drunkenness within the community. It was hoped
that DEDI would ‘come with projects that give us work’, and that DEDI would
come to mediate conflicts at savings society meetings, but this is to misunderstand
the nature of the organisation, which is to give people the wherewithal to manage
their own lives more effectively – not to do it for them. The only need expressed
concerning children was curbing under-age drinking, but this is presumably not an
ECD concern.
Service providers’ attitude

There was never any suggestion of anyone having been treated slightingly – quite
the reverse, and the DEDI personnel were commended for their compassion and
friendliness. There were, however, many complaints about Home Affairs and Social
Welfare officials’ uncaring attitudes when they were encountered without the
mediation of DEDI.
Major positives of training and home visits

Although certain interviewees were much more forthcoming on this point than
others, specific positives that were mentioned by respondents, with the number of
iterations, are reflected below in Table 3.7.
Table 3.7: Major positive aspects of the training and home visits by DEDI, 2007
Positive feature Number of mentions

Financial management 5
Help with IDs and grants 4
Responsible community conduct 2
Childcare 2
Family skills 1
Help with CBOs 1
General knowledge imparted 1
Even if ‘childcare’ is grouped with ‘family skills’, it is evident that it is DEDI’s more
financially related interventions that spring to mind when people are asked about
the positive aspects of their programme. In terms of positives, household financial
management scores most highly, followed by help with documentation to obtain
grants, and only then specifically child-directed training and advice. It is arguably
a little troubling that it is these interventions, that will, hopefully, indirectly assist
children, that are more highly valued than those that focus directly on child welfare
and development.
Major negatives of training and home visits

Not a single respondent made mention of anything negative about the DEDI
programme. There is a slight concern in that at least one interviewee intimated that
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there were no small children in her household (in fact no children at all), which
could suggest that not all DEDI’s beneficiaries are necessarily being selected with the
organisation’s particular child-focus in mind. Where respondents, in discussing the
savings societies (see below), made incidental remarks concerning the general DEDI
training, home visits, childcare, documentation and so forth, these contributions were
assimilated into the foregoing sections.
Savings societies
Part of the DEDI manifesto is to support poor women in pooling their resources, by
encouraging each other to contribute to mutual savings societies. This helps to secure
‘critical mass’ for the participants, which can, for example, be leveraged to secure
bulk discounts. A total of seven savings societies was polled – three in one focus
group and four individually. These were drawn from all four of the localities.
What service did DEDI provide?

It was reported that DEDI taught Philippolis’s three savings groups how to ‘generate
funds’. They were advised to start out with a single, overriding goal to strive towards.
Mutual support between women was emphasised. DEDI apparently also helped the
stokvels with the actual opening of savings accounts at the post office. There were
two savings societies in Trompsburg – one of nine and the other of 16 participants.
Members were encouraged not to keep significant sums of cash on their persons, but
rather immediately to deposit such funds into a savings account – whether in their
own individual account or the society’s was not clear. In Fauresmith, the respondent
said DEDI had taught them about fund-generating activities, yet she claimed that they
had already had their own (unspecified) activities. All members were instructed in
basic budgets, ‘financial skills’ and so forth.
How appropriate was the service?

Given that respondents said they would like more services from DEDI, and that
they felt DEDI still had a lot to teach them (especially in acquiring business skills),
there seems little room for doubting the appropriateness of DEDI’s interventions.
Respondents in Philippolis claimed that DEDI had taught them how to budget at the
household level, and that they were following this advice in their homes.
How were they treated?

The Philippolis post office received a glowing report as to how well it treated the
members of the savings groups. Overall, no complaints were received in this regard.
What were the savings used for?

Some societies were still finding their feet, and still in an accumulation phase, so had
not progressed far enough to put their savings to any particular use. The Ipopeng
society in Trompsburg had as a goal the intention of buying household appliances
(presumably such as vacuum cleaners, where there was an across-the-board need for
such an appliance), which the participants would then share on a rotation basis. Such
purchases had not actually materialised as yet.
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The dynamics of the societies are a little puzzling to the uninitiated. The accumulated
savings appear to be used as a source of cash loans against which participants
borrow at a higher rate of interest than the money would earn were it retained within
the savings account. Although it seems, on the face of it, counter-productive to
‘borrow’ one’s own money that one is supposedly saving, perhaps it is inculcating the
discipline of regular saving that is important – provided that the savings component
is not whittled away to nothing in favour of the regular repayments of the loans
incurred by borrowing such savings. In essence, the society appears to function as its
own limited-membership bank. One trusts the members have the arithmetical skills to
keep track of the complexities that must inevitably arise with such an arrangement.
Additionally, the danger surely exists that a significant defaulter could wipe out any
benefit that might have accrued to the society by way of interest, if not the society’s
actual accumulated capital sum itself.
How did children benefit?

It was claimed that more children were now attending crèches. Trompsburg’s
Ipopeng society was very pleased that savings had helped to afford food for children
and school uniforms. Jagersfontein’s Ipopeng society said it had as its objective to
buy blankets for the children for winter, but for the current financial year it had lent
out all its funds to its members to meet school-related expenses.
It was difficult to see that children had derived tangible benefits from the savings
schemes. Perhaps the best one can hope for is a benign ‘trickle-down’ effect. This
situation, where one assumes what is to the parents’ benefit is ipso facto to the
childrens’ benefit, is closely paralleled by the issue of child grants. Here it was rather
disturbing to learn from one respondent that, according to DEDI, a child grant was
meant for the parent and not the child because ‘if it weren’t for you [ie. the mother]
they would not even get [qualify for] it’. This may well have been a misconception
on the part of the interviewee and is an issue, the solving of which cannot be laid at
DEDI’s door, save that considerable conceptual confusion does exist about who the
child grant is for. Is it for the child, by virtue of whose existence the mother qualifies
to collect the grant, or is it ‘for’ the mother who qualifies by virtue of her having had
a (grant-eligible) child? Ideally mother and child’s interests should be coterminous,
but it is not at all clear that the ostensible intention behind the child grant (ie. the
welfare of the child) is sufficiently appreciated. As it stands, some mothers seem
to want to claim that their interests (or agendas) ‘trump’ those of their children.
One trusts that DEDI could be instrumental in restoring parents’ priorities in these
instances.
Major positives
Respondents said that the disciplines of budgeting and savings had led to a ‘lot of
differences’ in their homes. One difference was that they were no longer making use
of Cash Loans organisations (‘loan sharks’) but were borrowing from their savings
societies instead. One hopes that monies ‘saved’ are not in essence converted into
loans. Another difference cited was that more children were attending crèches,
presumably funded by savings effected via more prudent household economies.
Several respondents felt they were using their limited incomes more wisely.
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Just advancing the notion of opening a savings account was cited as a positive by
two respondents in different towns, who described it as ‘something we never thought
of’. That there are people to whom it has never even occurred to open a savings
account must surely act as a ‘wake-up call’ to those who wish to profit from the so-
called ‘unbanked’ sector. The feeling of ‘communitas’ instilled by the savings societies
was much appreciated, and one woman remarked on her group’s much higher sense
of self-esteem.
Major negatives
The only complaint – which emanated from just one interviewee in Jagersfontein –
was that DEDI always arrived for meetings later than arranged. The main problem
with the savings societies (which is not a negative reflection on DEDI’s services
as such) is that these groups, unless they are very closely knit, seem susceptible
to conflict, and disagreements about contributions and repayments, with resultant
unpleasantnesses, and members opting out prematurely. Where the groups do
actually work, they seem to work quite well, but their viability seems to be limited.
Community-based organisations
Interviews were conducted with three CBOs in Trompsburg (Siyanqoba HIV/AIDS
Support Group, Philane Victim Support Centre and Phikelela Youth Development
Project), two in Fauresmith (Masakhane Creche and Bolokanang HIV/AIDS Home-
Based Care), and one in Jagersfontein (Aganang HIV/AIDS Prevention Programme).
General impressions of DEDI

