2016-2021 - THE LEGACY LIVES ON
Building a Strong Foundation for Children
The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund not only recognizes itself as being part of South Africa’s history. It is also the first civil society organisation to locate the problems facing children and to place their plight of at the door of society. The fault was not with children but society which needed to change how its treats children. This is where the vision of the Fund draws its roots: Changing the way society treats its Children and youth.
The well-researched intervention programmes contained in the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund’s (Fund) five year road map; will be implemented and executed in line with the organisation’s strategic intent to strengthen families and communities in the interest of children.
The Fund’s road map is informed by a research study regarding the state of children in South Africa. The research findings place poverty; lack of access to quality education; lack of formal housing and community environment as the main drivers behind serious challenges facing children and youth.
From the research, the Fund has since identified five priority focus areas to be addressed; namely housing and sanitation; malnutrition; child abuse, youth unemployment and disability. These focus areas have been clustered into three overarching themes for interventions:
Programme 1: Child Survival and Development - First 1000 Days of Life
With Child mortality being labelled as a critical health issue as a result of malnutrition, lack of immunisation and access of mothers and children to medical services and health care, the first 1000 days of life became an important area for the Fund to focus on. The Fund’s response is derived from an analysis of the scope of the problem, existing solutions and outstanding gaps.
The purpose of this intervention is to make certain that the care system respond to the needs of children under the ages of 3 to better ensure their survival, development and thriving. The Fund’s role is to act with extreme vigilance in closing the gaps through Immunisation Coverage, HIV -AIDS Treatment or Prevention and tackling Malnutrition.
The Fund’s approach is about developing an activity based implementation plan considering the existing gaps at that level due to resource constraints. The plan is made up of three inter related components to address most of the gaps in the top five worst affected districts of O.R. Tambo, Alfred Nzo and Joe Gqabi in the Eastern Cape, Zululand in Kwazulu Natal and John Taolo in the Northern Cape.
The Fund’s road map is informed by a research study regarding the state of children in South Africa. The research findings place poverty; lack of access to quality education; lack of formal housing and community environment as the main drivers behind serious challenges facing children and youth.
From the research, the Fund has since identified five priority focus areas to be addressed; namely housing and sanitation; malnutrition; child abuse, youth unemployment and disability. These focus areas have been clustered into three overarching themes for interventions:
- Child Survival and Development
- Child Safety and Protection
- Youth Leadership
Programme 1: Child Survival and Development - First 1000 Days of Life
With Child mortality being labelled as a critical health issue as a result of malnutrition, lack of immunisation and access of mothers and children to medical services and health care, the first 1000 days of life became an important area for the Fund to focus on. The Fund’s response is derived from an analysis of the scope of the problem, existing solutions and outstanding gaps.
The purpose of this intervention is to make certain that the care system respond to the needs of children under the ages of 3 to better ensure their survival, development and thriving. The Fund’s role is to act with extreme vigilance in closing the gaps through Immunisation Coverage, HIV -AIDS Treatment or Prevention and tackling Malnutrition.
The Fund’s approach is about developing an activity based implementation plan considering the existing gaps at that level due to resource constraints. The plan is made up of three inter related components to address most of the gaps in the top five worst affected districts of O.R. Tambo, Alfred Nzo and Joe Gqabi in the Eastern Cape, Zululand in Kwazulu Natal and John Taolo in the Northern Cape.
The Child and Development intervention programme comprise of the following inter related components:
- Community Health Workers (CHW) component is about overseeing and supporting CHWs, offering financial incentives, comprehensive training and opportunities for career progression in the field of primary health care.
- Mobile Health Clinics (MHC)
- Provide the communities with standardised set of primary health care services
- Dispense medication
- Provide oversight and support to each community’s CHWs
- Collect health data electronically in real-time
- Health Self-help groups
% Learners Reporting Corporal Punishment
- In 2008, 70.1% of primary school students reported they had experienced corporal punishment at school compared to 47.5% of secondary school students
- Males and females are equally likely to report
- Gauteng has seen the largest improvement, while the situation in KZN and Mpumalanga has deteriorated severely
The study further says high incidences in schools of sexual abuse remain unreported making it difficult to deal with the problem at the school level when perpetrators are educators or well respected members of the community. The report stipulates that Bullying is quite high in schools and since it’s not classified as criminal offence, it leaves serious emotional scars to the victim and at times leads to school drop outs. While other two offences can be dealt with legally through legislative framework, bullying needs interventions that attempts to prevent and work with both survivor and perpetrator.
