CHILD AID DOORNKOP

It works with a number of government departments, corporations and other organizations to address these problems and carries out a variety of activities including the following: a soup kitchen, vegetable gardens, income-generating ventures, skills training courses, a club for abused children, HIV/AIDS awareness courses for youth, home-based care, a scholarship programme for girls, preschools, a teenage pregnancy prevention program, various after-school activities and clubs for children, and an environmental awareness programme. Federation Humana People to People oversees and manages the project with the help of the community’s Childcare Committee, while the other organizations provide funding and other resources (e.g. toys, computers, printers etc.) Notably, Child Aid Doornkop provides families with food parcels for a period of three months, during which time they are taught to grow their own food. The project also trains young adults (18+) who are not in school and unemployed to lead any of the 30 children’s clubs in the community. In addition, HIV/AIDS awareness courses run for 3 weeks and upon completion, graduates volunteer to spread the message through door-to-door campaigns.

Innovation

This project is innovative in its capacity to cooperate with a wide range of partners in carrying out a variety of activities and working toward the same goal. It differentiates itself from similar projects through its holistic approach i.e. it does not try to solve any particular problem in isolation. For example, the focus of the project is children, but in order to secure a safe future for children the project addresses common problems affecting their families and communities.

Effectiveness

Child Aid Doornkop ensures its effectiveness through weekly/monthly statistics, spot check and reports. Its records show that 100 families receive food parcels on a monthly basis, 600 people attend skills training courses per year, 279 vegetable gardens have been established in the community, 1050 school children are supplied with school uniforms per year, 190 students benefit from scholarships per year, 150 children are fed on a daily basis by the Soup Kitchen, and 1600 children are enrolled in youth clubs. Currently 8 000 families, and 120 staff/volunteers are involved. 98% of staff/volunteers are local community members. Beneficiary satisfaction is shown by their willingness to participate in activities, testimonials letters of appreciation etc. The project currently covers 60% of its target population. Weaknesses identified include: less than 10% of staff is highly skilled and limited space and funding prevent project from expanding.

Poverty Impact

This project succeeds in improving the quality of life of poor community members through income-generation, HIV/AIDS treatment, and care for those who cannot afford it and various programs for children that offer them positive activities. While children are the intended beneficiaries, they are not the only ones, rather the community as a whole benefits from this project.

Sustainability

Child Aid Doornkop’s annual budget is R3.5 million. It improves cost effectiveness by employing volunteers (make up 60% of workers) and by paying salaried staff via internet banking to minimize bank charges. Funding is secure for 1 year. There is a 100% prospect of further funding from government partners and a 60% prospect from other partners. Federation Humana has planned to ensure that the project is entirely community-owned by 2015. Currently 98% of its workers are drawn from the local community. This project has faced funding challenges in the past but overcome them by encouraging creative fundraising by staff members. Another challenge to sustainability is the lack of or maintenance of infrastructure to cope with expansion.  

Replication

This project has already been replicated in Tubatsi and Bakenburg, both in Limpopo. Potential constraints include: difficulties raising start-up funding (approx. R1 million), a lack of infrastructure, and difficulties finding skilled staff to initiate the project. Given adequate resources a similar project could provide services to at least 3 000 families or 18 000 people.

Partnerships

• Department of Social Development (funding)
• Provincial Department of Health (funding)
• Department of Education (funding)
• Department of Agriculture (gardening tools and training)
• British Petroleum (funding)
• Metropolitan (funding)
• Citi group (funding)
• Microsoft (computers and maintenance)
• Winrock International (funding)
• Ebucks (toys, printers, electronics etc.)
• Innovation Group (funding)
• Community’s Childcare Committee (implementation)
• DELL BEE Foundation (computers)
• ADCORP Holdings (funding)
• Kellogg Foundation (funding)
• Johnson and Johnson (funding)