The CBOs proved in general to be the most critical of the three constituencies
factored into this evaluation (i.e. savings societies and training, home visits and
documentation), this despite their not having had very much contact with DEDI.
This is probably understandable, for reasons of professional jealousy or envy, and
because DEDI, being a Bloemfontein-based organisation, would almost certainly be
experienced as an interloper by the local CBOs.
This having been said, most of the criticism directed at DEDI was in fact occasioned
by an ex-employee of theirs who appears to have behaved in a manner that
antagonised the local CBOs in Trompsburg. It seems that DEDI did attempt to repair
some of the damage with their replacement employee.
Most of the CBOs exhibited unrealistic expectations of DEDI, in that they wanted
DEDI to provide them with counselling and related skills (including management
skills and, surprisingly, training in first aid), but it is doubtful that DEDI has any
particular mandate (or wish) to act as an umbrella organisation and become involved
with capacitating CBOs, instead of working directly with people themselves.
It appears that DEDI had partnered with a crèche in Fauresmith in 2003, helping
them to secure funding from the Lottery Board. DEDI also helped the crèche with
its finances. When the funding was abruptly terminated by the Lottery Board (after
two years instead of the anticipated three years) the crèche appears to have held
DEDI accountable for this, instead of approaching the Lottery Board directly for an
explanation. DEDI has apparently trained the crèche’s staff in childcare. Where there
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is clear overlap with DEDI (as is the case with both CBOs in Fauresmith) there seems
to be the tacit expectation that DEDI should take the local organisation on board and
absorb this into its operations, but DEDI is doubtless correct in exercising caution
about allowing its funding to be appropriated by potentially opportunistic CBOs
insinuating themselves into its programmes.
Main positives
The CBO that assisted DEDI with its documentation drive in Trompsburg felt that the
campaign had gone very well, and that DEDI seemed to be very well connected with
the Department of Home Affairs.
In general, the CBOs found DEDI useful to work with, apart from the unfortunate
series of incidents in Trompsburg. Collaboration has mostly revolved around
documentation drives. Unlike the CBOs in Trompsburg, those in Fauresmith found
the organisation very professional to work with.
Main negatives
Half the CBOs felt that DEDI does not do ‘proper follow-ups’ with ‘follow-up’ here
meaning continued interaction with, or cultivation of, the CBOs in question. The
CBOs possibly develop something of a dependency relationship with the stronger
organisation, and then feel ‘dropped’ when, for whatever reason, the original
rationale for their interaction falls away. DEDI needs to clarify its relationships with
CBOs in the areas in which it operates in order that mutual expectations of each
other are realistic and on the same level.
Swot analysis
Relevance to the community, community primacy and self-drive
Obviously, the programme implemented by DEDI focused on one or two specific
aspects around families and children, and did therefore not cater for the broader
development needs of the various communities. However, the community profiling
and needs assessment assisted in DEDI gaining an understanding of community
needs in respect of ECD, as well as in the community understanding what the
potential benefits are of working with DEDI. Considering the absence of this FSP
in all the towns, there can be little doubt that the programme was relevant to the
people benefiting from it. Although the resources and knowledge mainly went to
adults (caregivers), the positive impact on children was demonstrated above, and
this supports the notion that attending to the family would have an impact on the
development of children. At the same time, one should acknowledge that the trickle-
down effect (from caregivers to children) might not always take place. Yet, the
alternative to focus on the children and not on the family does not seem to make
developmental sense either.
All indications are that DEDI is achieving outstanding developmental results at

grassroots level. This is real community development, albeit on a necessarily
restricted scale. Participants in its programmes exhibit a high level of retention
of information, and they profess to be genuinely enlightened by what they have
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learned. Criticism from its ‘client base’ is virtually non-existent. Respondents are
unanimous that DEDI has been instrumental in effecting tangible improvements in
their lives and in their homes.
The only service that needs to be reconsidered – at least regarding the intended
outcome – is that of the savings groups. DEDI and the NMCF should acknowledge
the fact that there seems to be very limited financial sense in the savings group
schemes. This should be weighted against the feelings of ownership and achievement
among the group members. The important point is to state the intended outcome
upfront. Maybe, in addition to the savings schemes, some of the workshops should
also consider individual household budgeting. In the process, the importance of
addressing the needs of children could be flagged.
Accessibility and acceptability

Overall, the services seem to be accessible. Although there was probably some
exclusions in terms of literacy, DEDI did take the service to the various towns. The
two obvious exclusions from the work were males and farmworkers (some provision
was however made for them regarding documentation). Yet, none of these were
excluded on purpose. The levels of acceptability, maybe with the exclusion of

existing CBOs, have been fairly high.
Perceived impact and action research

The overall impression by the community is that the intervention has been useful
and that it had a positive impact on the lives of children. Obviously, there were
expectations beyond the service for which DEDI was contracted, but surely DEDI
cannot be held responsible for such needs.
Mobilisation and involvement of children

DEDI’s philosophy has been to work with the family in order to address the needs
of the children. So, many of the interventions have not been directed at children
specifically, but at the family. This does not mean that the intention of benefiting
children was lost sight of. Overall, this approach seems appropriate and the evidence
from the interviews suggests that children have benefited, sometimes directly and in
other cases indirectly. At the beginning of the intervention child assessments were
also completed in which there was a more direct assessment of the children and their
needs. These child assessments enabled DEDI to provide an appropriate service.
Participatory policy making: how have these fed into policy making?
Although there is no direct impact on policy making, two points should be made. In
the first place, this intervention has improved DEDI’s institutional memory and should
therefore play a role in forums on which DEDI serves in respect of ECD. At the
same time, this report also evaluates a project. The learning from this exercise should
contribute to better policy making.
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Technical soundness and replicability

In our opinion, the intervention is technically sound, simple to implement and comes
with specific benefits to children. The description of the processes followed is evident
in this regard. Technically, the savings schemes are probably the most difficult aspect
to implement – especially if the aim is to enhance the incomes of the individuals
involved.
Partnerships between government, private sector, civil/traditional leaders

Two comments need to be made in respect of partnerships. First, the manner in
which documentation and access to grants was facilitated should be seen as a
partnership between DEDI and the respective government agencies. The fact that
DEDI staff were able to inform people what documents they required to access
the various formal documents and grants was vital to the process. This meant
that officials could work with people who had all the available documents with
them. However, the relationship between DEDI and local CBOs seems to be the
most negative aspect of this intervention. This is surely an aspect which should be
addressed in the longer run. How can DEDI support these local CBOs in ways that
would benefit both the local CBO and DEDI?
Innovativeness
Although the intervention has probably not brought something new that was not
practised before, the fact that home visits were essentially part of the intervention
should be mentioned. With many community interventions it is possible to make
these interventions without considering longer term commitments. The high levels of
appreciation for the home visits suggest that DEDI went a step further.
Ethical soundness
The report back from the interviews suggests that ethical considerations were upheld.
This can be seen in two aspects of the project. First, in terms of the response from
beneficiaries, DEDI staff were praised for their approach and empathy with the
community. Second, the underlying principle of building on existing knowledge also
meant that the existing attitudes and cultures of the respective communities were
acknowledged.
Financial base, efficiency, sustainability and cost effectiveness

This section deals with two questions. First, was the intervention adequately
resourced? Second, was the service value for money? Overall, it seems as if the
intervention was adequately resourced – maybe with the exception of the fact that
NGOs would prefer to have longer-term funding arrangements. On the second
question as to whether the service was value for money, the following points should
be made.
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If the service is broken down to the settlement level, each town received
approximately R90 000, for which they received the following services over a ten-
month period:
• eight ECD training sessions benefiting approximately 25 caregivers;
• monthly home visits which benefited approximately 20 households;
• assisting approximately 70 people to obtain IDs;
• assisting approximately 80 to 90 people to access birth certificates;
• assisting about 35 households to access some form of grant;
• an HIV/AIDS awareness programme reaching about 150 young people; and
• the establishment and training of two to three savings groups.
Considering the fact that all this was done within the framework of DEDI as an
institution, as well as against the overall positive evaluation received regarding these
services, it is our contention that the above is decidedly value for money.
The self-esteem imparted by savings societies is of inestimable value, and DEDI

seems to have an especial genius for cutting through red-tape in the processing of
vital personal official documentation. Because its home visits are so valued, DEDI
must avoid the temptation to economise on these by running them together.
Reaching targets
In addition to the descriptive SWOT analysis above, Table 3.8 provides an assessment
of the degree to which the project reached its objectives.
Table 3.8: An overview of how successful the project targets were
Target Evaluator’s comments

To train and empower vulnerable As outlined in the text above, this was done fairly
children in childhood learning; care and efficiently in the four towns through training.
development within the family institution In addition, home visits were conducted and
(also strengthening the family well-being) these home visits were much appreciated by the
beneficiaries.
To test and enhance livelihood Although there has been a sense of belonging and
interventions communal saving, it should not be seen as a short-
term programme. The other positive role that they
have been playing is to absorb income shocks and
support children in need (e.g. school fees; school
uniforms, etc.).
To strengthen three existing group savings These groups have been strengthened but whether
societies they have the ability to benefit all children directly
needs to be evaluated.
To research policy issues on OVC This report contributes to this research. More
importantly, DEDI is developing an institutional
memory on OVC, which should be used to
address policy issues.
To document and share with key It is the aim of this report to share with key
stakeholders stakeholders.
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Target Evaluator’s comments

To have 135 families able to stimulate and Considering the fact that the target for Kopanong
give appropriate care to children by the is about 75, this target has been reached for
end of 2006 training and home visits. Respondents suggested
that these interactions have had a positive impact
on their lives. Whether this has led to appropriate
care is, however, more difficult to assess.
To have 540 children benefiting from the This was probably an ambitious target considering
social security support services by the end the time frame of the project. In Kopanong
of 2006 reference is made to 163 children receiving some
form of grant support.
To strengthen 270 families (women) It seems as if this target was not fully achieved.
economically through group savings
societies
To assist the three existing group savings Target was achieved and even more savings
societies to have bank accounts, meet groups were established.
regularly and to increase their savings
To have 135 families benefiting from Achieved
activities by the end of 2006

To have 540 children benefiting from Although it is difficult to determine this, as some
activities by the end of 2006 children benefited from more than one service, the
target of about 300 in Kopanong seems to have
been reached through the different services.
To have 450 young people informed on Achieved, but no assessments of content,
sexuality and the impact of HIV/AIDS approach or impact have been made.
See to it that there are nine family support Only three facilitators worked in the areas, while
workers able to create partnerships the links with local stakeholders have not always
(at least one in each area) with critical been effective. Good relationships exist with
stakeholders including CBOs; Local Local Government as well as Department of
Government; and donor organisations Home Affairs.
Although, some of the targets were not achieved, the above table suggests that
most of the targets were achieved. Even more importantly, one should acknowledge
the fact that the qualitative assessment suggests a high degree of satisfaction and
adequate evidence of how children benefited (directly and indirectly).
Conclusion and recommendations