- One third of perpetrators of rape were educators
- Only just over a half of secondary school learners who were sexually abused reported the incident
- Of those who did not report:
- 34% did not think it important to report
- 19% were too embarrassed
- 17% were too scared
- 2% of primary school principals reported sexual violence perpetrated by educators
Programme Roll out.
Based on the research findings, the programme will target provinces with high incidences of corporal punishment, sexual abuse and bullying which are mainly Kwa Zulu Natal, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, North West and Limpopo. The target groups will be survivors, perpetrators, educators and school governing bodies. In the past the Fund has implemented a programme called Sexual Violence in Schools in South Africa (SeVISSA) which empowers girls in schools to deal with issues of violence with particular attention to sexual violence. The SeVissa project is operational in the four provinces of Limpopo, Gauteng, Eastern Cape and Western Cape.
In the new strategy the Child Safety and Protection programme will focus on the main three violence occurrences in schools with the provinces of Mpumalanga and Kwazulu Natal as the latest additions.
Since inception the Fund has created a comprehensive response which puts family and community at the centre in the fight against sexual violence, safety in schools and exploitation of girls in schools.
The Fund will continue to work with organisations that rehabilitate perpetrators; especially focusing on the young perpetrators with an intent to break the circle of violence. Furthermore the Fund will also spearhead efforts that support children who have witnessed sexual or corporal punishment in schools. Psychosocial support training will be provided for organisations that are working with learners, educators, parents and other civil society organisation which allow them to identify abuse in schools.
The programme’s objectives are follows:
- To promote healthy relationships between educators, learners and parents
- To support schools in creating a safer environment for learning and teaching
- To support initiatives that intend to create safety nets for children in and out of school at different levels
- To ensure that perpetrators of bullying, sexual abuse, corporal punishment are brought to book
- To ensure that relevant authorities act swiftly on issues of abuse against children
Programme 3: Youth Leadership - Youth Think Tanks
Rationale for the Youth Leadership Programme
The Youth Leadership Programme is intended to respond to the many challenges that young people are confronted with throughout South Africa. These challenges include a high rate of unemployment, poverty, crime and substance abuse. Unemployment affects a wide range of young people from matriculants to graduates.
The South African economy has not grown to a level of creating new jobs and young people are seriously affected by the problem of unemployment due to economic stagnation.
It is estimated that youth in South Africa constitute 52% of the unemployed population and this calls for efforts aimed at empowering youth with relevant skills that would increase their chances to create jobs and gain employment. It also calls for the mobilisation of young people to design solutions on issues that affect them directly.
This calls for efforts aimed at empowering youth with relevant skills that would increase their chances to create jobs and gain employment. It also calls for the mobilisation of youth to design solutions on issues that affect them directly and their communities.
Youth leadership programme goal
“To provide youth from all walks of life a platform that will enable them to lead and become agents of their own change”.
Implied in this goal is that youth should work together to find and implement solutions to issues that directly affect them and their communities, schools and the nation at large.
Programme Objectives
• To create a space for youth to identify challenges in their communities and come up with relevant solutions
• To mobilise youth to take action on matters that affect them, their families and communities where they are
• To groom leaders and instil a sense of responsibility and accountability
Approach
The youth leadership programme facilitates the participation and empowerment of youth in issues that affect them, in shaping a society that is attentive and responsive to their rights, needs, concerns, abilities and aspirations. The programme includes formation of Youth Think Tanks who are Agents of their own change by collaborating with the Fund to create youth friendly programmes which take into account their concerns, challenges, needs and aspirations. This programme is divided into four focus areas which are youth leadership, civic participation, children’s rights and youth entrepreneurship.
Characteristics of Youth
The youth under this programme will belong to the ages of 12 to 22 years in line with the Fund’s criteria for suitability to activities designed by the youth programme.
