THE RAY OF HOPE PROGRAMS
World Food Program Partnership
There are currently 70 orphans and vulnerable children in the meal program. The increase took place during June, July, and August. During that period, the social work department began referring orphan families and single mother families (vulnerable children) to the project site with a letter indicating that they were to be enrolled in the Meal Program. The project management team is now working with the Social Work Department to have the letter reworded to say that the orphans/vulnerable children are being referred to the project and that it is recommended that the children listed be placed on the waiting list. This will allow the project to visit the referred family and assess eligibility according to the predefined criteria and available funds.
The World Food Program (WFP) visited the project site in October and they were impressed. As a result, a new partnership has been formed and we have received confirmation that starting January of 2008, they will be sending food for 250 children (and their families)! This number will increase by another 125 part way through 2008 and again by 125 in 2009 to bring us to 500 by the end of 2009. Single mothers will help with the meal program in exchange for monthly food kits (also provided by WFP). We are very excited about this new collaboration!!
Exciting times but also means increased pressure for us here in Canada to hold up our end of the bargain and continue to fundraise to help support the great work that Jill and her team are implementing on the ground. The increase in the number of children and caregiver families that we are now going to be supporting means that we will also need to raise more funds to help cover the additional costs associated with this increase. Part of our mandate is to ensure that we support all of the children in the home that is caring for our sponsored orphans as well as those enrolled in other programs and that in addition to food, we provide them with health and educational opportunities that will allow them to grow into healthy, self sufficient adults. These children truly are the hope of Africa.
We are therefore desperately in need of school supplies and uniforms. If you know of a class that would be interested in participating in a fundraiser ear marked for raising funds for these purposes, please let us know!
OPHAN BREAKFAST PROGRAM
The Orphan Breakfast Program began in May 2006 with 20 orphan sand has since expanded to 43 orphans. The children are selected with help of the local Social Work Department and the local Chiefs. All of the enrolled orphans receive a nutritionally fortified porridge for breakfast every day. The porridge is made with ground maize, oil, milk, salt, sugar, ground peanuts, and Moringa powder. Drying and grinding the leaves of the local moringa tree make Moringa powder. It has seven times the vitamin C in oranges, four times the calcium in milk, four times the vitamin A in carrots, two times the protein in milk, and three times the potassium in bananas! It is an amazing powerhouse of high nutritional value!
The Caia Connection Committee is selling Orphan Breakfast Program Certificates for $10 each. By purchasing a certificate, you can feed an orphan for an entire month!
SPONSOR- AN- ORPHAN PROGRAM
The Sponsor-an-Orphan program began in December 2006. The goal is to improve the orphans’ quality of life and increase the chances for these children to grow up to be healthy and self-sufficient adults. The sponsored orphans live with a grandparent, a relative, a friend of the family, or carefully selected caregivers.
The orphans and their caregivers are supported by the project in many ways. The orphans are enrolled in school and receive uniforms, school supplies, and fees to attend school. The first priority for the program is to work with each "family" to create or increase their food production capabilities. This could include providing the tools and seeds necessary to start a large enough kitchen garden, and/or assisting them with the provision of chickens, goats, rabbits, fruit trees, etc. The project will work with a community developer, the local agriculture office, and also with the new agriculture school when it opens, to devise workable plans.
The families will also be guided and supported to devise a self-sufficiency plan to be successfully implemented within three years. This could be done through the exploration of income-generating ideas, educational opportunities, and assistance with the implementation of their individual plans.
HIV/AIDS EDUCATION
Twelve youth volunteers, led by the projects Program Coordinator, will carry out HIV/AIDS educational activities within the community. Various innovative methods are being used as teaching tools such as presentations, drama, story telling, debates, music, and dance. There are a wide range of people with HIV/AIDS, including sex trade workers, participating in the groups and sharing their experiences. Educational material and information from organizations such as The International HIV/AIDS Alliance is being used. The normal lines of defence will be taught such as:
Other components will also include:
Agriculture Program: The Agriculture Program was delayed because of the devastating floods that occurred during the rainy season this year. All of the families we are working with lost their crops due to the flood and this has made the Agriculture Program a critical need. Plans are underway to begin as soon as possible. The first goal is to provide the families with ways to grow food outside of the rainy season.
Orphan Life Skills Program; The focus of the Orphan Life Skills Workshops is to help orphans and vulnerable children acquire the life skills needed to grow up to be healthy, productive, and self-sufficient adults. Some of the activities have been selected to cultivate creativity, help them discover their talents and interests, and encourage team-building and healthy interaction. Children are given the opportunity to be involved in many activities and workshops such as gardening, monetary skills, music, arts/crafts, sewing, weaving, poetry, and creative writing. These workshops also also give the children opportunities to interact with and bond with other children in similar circumstances and will allow them to have a place to go where they can just "be kids" and have fun together.