Changing people’s attitude, beliefs and practices is no easy assignment. However, it
seems as if the role that DEDI has played is crucial in providing a basis for change.
The overall conclusion by the CDS is that, despite some shortcomings and criticism,
the overall programme has made a difference in people’s lives. The success of the
programme lies in a simple service, delivered to people who need such a service, in
an uncomplicated way, which benefits households directly, and does have benefits to
children (directly and indirectly).
On the more critical side, a few comments should be made. It is only to be expected
in a survey of adults that it will be adults’ concerns that come to the fore. Yet, one is
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tempted to suggest that DEDI should occasionally rededicate its stated aims to ECD.
DEDI must also not lose sight of the fact that it is not helping adults as an end in
itself, but in order that these benefits trickle down to children. This sometimes seems
to be in danger of being obscured by the fruits of the enhanced financial status that
involvement with DEDI bestows on families. In the final analysis, it is the childrens’
welfare that is key – the fact of childrens’ existence is not meant to function as no
more than a financial asset in the familial sphere, but this often seems to be what is
in effect happening. Adults must not be allowed to leverage children to make money.
DEDI also needs to regularise its relations with those CBOs working the same ‘turf’,
in order to avoid unrealistic expectations on their part and future misunderstandings.
Where synergies are feasible, the implications of these should be clearly understood
by all concerned.
A number of general recommendations are made:

• The savings groups need to be reconsidered in respect of their aims. Such
groups seem to be appropriate when one considers the need to address the
principle of saving, and to ensure that some funds are available should a crisis
arise in one of the households. However, whether savings groups in themselves
will generate income-related activities is more uncertain, yet not impossible. The
point is that there should be clarity about what the aim is upfront, and then
the group should be supported in that direction. The current evidence suggests
that the savings groups have had very little impact on creating new livelihood
opportunities for beneficiaries, and maybe it is simply because of the economic
inconsistencies of such groups.
• Attention should be devoted to developing the manuals into guide packs for
other organisations to use. The current manuals are appropriate for the current
staff. Yet, they fall short of being able to explain the rationale, approach and
outcomes to anybody else. For example, should new staff be appointed to
learn from the manuals regarding the approach to the training, they would find
limited support in the current manuals. The important point to consider here
is that, should DEDI lose their staff, there should be documentation portraying
the institutional memory regarding content and process. In addition, other
organisations should also be able to learn and benefit from DEDI’s experience.
The upgrading of the manuals should be a financially viable option for DEDI.
• The direct beneficiaries of the programmes have mostly been the female
caregivers (mothers or grandmothers). The question is: To what degree can males
be involved more directly? To some extent justice is not done to the emphasis on
families when there is exclusion of a significant percentage of males.
• The programmes mostly considered the urban dwellers of the respective towns.
Some attention should also be given to farmworkers (although it was mentioned
that farmworkers benefited from the documentation process) in the longer term,
as farmworkers are probably the most neglected group of people when it comes
to access to services such as those provided by DEDI.
• The results of this evaluation should be shared with role-players in the
Xhariep and Kopanong municipalities, as well as with the relevant government
departments. A number of lessons on service delivery in general, but also
regarding services to OVC should be communicated in this respect. One aspect
that should be mentioned is the effective use of an NGO, such as DEDI, to
provide essential social services.
• Consideration should be given to longer-term funding processes during which
longer-term goals could be reached. Although setting targets and reaching them
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are important, one-year funding arrangements are emphasising these targets at

the expense of quality and on-going processes.
• Consideration should be given to training programmes that advise people on
how to manage their grant and household budgets. Specific emphasis should be
placed on ensuring that these budgets include items that will benefit children.
• Consideration should also be given to different forms of monitoring and
evaluation and on a different scale. Maybe this can be done by means of a
longitudinal study in which behaviour and impacts can be assessed over a
three- to five-year period. At the same time, the costs involved in the service
could be compared with those delivered through the public sector. Furthermore,
consideration could also be given to a continuous evaluation system managed
by DEDI. Such a system could be completed by the beneficiaries after a service,
and the beneficiaries could then indicate their satisfaction with programmes –
even the illiterate could participate if it is properly developed.
• Although government services cannot always be costed in this way, it might be
appropriate to compare the costs and achievement of DEDI with those provided
by the government. The Department of Social Development is in the process of
developing an appropriate monitoring and evaluation system which might be
helpful later on.
• Consideration can also be given to facilitating pre-maternal classes to pregnant

women and their partners.
• The extension of the service in a holistic manner to ECD centres could also add
additional value – something which DEDI already does in other parts of the
Free State. At the same time, the Free State Department of Education has also
released their policy on a pre-Grade R curriculum, which could be incorporated
effectively into this programme.
Attention should also be given to the psychological well-being of the facilitators,

who need to work and absorb all the personal problems of the people with whom
they work.
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chapter 4

Orkney area, North West
Background on Orkney and surrounding areas
The Klerksdorp-Orkney-Stilfontein-Hartbeesfontein (KOSH) area is located around
the City of Matlosana. The City of Matlosana consists of greater Klerksdorp, Orkney,
Stilfontein and Haartbeesfontein and is a part of the Southern District Municipality on
the south-eastern border of the North West province. Figure 4.1 provides a graphic
depiction of where the four areas under Matlosana are distributed in the Southern
District Municipality.
Figure 4.1: Map showing the Klerksdorp-Orkney-Stilfontein-Hartbeesfontein (KOSH) area

Source: Municipal Demarcation Board (2006) http://www.demarcation.org.za
The total population of the area was estimated to be around 359 202 in 2001
(Statistics South Africa, 2001). Furthermore, there were approximately 93 339
households in the City of Matlosana (Statistics South Africa 2003). Table 4.1 provides
a breakdown of the population groups found in the area.
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Table 4.1: Population groups in the City of Matlosana, 2001
Population group Number %

African 283 848 79.02
Coloured 10 005 2.78
Indian 1 332 0.37
White 64 017 17.82
Total population 359 202 100
Source: Statistics South Africa, Census 2001
Buffelsfontein Gold Mines Limited, known as DRDGOLD’s North West Operations,

was placed in provisional liquidation on 22 March 2005, following continued financial
losses and a massive earthquake on 9 March 2005, which caused irreparable damage
to one of the mineshafts. A new company called Simmer & Jack made proposals
that revived the mine in September 2005. Simmer & Jack’s scheme of arrangement
involved payment of R45 million to the provisional liquidators, and the fresh
appointment of employees without assumption of any accumulated pre-liquidation

employee benefits.
The following are the most significant areas of impact of the liquidation of Durban
Roodepoort Deep mine on the communities in the KOSH area:
• unemployment and worker migration;
• community and social services; and
• community cohesiveness.
Unemployment and worker migration

The problem of unemployment is one of the most serious and long-lasting
consequences of mine closure, even one year after the downsizing of the local mining
workforce. Mining communities in all the four towns have in common the problem,
not just of the quantity of jobs, but of the quality of jobs as well: long-term, stable
jobs providing living wages are scarce. This basic situation on local labour markets
has led to a worsening of living standards for many.
Many mineworkers who are retrenched return to their home countries and provinces
leaving behind children. The migration has led to a sharp increase in OVC. Our key
informants indicate that about ten children are abandoned per week in this area.
Community and social services

Municipal budgets suffer a dual impact from mine closure: tax revenues contract,
while expenditure obligations expand. In the range of municipal services, respondents
singled out housing and communal services as priority areas that have been severely
negatively impacted by the mine closure. Education and health are also important
locally-provided social services that are affected by the mine closure, although the
research results indicate that the provision of these services has generally fared better,
despite the difficult circumstances. The poor state of the housing stock of most
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Interventions for OVC in the Orkney area, North West
mining towns is a result of historical considerations and of the impact of mining and
mine closure. There is increased dependency on social grants instead of a monthly
salary.
Community cohesiveness
The capacity of the community to absorb the negative shocks of mine closure, and
to mitigate such negative phenomena as social instability, alienation and apathy,
was found to be inadequate. The mining communities appear to be rather fragile
or vulnerable, and their capacity to respond adequately on the community level
diminished.
The role of NGOs/CBOs in these towns is quite limited: while various organisations
representing civil society were found in each of the four towns, their impact on the
community was characterised by our key informants as insignificant; while members
of the population generally had no knowledge of any organisations that could be
considered representatives of civil society.
Methods
A participatory action research approach was used in describing the Child Welfare
North West (CWNW) project. The method was chosen for its potential for achieving
immediate benefits for major time-bound projects like this one. The WKKF-funded
project was a five-year OVC project whose aim is to develop and support best-
practice OVC interventions in selected sites in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
The method allows for the implementation of interventions even while the research is
ongoing. Instead of a researcher making all the judgments, practitioners try out new
ideas and then evaluate them within their own organisation and in collaboration with
other partners (Biersteker and Rudolph 2003).
The data was collected through the review of relevant documents and literature on
the interventions, site visits, and by conducting key informant interviews with key
stakeholders working with the interventions.