YOUTH “THINK TANKS”
The Youth “Think Tanks” is an identity which will prevail across different pillars of the youth programme, being youth leadership, civic participation, human rights and youth entrepreneurship. The “Think Tanks” are virtual structures which generate thinking, debates, discussions, peer learning, advocacy and practical solutions among young people on matters that concern their development. Essentially, the youth programme carries four different pillars where all thinking, collected under the programmatic domains will be subject to “Think Tanks” as progressive stages to target interactions with different statutory and non-statutory structures.
The Youth Leadership Programme is intended to respond to the many challenges that young people are confronted with throughout South Africa. These challenges include a high rate of unemployment, poverty, crime and substance abuse. Unemployment affects a wide range of young people from matriculants to graduates.
The South African economy has not grown to a level of creating new jobs and young people are seriously affected by the problem of unemployment due to economic stagnation.
It is estimated that youth in South Africa constitute 52% of the unemployed population and this calls for efforts aimed at empowering youth with relevant skills that would increase their chances to create jobs and gain employment. It also calls for the mobilisation of young people to design solutions on issues that affect them directly.
This calls for efforts aimed at empowering youth with relevant skills that would increase their chances to create jobs and gain employment. It also calls for the mobilisation of youth to design solutions on issues that affect them directly and their communities.
Youth leadership programme goal
“To provide youth from all walks of life a platform that will enable them to lead and become agents of their own change”.
Implied in this goal is that youth should work together to find and implement solutions to issues that directly affect them and their communities, schools and the nation at large.
Programme Objectives
• To create a space for youth to identify challenges in their communities and come up with relevant solutions
• To mobilise youth to take action on matters that affect them, their families and communities where they are
• To groom leaders and instil a sense of responsibility and accountability
Approach
The youth leadership programme facilitates the participation and empowerment of youth in issues that affect them, in shaping a society that is attentive and responsive to their rights, needs, concerns, abilities and aspirations. The programme includes formation of Youth Think Tanks who are Agents of their own change by collaborating with the Fund to create youth friendly programmes which take into account their concerns, challenges, needs and aspirations. This programme is divided into four focus areas which are youth leadership, civic participation, children’s rights and youth entrepreneurship.
Characteristics of Youth
The youth under this programme will belong to the ages of 12 to 22 years in line with the Fund’s criteria for suitability to activities designed by the youth programme.
- Priority will be given to youth groups or individual youth who either express interest in being agents of change or already belong to youth activities that determine and/or influence their change and development as well as having a passion for community development.
- The programme will be inclusive of all young people, irrespective of their gender, economic backgrounds, indigenous backgrounds, and disabilities. Physical challenges will not be a limitation to consideration for active participation in the Fund’s youth leadership programme.
- Unemployed young people who are matriculants, graduates from tertiary institutions and out of school are some of the youth characteristics under consideration.
YOUTH “THINK TANKS”
The Youth “Think Tanks” is an identity which will prevail across different pillars of the youth programme, being youth leadership, civic participation, human rights and youth entrepreneurship. The “Think Tanks” are virtual structures which generate thinking, debates, discussions, peer learning, advocacy and practical solutions among young people on matters that concern their development. Essentially, the youth programme carries four different pillars where all thinking, collected under the programmatic domains will be subject to “Think Tanks” as progressive stages to target interactions with different statutory and non-statutory structures.
Monitoring services
Healthcare data is currently collected manually at the CHW level. The plan is to have in place an electronic data capturing to enable instant interventions to problems when they arise.
Programme 2: Child Safety and Protection -Safe Schools
This programme is aimed at ensuring child safety in schools. The Fund has drawn on its experience in this area and from various subject matter specialists.
The violence in schools manifests itself in numerous forms such as corporal punishment, bullying and sexual abuse. The reliable information on violence in schools did not exist till 2008 when the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention (CJCP) did the research. The follow up research was done in 2012 on corporal punishment and sexual abuse in schools at national level. While Gauteng reduced corporal punishment during the same period other provinces such as Kwazulu Natal, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga saw an increase on the incidences of corporal punishment.
Healthcare data is currently collected manually at the CHW level. The plan is to have in place an electronic data capturing to enable instant interventions to problems when they arise.
Programme 2: Child Safety and Protection -Safe Schools
This programme is aimed at ensuring child safety in schools. The Fund has drawn on its experience in this area and from various subject matter specialists.
