Brief History of ChildFund in Mozambique

Number of enrolled children (FY12): 8,649
Number of beneficiaries (FY12): 107,887

ChildFund Mozambique operates in two districts: Zavala district (in Inhambane province) and Gondola district (in Manica province).  Its mission is to empower deprived, excluded and vulnerable children to thrive through all stages of life and become leaders of enduring changes in their communities.  Since 2005, the organisation has supported over 12,000 children and their communities and has been working for the well being of children through supporting  initiatives that strengthen families and communities, to help them break the cycle of poverty.  Its core intent is to assist communities to raise healthy and secure infants, educated and confident children, and skilled and involved youth.

Brief Programme Overview

Education

The goal is to provide an environment for educated and confident children and skilled and involved youth.  The activities include construction of schools and resource centers, purchase and distribution of desks and textbooks in schools and provision of educational material to the most vulnerable children.

Health

The focus is on  construction of health centers, implementation of nutritional programmes, and conducting campaigns to raise awareness on disease prevention, e.g. malaria and HIV and AIDS.

ECD

The programme  goal is to contribute to the protection and support of all children 0-5 years old in the programme area, so that they have equal opportunity to realise their rights and develop to their full potential. It also entails activities such as Village Savings & Loans, construction of ECD centres and implementation of ECD activities.

Livelihood

This programme aims at increasing production, productivity and commercialisation of high value short term crops and livestock, income generating activities, nutrition and Voluntary Savings &  Loans .

2012 Programme Achievements

healthy and secure Infants (ages 0-5):

A malaria prevention and mitigation project was carried out to benefit infants and  pregnant women.  Support was given on rehabilitation of schools, health and household infrastructures destroyed by cyclone Dando. Additionally, vaccination campaigns were carried out for  infants below 5 years and training on how to prepare enriched porridge as a measure to reduce cases of malnutrition was conducted.

Educated and confident Children (ages 6-14):

Children acquired skills in teamwork, increased their self confidence as well as gained a sense of accomplishment in vegetable growing and preparation for consumption. Schools and resource centers were built and equipped which improved the academic achievement of the children and the number of children going to school.

Skilled and involved Youth (ages 15-24):

Youth underwent training on group dynamics, honey production and small scale business management. This training empowered youth with life skills and knowledge to obtain employment or become self employed.

Societies

Community leaders were trained on child protection and advocacy which equipped them with the necessary knowledge and skills to create safe environments for children. Caregivers/Family Leaders were also trained on management of small scale economic activities.  A malaria prevention project conducted a number of sensitisation campaigns in the communities. Community households benefited from an agricultural fair during the Cyclone Dando emergency response project.

ChildFund Ireland’s Grants

Early Childhood Development (ECD)

In Gondola District in Manica Province in western Mozambique, ChildFund is implementing an Irish Aid-funded Communities Caring for Children programme (CCCP) which focusses on the first Life Stage, early childhood care and development.  It is also concurrently being implemented in Ethiopia and Mozambique.  While the programme has a specific focus on early childhood development, issues of gender, prevention of gender-based violence, prevention of HIV and AIDS and the protection of the environment are also being mainstreamed into the programme.

The overall goal of the programme is that all children aged from 0-5 years old in the programme area are protected and supported to have equal opportunities to realise their rights and develop to their full potential. Specific outcomes aim to improve the quality of ECD services; to strengthen community structures for child care, protection and case management; and to improve a culture of learning and knowledge management on ECD approaches and practices. The programme will run until 2015, which coincides with the end of the Millennium Project and the Millennium Development Goals.

Education

Education in Mozambique is another big challenge. In Zavala District, Inhambane Province, there is a lack of educational resources to support children’s educational development. With funding from the Bank of Ireland Group Employees Fund for Third World Aid ChildFund implemented a project in 2012 to help address this. The project provided two secondary schools and one resource centre with functional libraries equipped with books recommended for teaching and learning purposes at both primary and secondary levels. The establishment of the libraries has improved students’ and teachers’ access to reference and reading material and the setting up of study groups has also created a platform for collaborative and interactive participation of students.

Water

Floods and droughts are frequent in Mozambique, occurring cyclically and with varying intensity. In Zavala District drought is the most frequently occurring natural disaster, and has the greatest impact on household livelihood security. There is limited use of irrigation systems and an overall underdevelopment of water infrastructure. Lack of access to clean water also uniquely affects women and girls. When schools lack private and adequate sanitation facilities, school dropout rates increase, particularly for teenage girls. Women and girls also spend a large portion of their time travelling long distances to fetch clean water.

With funding from the Bank of Ireland Group Employees Fund for Third World Aid ChildFund introduced rain water harvesting technology at five schools, a cost-effective, pro-poor approach, that is simple to install and maintain.

Challenges

• High cost of operations in the country.
• Local capacity – ChildFund Mozambique’s two partners still have weak systems and structures and depend entirely on ChildFund for their funding and technical support.  Their boards are also not strong.  This is being addressed through ChildFund’s Local Partnerships initiative.
• Fundraising – The number of donors is limited and most channel the majority of their funds through local organisations and budgetary support to the government, requiring a new, more aggressive approach to fundraising and positioning
• Networking – ChildFund’s brand has low visibility with key stakeholders at various levels – especially at the strategic level.  Our goal is to become well connected and linked, thereby increasing our profile.

Why Sponsorship is Important

This is a story of a sponsored child, Genito, who didn’t know about birthday celebrations before he was matched with a ChildFund Sponsor in 2009.  When his sponsor began to send him cards, stickers and other small gifts, he soon caught on that a birthday was meant to be a happy occasion.  Now he knows when his birthday is and how to mark the day.  “I like to celebrate my birthday.  My sponsor always sends me gifts, and on this day I eat cake, biscuits and a soft drink.”  Genito pastes the stickers received from his sponsor on a broken freezer at home.  The front panel is now a collage of happy images.  How to celebrate birthdays is just one of the things Genito has learned from his sponsor in the last few years.  “I like my sponsor because she teaches me to grow as a good boy.”