Several documents describing the project were reviewed. The researchers also used
published and unpublished reports on OVC interventions in Kanana and Umuzimuhle
townships. Three reports were prepared for the WKKF project. These are Jooste,
Managa and Simbayi (2006); Managa (2005); and Nkomo et al. (2006), all published
by the HSRC Press. The documents on Asibavikele and Isolabantwana Projects of
CWNW were also reviewed. The websites of some of the projects such as Child
Welfare and the Ondersteuningraad were visited and documents reviewed.
Site visits
The researchers visited CWNW in Orkney and Stilfontein on one day in April and
two days in September 2006. The purpose of the site visits was to obtain first-hand
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information on the projects by conducting key informant interviews. The sites and
projects visited were in Kanana and Orkney, Khuma in Stilfontein, and Alabama in
Klerksdorp.
Interviews with key informants on OVC at CWNW

The researchers interviewed key informants among staff of CWNW. Those
interviewed include the area manager, Marie van Rooyen; social workers, Patricia
Leburu, Annaleen van Staden and Suzette van Vuuren; chairperson of the HIV/AIDS
committee, Tshenolo; and two volunteers in Khuma, Lydia Mabote and Patricia.
Description of OVC interventions at Child Welfare North West

Introduction and goals of CWNW
CWSA is the umbrella, development, capacity building and coordinating body
for 169-member organisations, 65 developing child welfare organisations and
38 community outreach projects. In all, CWSA represents more than 250 affiliates,
branches and developing children’s organisations in South Africa. CWSA serves as

the national spokesperson on child welfare issues. They advocate and lobby on
children’s issues, and create public awareness on child welfare and development
issues. CWSA also formulates and influences policies and legislation, and develops
and implements child protection programmes. CWSA, together with its member
organisations, is the largest NGO in South Africa in the field of child protection and
child and family welfare.
CWNW is an affiliate of CWSA, which works directly with member organisations, and
local CWSA affiliates and branches delivering services in the province (Child Welfare
South Africa 2005b). CWNW is in a strong position to act as a link between concerned
individuals or companies and local communities in creating a child-friendly, child-
centred society in the North West province. CWNW renders assistance to families in
need in the KOSH areas. Some of their activities include recruiting foster parents, and
foster care placements and supervision. The organisation also runs a sewing project
for foster mothers. The project helps these mothers generate income.
The goals or targets of CWNW in 2006 included:

• identifying 300 OVC in six months;
• each volunteer submitting four cases that would be followed up by the social
worker; and
• strengthening communities to be able to deal with issues affecting OVC.
Staff at CWNW
The KOSH offices of CWNW had five social workers, one cleaner, one secretary
and one bookkeeper, as well as 70 volunteers who assisted with screening and
monitoring foster parents. There were no trained social auxillary workers or
psychologists working in the project. There were three persons working at the
two crèches as ECD workers/preschool teachers or childcare workers, and several
administrative and support workers based at the Orkney and Stilfontein offices.
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The provincial manager for the North West province was Annalie van Rooyen.
She was assisted by Marie van Rooyen, the area manager for the KOSH and
Potchefstroom region.
The social workers for the Orkney and Alabama offices were Wendy Campher,
Patricia Leburu, Suzette van Vuuren and Mamorwesi Lefu. While Wendy and Patricia
worked specifically in the field of child protection, Suzette and Mamorwesi were
more involved in the HIV/AIDS field. All social workers played a role in intervention
for the abused children.
Social workers employed by CWNW provide services in terms of the Department of

Social Development strategy for the care of children at risk, where implementation is
at four levels:
• The first level is prevention, and its aim is to strengthen families and
communities and their access to resources and tools for care, protection and
development of their children. Programmes include development of coordinating
structures, income generation and poverty alleviation, and prevention
programmes with children and youth.
• The second level is early intervention and is aimed at those children and
families known to be particularly vulnerable and at risk of statutory intervention.

Programmes at this level include home-based care, including schemes building
on existing projects, family support projects and AIDS Action teams in hospitals;
capacity-building for counsellors, community workers and communities; access
to grants and issues of confidentiality and disclosure.
• The third level is on statutory process and provides for effective assessment,
care and management of young people and families at the start of statutory
intervention and while their court case and placement options are finalised.
Programmes provided at this level include protection of children through the
Child Care Act procedures for removal and placement in alternative care, and
protection from maltreatment.
• The fourth level is the continuum of care that involves legal placements, foster
care, adoption, and residential care.
The administrative personnel were Anita du Preez, Muriel Fourie and Lydia Toyi.
Anita was the bookkeeper, Muriel was the administrative clerk for the branches and
assisted the social workers in the typing up of reports, and Lydia was the cleaner in
the office.
Head of the Community Care crèches was Muriel Wilson, who was assisted by Rosina
Lechona at Busy Beevers, and Eliza Menghe at Baby Beevers.
The Stilfontein branch had their own office, where Annaleen van Staden was the
social worker, taking responsibility for both Stilfontein and Khuma townships.
Annaleen focused mainly on child protection. Lydia Mabote, who acted as
administrative clerk, was also a volunteer in Khuma assisting Annaleen.
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Figure 4.2: Organisational structure of Child Welfare North West
Area Manager
KOSH
Marie van Rooyen
Social workers Social workers Social worker

Alabama Kanana Stilfontein/Khuma
Wendy Campher & Mamorwesi Lefu Patricia Leburu, Suzette van Vuuren Annaleen van Staden
Volunteers Volunteers Volunteers

5 20 5
OVC interventions at CWNW

CWNW had four OVC interventions in the Orkney and Stilfontein areas:33
1. Child Protection Projects (CPP);
2. Victim Empowerment Project (VEP);
3. Kinship Care Project (KCP); and
4. Child Care and Stimulation Project (CCSP).
Child Protection Projects

The CPPs comprised of three projects that are described below. These are the
Isolabantwana Safe Home, Isolabantwana and Asibavikele Projects.
Isolabantwana Safe Home

Isolabantwana (eyes-on-the child) Safe Home34 is an unregistered safe home located
in the ‘old location’ section of Kanana. The home has capacity for six children – three
boys and three girls – at any point in time. At the time of the visit there were three
boys and three girls. Four of them were at school and two were at home. The latest
arrival was a one-month old girl who had been abandoned in Alabama. The other
child who was not at school was a pre-teen girl, who returned to the safe home as
foster care had not worked out.
Besides the sleeping facilities for six children, there is a lounge with a television
set and sofas, a kitchen, a bedroom for the caretaker, a storeroom, toilets and an
administrative office. The garden had not been maintained in a long while and was
in a bad state. The swings looked old and some were broken and not functional.
There are two people providing care and support for the six children in the home.
The caretaker lives on the premises, and provides 24/7 oversight on children in the
home. She is effectively the mother to all the kids in the home. The other worker
33 Interviews with Patricia Leburu, Suzette van Vuuren, Marie van Rooyen, and Tshenolo
34 Key informant interviews with Patricia Leburu and Suzette van Vuuren; visit to the home
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does cleaning, laundry, and provides general care and support as needed. She works
full-time during the day and goes home in the neighbourhood at night.
Challenges facing Isolabantwana Safe Home include the following:

• The home is not registered officially as a safe home. There is a need to do
several renovations to get the house up to standard.
• There is a lack of funds to purchase basic necessities such as food and clothing.
Children who stay here depend on donations for basic necessities.
• The garden is in a bad state and has not been attended to for a few months.
Opportunities for Isolabantwana Safe Home include the following:
• The stand where the house is located is fairly big and provides an opportunity
for expansion.
• The house is big enough to accommodate more children if renovations are
carried out.
• There is support from social workers from CWNW and from the public for a
facility of this nature in this community.
Isolobantwana Project
Isolobantwana Project35 is an initiative of CWSA in the North West province. During

2003, Cape Town Child Welfare entered into a project partnership with CWSA to
replicate the Isolabantwana Project in 20 cities/towns throughout the nine provinces
of South Africa. Orkney is one of the towns that benefited from this partnership.
Isolobantwana is a community-based child protection programme, which advocates

the collaboration of communities and formal resources when protecting vulnerable
children. In addition to protection of children, the programme entails a strong
preventative component, in that communities are enlightened about various aspects
of social problems, and vulnerable families are supported and counselled.
Key community leaders assist the social workers in identifying and selecting
community-based volunteers. A thorough screening process follows, to ensure
appropriate attachment of volunteers to different task roles in the programme. A
training programme of ten sessions, based on consultation with social workers,
volunteers and the commissioner, is devised to equip the volunteers with the
necessary skills and resources to execute their tasks effectively. Topics include signs
and symptoms of abuse, domestic violence, the Child Care Act and first aid, and
various professionals are approached to facilitate training. Once they indicate a sound
understanding of the training content after the training, the volunteers are tested on
the programme.
The active involvement of the Commissioner of Child Welfare (in the magisterial
district of the target area) needs to be ensured, as the Commissioner has the power
to authorise the volunteers in terms of Section 12(1) of the Child Care Act, to effect
the removal of children from parental custody for periods of up to 48 hours. The
volunteers receive certificates of accreditation to signify their authorisation. Upon
certification, the volunteers are introduced to their communities and investigate cases
of child abuse, neglect and abandonment over periods when social workers are not
35 Key informant interview with Patricia Leburu; http://www.helpkids.org.za/homepage/Isolobantwana.htm
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available (after hours or weekends). The care and circumstances of children referred
is investigated. A risk assessment is made on each child, and decisions with regard
to intervention are made. When protective intervention is indicated, children are
placed in short-term protective care at community-based places of safety. Caregivers
are given three chances to improve their parenting capabilities and lifestyles. If they
fail to improve their parenting capabilities, the cases are referred to formal child
protection agencies for follow-up and completion of statutory intervention.
The programme advocates prevention of child abuse and building capacity within
the community, and monthly awareness campaigns are conducted to highlight the
problem of child abuse and neglect. Workshops are offered to the overall community
to educate members of the community about social problems such as substance
abuse and domestic violence.
The Isolabantwana Project is designed in the following way:36

