Communities in Kenya Care for Their Own Under APHIA II Program for AIDS Orphans

A few years ago, Mama Wanja and her husband started a family on a steep hill near Embu.  This was nothing unusual except this was their second family and the couple was in their seventies.

Providing for two grandchildren was challenging until the Anglican Church of Embu got support from USAID’s AIDS, Population and Health Integrated Assistance II Program in Eastern Province (A2E).  This support allowed the chuch to expand their work helping children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic (OVCs). “I have seen this program change lives in this community,” says church volunteer James Karimi who reached out to Mama Wanja,

The program worked through existing organizations and structures already in the communities.  Mama Wanja now has a new spacious house and enough food.  All this thanks to the APHIA II program. David Makau the A2E team member who coordinated the OVC program says the project derived its strength from deep community participation: “The secret of success of the A2E OVC program is the spirit of selflessness that everybody involved in it has, from staff to caregivers to the children themselves.”

Community Led, Community Owned

With the goal to empower OVC and their caregivers, The A2E project worked through local partners to provide support. The local organizations were selected by A2E, the Children’s Department of the Kenyan government, and community leaders in each district. The A2E project provided the local organizations with funds and training which enabled them to expand and reach more children.

A2E ensured that orphans and their caregivers had access to nutrition information, food, shelter, legal recognition and protection, education and psychosocial support, and health care and HIV-prevention services. Over a period of four years, the organizations expanded from supporting 1,500 to 60,000 children.

Doing More with Less

Each caregiver was trained on these issues and the family then becomes eligible for support – such as school fees, uniforms and basic building materials to renovate inadequate shelters. Some received goats and beans to improve their nutritional status and generate additional income for the family. A2E also addressed stigma because some caregivers were initially afraid of the children under their care.

Mr. Makau says “We inspire each other and that’s what keeps us innovating and thinking about new ways to use the resources we have. When you look at the small amounts of money that we’re able to give these partners and the huge numbers of children they are supporting, it just doesn’t seem possible. That’s when you realize how much the people and communities involved in these programs are giving of themselves.”