The violence in schools manifests itself in numerous forms such as corporal punishment, bullying and sexual abuse. The reliable information on violence in schools did not exist till 2008 when the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention (CJCP) did the research. The follow up research was done in 2012 on corporal punishment and sexual abuse in schools at national level. While Gauteng reduced corporal punishment during the same period other provinces such as Kwazulu Natal, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga saw an increase on the incidences of corporal punishment.
Figure 5.8a: Share of unemployed youth (15–34 years) by
highest level of education, 2009
|
Figure 5.8b: Share of unemployed youth (15–34 years) by highest level of education, 2014
|
*Total includes the category “other”.
Source: QLFS 2009–2014
The Fund’s role in sculpting future leaders through strategic partnerships will expose young people to four leadership programme components comprising of ethical leadership, civic participation, human rights and youth entrepreneurship.
The Fund will pilot the youth leadership programme in the Gauteng province (district municipalities) that are seriously affected by youth unemployment.
- City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
- City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
- Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality
- Sedibeng District Municipality
Target population
The direct and indirect beneficiaries of the youth leadership programme will be:
- The children and youth between the ages of 12 and 22 as primary targets.
- Youth in schools , universities and colleges
- Youth out of school and those unemployed
- Youth in and out of school with disabilities
- Organisations that represent and or work with in and out of school youth
- Organisations that work with parents and families of the in and out of school youth
- Parents and families of project beneficiaries
- Care-givers and other professional staff that deal with youth in and out of school
The youth leadership programme is embedded in Think Tanks that will serve as a platform for youth from all walks of life. The youth will be empowered to lead and become agents of their own change through working together in finding, implementing and executing solutions to issues that directly affect them and their communities, schools and the nation at large. The think tanks are change agents that will propel other programmes like Youth Parliaments and Youth Boards to advance the interests and aspirations of young people at all levels.
Sustainable Livelihoods Project (SLP)
The Fund’s Sustainable Livelihoods Project (SLP) was introduced in 2009 to address poverty experienced by families, especially in areas that have been identified by government as nodal points. These are areas that have a high rate of unemployment, low production because of various reasons and sometimes isolated in terms of securing basic services. The SLP aim to strengthen families and communities to cope with the situation of vulnerability while creating a better life and brighter future for the children.
SLP is designed to help communities to work out their way out of poverty by encouraging community members to form Self Help Groups (SHG’s). The SHG’s are engaged in savings mobilisation programmes and income generating activities, they also convene regular meetings to address challenges they face in their homes and communities.
The SHG’s are fully utilised as community support structure for possible interventions to challenges faced by families such as psychosocial support, linkages with government structures to provide necessary documentation for children such as birth certificates, Social Workers referrals and other related requirements to assist children in need.
The implementation of the Fund’s Sustainable Livelihoods Project within Goelama Programme has yielded positive results that are now showing among these communities. The Self Help Group model is proven to work and has been adapted by the Fund and its partners over the past seven years.
The Sustainable Livelihoods Project is a major thread across the three new strategic interventions of Child Survival and Development, Child Safety and Protection; and Youth Leadership.
SLP Objectives:
The objectives of the SLP under Child Survival and Development is to facilitate the establishment of the Health Self Help Groups (HSHG’s) to work with local clinics and health care workers on specific primary health care programmes. The other focus is on Children’s nutrition where identified communities are strengthened economically to deal with socio-economic challenges with the aim of improving the nutritional status of children.
Under the Child Safety and Protection ambit; the SLP will encourage Self Help Groups to work closely with schools in their locality to deal with the issues of safety and protection, particularly in reference to corporal punishment, sexual abuse and bullying.
Strengthening the Group members’ leadership skills is another valuable act that will empower them to lead and manage the programme effectively.
On Youth Leadership, the SLP’s approach to Youth Think Tanks will be treated as exclusively youth Self Help Groups with a Purpose (SHGWP). The SLP’s role will include strengthening the current Youth Self Help Groups to be active in the implementation and execution of the Fund’s new strategic youth leadership imperatives that focuses on Human Rights, Civic Participation; Youth Entrepreneurship and Ethical Leadership.
SLP OUTCOMES:
The envisaged project outcomes include among others, improved economic stability in the families, abused children receiving better care, counselling and support and reduced unemployment rate especially among the Youth.