• A volunteer management committee is charged with the overall management of
the project and supervises all aspects of the work.
• Volunteer field workers, known as ‘Eyes’, identify children at risk of, as well as
those who have already suffered, abuse or neglect. There are 30 volunteers who
were trained for this project in Orkney and Stilfontein. 20 operate in Kanana
and five operate in Khuma and Alabama respectively. They are responsible
for assessing the circumstances and deciding on the most appropriate course
of action.
• The ‘Eyes’ are empowered to issue an emergency detention order, removing
young victims of abuse and those at risk to places of safety.
• As trained lay counsellors, the ‘Eyes’ counsel high-risk families and provide
intervention and therapeutic services to prevent the removal of children and
enhance the capacity of parents to care for their children.
• Volunteer field workers also monitor cases of concern and provide important
background information on child abuse cases to social workers.
• Places of safety caregivers provide temporary, emergency shelter and care in
their own homes for children who have been removed from their families. There
are three such places in Khuma and one in Kanana.
• Volunteers are also actively involved in the ‘Informing Eye Campaign’,
community education and outreach programmes, which include undertaking
public awareness drives, door-to-door campaigning, child protection workshops
and running programmes at local schools.
• The aim of this work is to equip communities with the knowledge and skills
to prevent and reduce the incidence of child abuse, through education and
intervention.
• The collaboration between the organisation and communities has resulted in
a substantial decrease in intake of child abuse and neglect cases since the
inception of the project.
• This is a direct result of the effectiveness of early intervention by trained
volunteers working in the community.
• The Isolobantwana Project's developmental approach, which promotes
community participation, ownership and empowerment, can be adapted to suit
other communities without difficulty.
36 Key informant interviews with Patricia Leburu and Suzette van Vuuren;
http://www.helpkids.org.za/homepage/Isolobantwana.htm
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Asibavikele Project
Asibavikele (‘let’s protect them’) Project37 is a nationally driven and nationally
coordinated programme that facilitates community-based care and support to orphans
and children made vulnerable as a result of HIV/AIDS.
This project focuses on unserviced or underserviced and disadvantaged communities.

It is implemented via the comprehensive infrastructure and collective action of CWSA
and its members.
The project was started because:

• there was an increase in the number of orphans and affected families presenting
to CWNW services;
• NGOs and CBOs in the area were experiencing difficulties in extending services,
as social workers were overburdened with statutory work, large caseloads and
administrative responsibilities;
• insufficient financial resources inhibited the ability of NGOs and CBOs to reach
out to under-resourced communities; and
• collective community involvement and support for children is inevitable, due
to limited number of trained human resources that are available to manage an
orphan pandemic, the number of orphans predicted, and improvised or rural

communities with minimal formal welfare structures.
Asibavikele was designed in such a way that it:

• effects community involvement in the identification and care of OVC;
• sensitises communities to the rights of children; and
• establishes foster care and safe homes.
Asibavikele is a child-centred project with the following key aspects:

• HIV/AIDS education;
• community-based care;
• prevention and early intervention; and
• capacitating children, their caregivers and community volunteers.
The steps in the implementation of the Asibavikele project are illustrated in

Figure 4.3.
37 Key informant interviews with Patricia Leburu and Suzette van Vuuren
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Figure 4.3: Steps in the implementation of the Asibavikele Project
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

Consultation and mobilisation Development of training materials Training the project teams
Key Tasks Key Activities Key Activities

Signing of contracts between Printing of Train the Trainer and Workshop
CWSA and Pilot Site Child Welfare Volunteer Training Manual
Organisations Completed by 22–26 August 2005
Baseline Study/Community Profile Completed by July 2005
Completed by mid-August 2005

Step 4
Step 7 Training of volunteers
Step 6 Monitoring and evaluation
Deploy volunteers
Key Activities
Key Activities Recruitment
Key Activities National Steering Committee;
Community walks to identify children; Completed by 9 September 2005
Project Team Meetings; Quarterly

Register children; and Monthly progress reports;
Develop plans to address needs; Screening
Maintaining accurate statistics Completed by 23 September 2005
Establish safe house/foster homes;
Link children with appropriate Activities ongoing
resources; Training
Facilitated advocacy and lobbying; Completed by 11 November 2005
Information from Step 7 leads to
Develop and implement monthly modification and roll-out of the
awareness and education Testing
programme Completed by 18 November 2005
campaigns
Completed by end June 2006 Graduation

Completed by 27 November 2005
Step 5
Implement organisational and administrative requirements
Key Activities
Dates for ongoing training; Set in place project team and volunteer
management committees; Develop annual work plan; Develop
sustainability plan volunteer contracts; Job descriptions; Set in place
supervision mechanisms; Determine dates for supervision
Completed by 30 December 2005
Source: Child Welfare South Africa (2005a)
Asibavikele volunteers
Thirty volunteers38 were trained for this project, and are operating under the
supervision of social workers. Twenty volunteers operate in Kanana township, five
in Khuma township, and five in Alabama. The volunteers were trained on how to
38 Interview with Patricia Leburu and Suzette van Vuuren; Child Welfare South Africa (2005a)
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communicate with children, how to draw pictures, and how to provide care and
support to OVC. Each volunteer has a caseload of 5-10 OVC. The volunteers receive a
stipend of R150 per month and about R60 for transport.
There is one social worker supervising five volunteers in Khuma and Alabama
respectively, and three social workers supervising 20 volunteers in Kanana. The first
activity for the 30 volunteers is to conduct a door-to-door campaign to identify 300
OVC in six months. The respondents indicated that this target was achieved on time.
Monitoring and evaluation of the project

The steering committee is mainly management staff of CWNW, and their
responsibilities include overall planning for the project, monitoring, budgeting,
consulting, motivating, etc.
The project team coordinates and manages the programme at each of the sites
in Kanana, Khuma and Alabama. They also organise and provide training and
administration. This team also ensures sustainability planning, and planning
concerning care of children.
Volunteer management committees are teams responsible for preparing work

schedules, allocating administrative tasks, and have a public relations function of
raising community awareness about the project.
Successes of the project include:

• impact on children, families, volunteers and communities;
• guidance;
• capacity development; and
• standards.
Challenges in implementing this project include:

• building community trust;
• capacity;
• volunteer sustainability;
• poverty and material needs;
• citizenship for South African-born children of retrenched or unemployed non-
South Africans;
• increased unemployment rate following the liquidation of Durban Roodepoort
Deep mine in Stilfontein; and
• increase in the number of abandoned children. Social workers estimate
that about 10 children are abandoned per week in this area. When some
mineworkers got retrenched in 2004/5, they returned to their home countries,
and mothers who could not cope supporting their children, abandoned them.
Victim Empowerment Project

The aim of the VEP39 is to provide an integrated programme to address the PSS needs
of victims of trauma and violence, with a particular focus on women and OVC.
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The strategy of the VEP is to:

• provide integrated and accessible mental health services to victims of violence
and trauma;
• build capacity to promote the quality and accessibility of victim empowerment
services;
• advocate on behalf of target beneficiaries to ensure that their rights are upheld
and needs met; and
• promote a dynamic relationship between research and victim empowerment
practices.
Social workers work with volunteers trained in trauma support, and other non-
governmental and CBOs to:
• provide a safe house for victims of trauma to recover;
• counsel women and children who have been battered physically and
emotionally; and
• use poetry to rehabilitate victims and survivors of trauma.
Envisaged services include:

