SOS Family Strengthening (outreach) Programme in Waterfalls, Harare, Zimbabwe

2009 can be described as eventful in many ways, with a mixture of uncertainty, gloom and hope. Life for vulnerable children living in our target communities under the Family Strengthening Programme (FSP) began to improve at the beginning of 2009 as the formal market for goods and services began to reappear. 

We started the year by paying a visit to every family with vulnerable children. We subsequently focused more on those whom we termed ‘very vulnerable’ i.e. child-headed households, households with bed-ridden guardians, and those households with very old guardians. Our intervention strategies, including supplementary food handouts, are designed to empower these families. We currently care for more than 2,000 children from over 980 households on our FSP.

Health and Education

Insofar as cholera is concerned, we are now over the peak although sadly some of our beneficiaries died from it in the early stages of the outbreak. Many charities, as well as United Nations Agencies, particularly UNICEF, worked hard to stem the outbreak. Our work with HIV/AIDS is ongoing through local clinics.

Where educational assistance is required, guardians are given books and uniforms with the uniforms being made by sewing groups made up of mothers on the FSP. Children at both primary and secondary levels are assisted with school fees by way of ‘block grants’ paid out to the schools.

Securing a Food Supply

Food security and the availability of disposable income reduced pressure on guardians.  We continue to help vulnerable families learn how to feed themselves by teaching crop-tending skills, providing nutritional gardens, or purchasing chickens.  We also teach them how to improve their lives through the creation of community organizations and children’s committees.  A number of partners working for the good of the vulnerable children have been identified. These are: the City of Harare, Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe, Justice for Children Trust, Island Hospice Association of Zimbabwe and Childline.