Etafeni Project

Description: The Etafeni project aims to address the numerous problems facing AIDS-affected and vulnerable children in Nyanga township outside Cape Town, where almost 28% of the population is HIV+. The Centre aims to provide holistic and sustainable community-based care, in a community-built and community-staffed centre. The Trust was formed in December 2001 in Cape Town; and the first phase involved training local community members (men and women) as builders to help build a pre-school (construction began in 2002). The preschool opened in 2003, with local educarers. An office block and Mothers and Infants Centre were later added; a kitchen and dining complex was completed in 2007/08; and the Fit for Life, Fit for Work building was completed in 2009. The Centre runs numerous different programmes, including a preschool; an after-school programme (for children previously at the preschool, and other OVCs, to go after school to get educational support, food, sport, life skills, music therapy etc); a Mothers and Infants Centre (which provides support for mothers with babies from 0 to 3, including nutrition and counselling); an income-generation programme for HIV+ mothers and caregivers where they are trained in sewing, beadwork, smocking and patchwork; an OVC programme (providing counseling, access to social grants, nutrition support, and educational support); a food garden; VCT and TB-screening programme; a Mothers to Mothers programme; a social worker; and the "Fit for Life, Fit for Work" programme, where unemployed school-leavers undergo an intensive 12month training process, and are then placed in employment. The process includes job-skills training (computer skills, conversational English, driving lessons), health services (including dental services to replace missing teeth) and other skills (yoga, movement, music and drama) etc.

Innovation: The project aims to include the local community at every level of the process, in order to make it a truly local and sustainable endeavour. Also, by providing almost all the necessary services for OVCs and AIDS-affected children, it makes a kind of one-stop centre for these children, meaning they are able to access almost everything they need in one place.

Effectiveness: Etafeni provides services to 301 children each month, through food, educare, homework support, counseling, music therapy, sport and lifeskills. About 35 HIV+ women are involved in the income-generation programme at any time, and six have left for formal employment. All children at the preschool are given breakfast and lunch each day; and the women in the income-generation project also receive a meal each day. All HIV+ adults and children are given a nutritional supplement (epap) to take home. 25 AIDS counselors and 2 Counsellor coordinators have been placed in health facilities throughout Nyanga; fifty people were trained in building and construction (and about half have now found formal employment). Two social workers and eighteen community care workers provide services to OVCs; while a professional nurse and two lay counselors provide VCT. The Fit for Life, Fit for Work programme has trained 240 school-leavers, 80% of which are now employed.

Poverty Impact: As noted above, the project has provided job-skills training and work opportunities to large numbers of people: 6 through the income-generation project for HIV+ women; about 25 through the building training; and 192 through the Fit for Life, Fit for Work programme. Also, by providing a space where AIDS-affected children and their caregivers can go for support, assistance with social grants, counseling, and nutrition lowers their daily burden and allows them to focus on other aspects of their lives instead.

Sustainability: The project’s total income for 2008 was R4 801 742; while its total expenditure was R4 170 430. The project has partnerships with a wide range of groups, including government departments (Department of Health, Department of Social Development; Department of Labour); other NGOs (Desmond Tutu TB Centre; Mothers to Mother to Be; ARK; Legal Resources Centre; Cross Cultural Solutions; Elton John AIDS Foundation); and businesses (DG Murray Trust; Porticus and Missio). These partnerships cover funding; materials; training etc. Thus, it seems likely that the project will be able to continue in the foreseeable future, as at least some sources of funding will remain, even if others pull out. Strong partnerships with government departments and with local community members also increases the sustainability of the project.

Replication: Etafeni is being used as a model for community-built, community-staffed community centres. The Trust is currently involved in helping to replicate the project in Vrygrond; and is in discussion with a chief from a rural community in Limpopo, who also wants to replicate the project. Thus, seemingly it is replicable, especially since it has documented all the steps carefully. However, significant funding and support would need to be obtained.

Partnership:

Visit www.etafenitrust.org for more information