• individual, group and family counselling, debriefing and crisis intervention for
survivors/victims of trauma;
• training and capacity development in the awareness of and containment of
trauma – facilitated by social workers for volunteers; and
• the programme aims to ensure that individuals, groups and communities
are supported to deal with the consequences of trauma, and break the cycle
of violence.
This project stopped operating because the social worker who was driving it left.
Kinship Care Project
CWNW created the KCP40 in 2004 to address the needs of children in KOSH who
live with their grandparents. The KCP offers a variety of services to grandparents and
others who are raising their young family members. When parents are unavailable
or unable to care for their children, grandparents often step in to provide a loving
home and to keep their loved ones safe from the emotional turmoil of foster care
placements. Research confirms the common sense understanding that kinship care
offers greater stability than living with non-relatives.
The families served by CWNW are poor, and struggle to provide decent housing,
education, and healthcare for these forgotten or abandoned young children.
The KCP is unique in KOSH, as the help they offer keeps children out of the foster
care system, and ensures that all available government benefits are accessed, that
healthcare is provided, and that rights to decent and safe housing are preserved.
This project is not continuing because the social worker who was driving it left.
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Child Care and Stimulation Project
This project consists of two crèches located in Orkney. These are the Baby Beevers
and the Busy Beevers crèches.41
Baby Beevers admits children aged one to three years. There were 12 children in this
age-group on the day of the visit. The crèche is staffed by the principal and one care-
giver. There is no specific curriculum for children at this crèche. Parents pay for their
children to be cared for here. The Department of Education provides a small subsidy
for the sustenance of the crèche.
Baby Beevers crèche is a feeder crèche for the Busy Beevers, which admits children
aged four to six years. The six-year olds do a pre-school or Grade 0 curriculum to
prepare them for school. The crèche is staffed by the principal and one teacher. There
were 40 children on the day of the visit. This gives a teacher/pupil ratio of 1:20.
A social worker visits the crèche weekly to identify family problems that affect
the children’s growth and development. She also identifies other social problems
impacting on learning, and refers children who need further care, treatment and/or
support. Parents pay for their children to be cared for at this crèche. The Department
of Education provides a small subsidy for the sustenance of the crèche.
Swot analysis
Strengths
The support that CWNW gets from CWSA, NMCF and HSRC is one of the major
strengths of the project. The NMCF seeks comprehensive local solutions to address
the negative effects of HIV/AIDS on children, households, and communities. As
funders to CWNW, this approach is key to ensuring that services provided are
comprehensive and sustainable.
CWSA negotiates for funding of child welfare projects at national level and shares
resources such as computers, software, etc. with provincial offices. Management
positions are funded by CWSA.
Both the HSRC and NMCF recognise that in order to develop indigenous responses
to the needs of OVC, it is important to conduct research to delineate the problem,
identify opportunities for intervention, and measure the effectiveness of interventions
prior to replication or scale up. This approach reduces the wasteful use of limited
resources, and encourages the application of interventions that have been evaluated
and are known to be effective.
The mines in the local vicinities donate offices and/or pay rent for offices of CWNW.
The North West Department of Health and Social Welfare subsidises the salaries
of social workers and shares provision of services according to sections of the
townships with CWNW.
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Weaknesses
The major challenges faced by CWNW include a lack of funding for key projects such
as the VEP and the KCP. There is a high turnover of staff, particularly black social
workers and volunteers. Social workers leave for government posts or the private
sector, both of which pay better than the NGOs. In many cases when a social worker
leaves, the project that she anchored collapses, and it takes a long time to fill that
position, as social worker salaries are very low in the NGO/CBO sector compared to
government and the private sector.
Unemployment is very high in the area and many people volunteer to work with
children, but have unrealistic expectations from the project. The organisation works
from a rented office in Orkney. The previous office was in an old mine hostel.
Effectively, the office in town is away from all the project sites, most of which are in
the townships of Kanana and Khuma.
Opportunities
The research reports produced on the projects will assist the projects to improve on
project implementation, and in future implement best-practice OVC interventions in

other parts of the province.
The collaborative relationship between the project and the NMCF and the HSRC
provides them with an opportunity to grow in project coordination, and ensure that
the implementation of interventions is anchored in research.
Threats
Closure of the mines and retrenchment of workers has been one of the biggest
threats in this community. When the price of gold goes down, some marginal
mines close and employees are retrenched. The retrenchment of mineworkers
means children cannot be supported with the basic necessities of life. In fact, many
retrenched workers return to their home countries and leave children in the mining
towns like Klerksdorp, Orkney, Stilfontein and Hartbeesfontein.
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chapter 5

Matjhabeng area, Free State
Background on the Matjhabeng Municipality
Matjhabeng Municipality42 came into existence on 5 December 2000 after the
amalgamation and merging of the former six Transitional Local Councils into one
financially viable and economically sustainable municipality.
Matjhabeng Municipality incorporates the city of Welkom and the towns of

Odendaalsrus, Virginia, Hennenman, Allanridge and Ventersburg with a combined
population of more than 500 000 people.
The economy of the Matjhabeng Municipality area centres on mining activities

located in and around Allanridge, Odendaalsrus, Welkom and Virginia. Manufacturing
aimed at the mining sector exists to a limited extent in the above towns. Other
manufacturing activities are limited.
Bulk water infrastructure consists mostly of reservoirs and pipelines of Sedibeng

Water. These supply all of the Matjhabeng towns and the mines with water from the
Vaal River near Bothaville, and to a lesser extent from the Sand River.
The bulk electrical network is well established in the Matjhabeng area. Eskom
serves all mines and towns in the municipal area and thus there is sufficient bulk
infrastructure available to serve the whole area. In all the previously disadvantaged
areas Eskom sells directly to consumers.
There is no public transport system operating in Matjhabeng, except for privately-

owned taxis. These are in a process of transformation from 16-seater Kombis to the
35-seater bus according to the recapitalisation programme. A map of Matjhabeng
appears in Figure 5.1.
42 http://www.matjhabeng.co.za/about_matjhabeng.htm
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Figure 5.1: Map of the Free State showing the Matjhabeng Municipality
Source: http://www.matjhabeng.co.za/map_matjahbeng.htm
Methods
Data for the OVC interventions in Matjhabeng was collected through the review of
documents and literature on the projects, site visits to each of the projects, and key
informant interviews with key stakeholders working in or with these projects.

Several documents describing OVC interventions in Matjhabeng were reviewed.
The researchers also used published and unpublished reports on OVC interventions
in Matjhabeng townships. Some reports that were reviewed include Choeu (2004),
Dlamini (2004), Matjhabeng Integrated Development Plan (2001), IDP Steering
Committee (2006), Matjhabeng Municipality (2004) Draft HIV and AIDS policy, and
Skinner et al. (2005).
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Interventions for OVC in the Matjhabeng area, Free State
Site visits
Site visits were done in Meloding, Virginia on 16 August 2006. Ms Nomthandazo
Hlaleleni visited each of the projects and interviewed project leaders in September
and October 2006.
The researchers attended an Information Day attended by women and OVC

celebrating Women’s Day and recognising partnerships to empower and improve the
rights and wellbeing of OVC.
Interviews with key stakeholders on OVC in Meloding, Virginia

The researchers interviewed key informants such as staff of the Matjhabeng Joint
Venture OVC, including Jacki Lingalo, Nuku Radebe and Buti Radebe.
Description of the interventions of Matjhabeng Joint Venture OVC

Matjhabeng HIV/AIDS Consortium is a custodian and distributor of funds to the
Matjhabeng Joint Venture OVC project. The Consortium is operating in Matjhabeng

Municipality in the Free State province.
Matjhabeng Joint Venture OVC was established in 2004 as a vehicle to administer a

holistic service to OVC in the Virginia area. It mainly operates in the Welkom and
Virginia areas of the Matjhabeng Municipality. After research conducted by the HSRC,
the Virginia area was identified as a project implementation site in 2004.
The Joint Venture believes in holding hands in order to reach out to children in
the community. The motto of the organisation says re a tlhokomela, which means
‘together we care’. The Joint Venture has the potential to offer a wider range of
services to the beneficiaries.
The objectives of the Matjhabeng OVC Joint Venture, which also double up as four
key result areas, are to:
• support and strengthen families and households;
• encourage sustainable livelihoods;
• build and strengthen community systems to support OVC; and
• effect behaviour changes to reduce stigma regarding HIV/AIDS.
The Joint Venture addresses the needs of children, by attending to their physical,
social, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. These needs are met using the
Wheel Model, focusing on the child, family and community.
The eight different service providers are managed by a site manager, who is
responsible for monitoring, identification, provision of training, building and
strengthening partnerships within the Joint Venture, Virginia community, NGOs,
government departments and potential funders.
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Service providers of the Matjhabeng Joint Venture

The Joint Venture OVC reflects a collaboration between eight funded service
providers. These consist of:
• two service providers in the area of Economic, Social and Community
Development – Ntshiriletse Child Care Centre and Young Women’s Christian
Association (YWCA);
• two faith-based organisations – St Kizito Home-Based Care Project and Kerklike
Maatskaplike Diens (KMD);
• two service providers in Child Welfare and Social Services – Virginia Child
Welfare and LifeLine;
• one service provider in Education – a NGO project called Dunamis Christian
School; and
• one service provider in Health Services – Virginia Multi-Purpose Centre.
Young Women’s Christian Association

The YWCA43 of South Africa was founded in Cape Town in 1886, and has a long
history of providing comfortable, secure and affordable accommodation in the main
centres of South Africa. Many of their residents are young women who come into the
cities in order to further their studies, as the YWCA houses are situated close to major
universities and colleges.
Accommodation is flexible – they may stay for a few days or several years. Single
and double rooms are available, and friends and family are welcome to join residents
for meals at a nominal fee.
The YWCA offers mutual development and help for women – spiritually, socially,
physically and intellectually. Young women from all walks of life find a friend at the
centre. The staff seek to meet residents’ needs: if they are sick, they are nursed, or
helped and supported through difficulties.
The YWCA believes in nurturing young women, the homemakers and role models of
the future, as they believe it is these women who will mould the values and ideals of
coming generations. Young women are encouraged to enter into a relationship with
Christ, so that their influence can be far-reaching.
The YWCA building for the Free State is located in Bloemfontein. In the Matjhabeng
area, activities of the YWCA are mainly outreach projects to ensure sustainable
livelihoods through food gardens.
Ntshireletse Child Care Centre

Ntshireletse is a Sesotho word for ‘protect me’. This project is a childcare centre
based in Meloding township, and provides basic child development services. It also
has a drop-in centre for children whose parents are working and a place where their
children can get care during the day.
43 Young Women's Christian Association of South Africa, Bloemfontein,

accessed at http://ywca.netfirms.com/bloemfontein.htm
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The after-care centre operates in the afternoons, and offers children an opportunity
to do home-work and to interact with other children while they are waiting to be
collected by parents after work. Needy parents register their children on the feeding
scheme at Ntshireletse, so they can receive at least two meals per day at
the centre.
The centre operates with staff who are paid from fees from parents who can afford
them. There are also volunteers who assist with menial tasks such as preparing and
serving food.
St Kizito Children’s Project

The St Kizito Children’s Project was established in response to the growing number
of orphans living in poverty – sometimes in child-headed households – and
vulnerable to abuse (Dlamini 2004). The programme is organised through structures
at local parish level, provincially and nationally.
People are encouraged to establish a St Kizito at a parish level. The goals of the
project are to:
• create a database to identify OVC, including child-headed households;

• pool both human and fiscal recourses to provide support and care for OVC;
• coordinate with other structures dealing with children;
• identify, together with the children, the best possible options for long-term
wellbeing;
• recruit, encourage and support families to care for their own and other children
through fostering, adoption, guardianship or as surrogate parents (where
possible, children should be cared for within their familiar environment); and
• form small support groups for foster parents within the community, so as to
share experiences and challenges.
St Kizito engages in the following activities:

• capacity-building workshops;
• forming Committees of Hope;
• organisational development for community members;
• leadership and management training;
• trauma management training; and
• resource development and assistance.
St Kizito is committed to keeping children within their communities of origin, and

offers the following services:
• home-based care for children and their parents if they are terminally ill;
• practical and emotional support for parents in providing for their children’s
health, nutritional and educational needs;
• assisting parents to plan for their children’s future (drawing up of wills,
nominating guardians and so forth);
• support for child-headed households through:
– financing practical needs – material, health and nutritional;
– emotional and developmental support; and
– ensuring educational, training and recreational needs are met.
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The project encourages collective community care by volunteers to support and

strengthen coping skills for orphans. Through individual volunteer support an
identified ‘parent’ figure can support and supervise a number of child-headed
households on a regular basis. Long-term foster care is done through the usual
channels. In the case of care by the extended family, the volunteer’s job is to ensure
that children are well cared for and are not subject to abuse.
Kerklike Maatskaplike Diens

Kerklike Maatskaplike Diens (KMD) can loosely be translated as Christian Community
Service. KMD is a Christian organisation responding to the social and economic needs
of people. It is based on a Christian principle of sharing what you have with those
who do not have.
KMD in Welkom and Matjhabeng uses members of some denominational churches to

donate food, clothes, toys and other items of need, and distribute them to those who
need them. This service escalates during the Christmas period, when more people are
in a position to donate and give to others.
Virginia Child Welfare

Foster parenting and a special project for care and support of children through the
‘Eye on the Child’ project, which is a community-based child protection programme,
advocate the collaboration of communities and formal resources when protecting
vulnerable children. In addition to protection of children, the programme entails a
strong preventative component in that communities are enlightened about various
aspects of social problems, and vulnerable families are supported and counselled.
LifeLine
LifeLine44 promotes emotional wellness for communities and individuals through
the provision of lay counselling, life skills training, lay counsellor development and
facilitating related capacity building.
The principles of LifeLine are to protect privacy, personalise service, preserve dignity,
nurture the spirit, allow for freedom of choice, support individuality, encourage
independence and involve family and friends. In Matjhabeng, these principles are
achieved through home visits, cleaning houses and counselling.
The overall goals of LifeLine are to:

• eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
• achieve universal primary education;
• promote gender equality and empower women;
• reduce child mortality;
• improve maternal health;
• combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
• ensure environmental sustainability; and
• develop a global partnership for development.
44 http://www.lifeline.org.za/; interviews with Jackie Lingalo
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The strategic focus of LifeLine for 2005–2008 is to make a significant contribution to

the provision of a comprehensive community programme (aligned to the Government
Comprehensive HIV/AIDS plan) that links HIV/AIDS, gender wellness, victim
empowerment, emotional wellness and relationship difficulties, and to establish and
maintain strategic partnerships.
Services that are provided by the Kopano Outreach Centre in Welkom and the Full
Gospel Outreach Centre in Thabong include:
• limited telephone counselling service from 10h00 – 22h00 for seven days a week;
• rape counselling;
• face-to-face counselling (by appointment);
• trauma counselling;
• crisis response team;
• termination of pregnancy counselling;
• HIV/AIDS counselling;
• victim support centre at Kopano Clinic;
• follow-up visits to HIV positive out-patients;
• HIV/AIDS support group; and
• outreach programmes for other welfare organisations and the broader community.
Dunamis Christian School

Dunamis is a Christian school based in Welkom and provides Christian education
to disadvantaged children from pre-school to Grade 12. The school uses an
Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum. The curriculum is based on a
series of workbooks called PACEs, which stands for Packets of Accelerated Christian
Education. Each subject has 12 PACEs per grade level. The basic subjects of ACE are
Math, English, Science, Social Studies and Word Building (spelling and word usage).
No teacher’s manuals are published for the elementary grades, since all the material is
contained in the PACEs. Score keys are published for corresponding high school level
PACEs. When a learner enters the ACE system, their academic ability is diagnosed,
and any learning gaps are addressed.
Dunamis is an inter-denominational organisation whose approach is to give hope,

teach learners to fish, give them a future and restore Godly values. It also uses play
therapy, spiritual workshops and PSS training to deal with physical, spiritual and
social needs of learners.
The Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPPSI) curriculum on PSS has been
adopted to help learners deal with PSS problems. There is PSS training in schools
for educators and PSS youth activities, with the aim of turning schools into nodes of
care and nurturing. Solution focused counselling is used with learners in high school
grades.
Some of the extracurricular projects include a youth choir with 50 members, AIDS
counselling and advocacy, a medical clinic to deal with health problems, and a
mentoring project. The mentoring project includes the use of a memory book or hero
book, where the learner writes down key events and feelings in his or her interaction
with the mentor. Children’s day and the children’s forum provide learners with an open
forum to talk about general issues that worry them as individuals and as part of society.
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The facilitator develops films linked to social problems with the learners. There are
also several theatre productions on psychosocial problems such as HIV/AIDS, teenage
pregnancy, abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.
During our visit, Pastor Joshua, who is a school pastor and a pastor of His People
church in Welkom, oriented us. He seems to be a good role model, with good
interpersonal relations with the children.
Virginia Multipurpose Community Development Centre

VMCDC is a multipurpose, community development centre where a variety of
community events and projects are coordinated. As a venue, the centre is available
for people to meet and plan activities aimed at community development. As a
project, VMCDC coordinates volunteers who assist with home visits, cleaning of
houses and counselling. Volunteers identify people in the community with chronic
illnesses, paralysis or old age who are lonely and feel left out. They visit such people
in their homes, offer to clean their houses and/or environment, and spend time
talking to them and offering counselling.
Swot analysis
Strengths
The key strengths of the Matjhabeng Joint Venture OVC are its acceptability,
accessibility, replicability and ethical soundness.
Acceptability
Matjhabeng Joint Venture OVC is favourably regarded by the beneficiaries such as
OVC and their families, and the authorities in the Departments of Social Development,
Health and Home Affairs in the Free State. The projects that are part of the joint
venture reflect generally accepted values and the principles in care or support of OVC.
Accessibility
The project shows commitment to involve all social partners and experts selected
by them. Their working relationship with the NMCF and the HSRC has ensured that
the affiliated projects benefit from the expertise of these and other social partners.
The project is also optimally available within reach, as the eight affiliated projects are
each where they are needed the most.
Ethical soundness
The Matjhabeng Joint Venture OVC is ethical and meets universal standards of
compassion, tolerance, respect, confidentiality, empowerment and participation. The
project is also fairly sensitive to people’s rights and conforms to ethical standards, and
does not break principles of social and professional conduct. Appointing a former
professional teacher and other professionals in the community to serve on the board
has ensured that services provided to OVC are ethically sound.
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Replicability
One of the strengths of this project is that the essential elements of the project such
as technology, resources and organisation of the intervention can be easily applied
elsewhere in South Africa in response to a similar problem and can produce similar
results.
Weaknesses
Perceived impact
The main weakness of the project is the perceived impact in dealing with the problem
of orphans and vulnerable children in Matjhabeng. Problems such as the lack of funds
to meet the needs identified by children heading households, and lack of transport
to attend to project-related matters, affect the impact that the project could have. The
project is also not well advertised in the province because of the lack of funds.
Besides the baseline and other evaluations conducted by the HSRC, the project does
not have capacity to conduct an internal evaluation of the implementation process
and the outcomes of interventions. This is because unemployed volunteers in a
community with a high unemployment rate anchor the projects. They also want to
provide a simplistic intervention of giving food parcels to the hungry.
Opportunities
Relevance
Matjhabeng Joint Venture OVC is relevant and tackles the problems faced by OVC.
It is also closely focused on the HIV/AIDS response in the context of the mining
communities around Matjhabeng where it is implemented.
The Joint Venture has matured and developed in its first three years, and is able
to plan and implement relevant projects independently and interdependently with
other research and social partners. In fact, because of its relevance, the Joint Venture
is extending beyond its initial mandate to include other aspects of the HIV/AIDS
epidemic and community development.
Appropriateness
Matjhabeng Joint Venture OVC is appropriate to the situation, province and culture.
The projects do not go against social or political norms accepted and practised locally
or by the intended beneficiaries. This appropriateness provides the project with an
opportunity to grow peripherally to other areas in Matjhabeng.
Innovativeness
One of the opportunities available for the project is that it can demonstrate creativity
and can also break new ground in the care and support for OVC in the Free
State. The PSS model applied at the Dunamis Christian School is an example of an
approach that has been documented and shown to be effective in more than one
setting in southern Africa.
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Threats
Efficiency
One of the threats faced by the Joint Venture is that it has not convincingly
demonstrated capacity to produce desired results with a minimum expenditure of
energy, time or resources. Although the projects are affordable and add value to the
care and support of OVC in the area, the lack of capacity due to a high turnover rate
of unpaid or poorly compensated volunteers remains a threat to the project. Closure
of mines, retrenchments and massive job losses are a threat to the project, as they
may also lose the support they had from the mine employers and employees.
Sustainability
The ability of the OVC intervention to continue effectively and to maintain levels of
achievements over the medium to long term is generally under threat. Although the
project is sustainable regarding structure and the building from which they operate,
they are not sustainable with respect to capacity and funding to continue working
over the long term without outside support.
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chapter 6
Synthesis of lessons learned

This multi-site OVC project in South Africa was a good case study of four
‘communities of practice’. There was a direct link between research, evidence and
practice. The researchers conducted baseline research on how big the problem of
OVC was in the community. They also conducted reviews of literature and evidence
of effective programmes in other projects, before they recommended innovative,
appropriate, relevant and sustainable OVC projects in each of the sites.
The main beneficiaries were not only OVC, but also families and communities, as
they were strengthened to help them deal with problems affecting children. The
researchers benefited from these projects, as we now have a better understanding
of what OVC’s needs are and how they can be addressed. The donors now have
a clearer picture of the size of the problem and what interventions are effective in
dealing with this problem. In future, the funders will allocate their resources where
they are most likely to get cost-effective results and outcomes.
Key lessons have been learned on many different fronts. These include lessons on:
• planning, design and field implementation;

• capacity building;
• implementation networks;
• community dynamics, diversity and participation;
• researchers, links with numerous stakeholders and skills required; and
• day-to-day management issues such as control and flexibility.
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chapter 7
Conclusion
The HSRC was successful in establishing a framework and network of partners
in the four sites in South Africa, to implement the project. The research-driven
implementation and documentation of OVC interventions in all four sites in South
Africa progressed well and according to the original plans.
A major setback in all four sites has been the fact that the planned implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of selected interventions at research sites took place
very late in the project. This was delayed by the extended periods required to fully
negotiate community entry and to complete the intensive first phase of research. This
means that little evaluation of the effectiveness of the selected OVC care interventions
took place in these sites by the end of the project. Although the implementation of
OVC interventions at the four sites was behind the original schedule, the projects
were all evaluated and important lessons were learned.
The building of consensus on technical aspects of the study generally progressed

well and according to original plans, including the finalisation of indicators and
decision trees.
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appendices
Appendix 1: Map showing two of the four intervention sites in

South Africa
Appendix 2: Organisational and service audits at DEDI

Data collection on agencies present in the district for initial phase
Demographic information
Name of agency Diketso Eseng Dipuo Community Development Trust

Address Office No D109b, 1332 Mangaung Resource Centre,
Dr Belcher Road, Heidedal, 9306
Phone number(s) 051-4321803
Fax number(s) 051-4323590
e-mail address kopanang@iafrica.com
Web address www.dedi.co.za
Nature of organisation Social services organisation
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Appendices
Organisational information
Guiding philosophy
The guiding philosophy of DEDI, as described in their mission, is to strengthen families by
implementing interventions directed at children, their families and communities.
Dominant aims
1. To train caregivers and parents on parenthood
2. To make use of a community development approach in which community self-reliance
is central
3. To support training by means of direct support to families and children
4. To develop relevant links between families and available services
Staffing positions
1. Director
2. Programme coordinators x2
3. Facilitators x5
4. Administrative staff x3
Major services provided to OVC, including objectives, methods, processes involved, partners, period of
implementation and evaluation approach
1. Family empowerment
2. Early childhood development
Other major services provided, including objectives, methods, processes involved, partners, period of
implementation and evaluation approach
1. D
EDI gets funded through the Department of Social Development to train ECD centre staff
in the northern Free State
2. Historically they have also received funding from various donors
Geographical area covered (by organisation as a whole and by each service activity)
Thaba Nchu, Smithfield, Jaggersfontein, Fauresmith, De Wetsdorp, Wepener, Bloemfontein
and Lejweleputswa
Estimates of the number of OVC in the area that they cover
45 ECD centres – up to 3 000 OVC
Number of OVC that receive each services from them
1 000
Number of other beneficiaries that receive benefits from this organisation
ECD centre managers
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Service audit within organisations: Data collection on individual services

offered by agencies present in the district for initial phase
Service information
Guiding philosophy of service

The two main philosophical guidelines are to focus on the family in order to address aspects
of vulnerable children.
Dominant objectives of the service
1. Training on ECD
2. Supporting communities to access personal documentation and grants
3. Supporting savings groups
Staffing positions
1. Director
2. Programme coordinator
3. Facilitators x3
Sub-elements of the services
1. Eight training sessions; home visits; supporting beneficiaries to make use of clinics
2. Assistance with obtaining IDs, grants and birth certificates; cooperation with the Department
of Home Affairs and other government institutions
3. Training; assistance with planning and management
Key providers of services of these sub-elements
1. Facilitators
2. Facilitators
3. Facilitators
Geographical area covered by this service
The following four towns in Kopanong Municipality: Jagersfontein, Reddersburg,
Philippolis, Fauresmith.
Number of other beneficiaries that receive benefit from this service
Regularity and timing of services
Considering the fact that the team had to service seven towns in the Kopanong and Mohokare,
it seems that two to three days were spent per month on the service.
Other services that this service interacts with, both inside and outside the organisation
Interaction with especially Department of Home Affairs and the South African Social
Security Agency
Challenges experienced during implementation
Achievements made in the past 12 months
86
©HSRC 2008
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Interventions for orphans and vulnerable children at four project sites in

Book · January 2014

Geoff Setswe Donald Skinner

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

HEAIDS project View project

Monash project View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Published by HSRC Press

First published 2008

© 2008 Human Sciences Research Council

Copyedited by Karen van Eden

Distributed in Africa by Blue Weaver

Distributed in North America by Independent Publishers Group (IPG)

2. INTERVENTIONS FOR OVC IN THE

3. INTERVENTIONS FOR OVC IN THE

3.1. Background on the Kopanong Municipality 33

4. INTERVENTIONS FOR OVC IN THE

5. INTERVENTIONS FOR OVC IN THE

6. SYNTHESIS OF LESSONS LEARNED 81

Nkululeko Nkomo (HSRC)

Tapologo OVC project

Acknowledgement is also expressed to the staff of Tapologo OVC project including

We appreciate the cooperation of the families, parents and children, particularly

Child Welfare North West

Matjhabeng OVC Joint Venture

Dr Anna Strebel, for editing this document.

ACE Accelerated Christian Education

DEDI Diketso Eseng Dipuo

The goals of the project were to:

Interventions for OVC in the

The area of operation of the current Tapologo HIV/AIDS programme is primarily to

The platinum mines are currently in an extensive growth phase, encouraged by

The growth of informal settlements in Rustenburg

Freedom Park and Boitekong

2 Website of Tapologo HIV/AIDS programme hosted by Sun International at

The current population of Freedom Park is estimated at 30 000 (Nkandela 2006).

with it huge socio-economic problems. Because Freedom Park Squatter Camp is

A new section of Freedom Park was developed with Reconstruction and

Freedom Park and Boitekong are characterised by high unemployment rates,

Other areas of influence

There is no infrastructure in many of the rural communities around Rustenburg

Village/settlement Estimated population

Freedom Park 25 000

Source: Tapologo HIV/AIDS programme website hosted by Sun International at www.suninternational.com/tapologo/legacy.pdf

Review of documents and literature on OVC interventions

Interviews with key stakeholders on OVC

Description of the Tapologo HIV/AIDS and OVC programmes

In response to the above dilemma, the Catholic Diocese of Rustenburg, in

Figure 2.1: Programme elements of the Tapologo HIV/AIDS Programme

OUTREACH OUTREACH OUTREACH OUTREACH

Source: Website of Tapologo HIV/AIDS programme hosted by Sun International at

Freedom Park Clinic

6 Website of Tapologo HIV/AIDS programme hosted by Sun International at

Services that the clinic offers include:

The Tapologo Programme was not intended to be an all-encompassing medical care

the provision of ART, as described below.

Tapologo OVC Programme

2. INTERVENTIONS FOR OVC IN THE

3. INTERVENTIONS FOR OVC IN THE

4. INTERVENTIONS FOR OVC IN THE

5. INTERVENTIONS FOR OVC IN THE