1.) Local Links for OVC Support Project
By 2005, there will be an estimated one million children under the age of 15 whose mothers will have died of AIDS in South Africa, overwhelming the current capacity of the welfare system. In addition to the impact of HIV/AIDS, children are separated from caregivers due to migration within South Africa from rural areas to urban areas for work-related purposes. In many cases children are left in rural areas with extended families and usually remain there even when they are orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS. Many AIDS-affected children also engage in migration themselves. Within this context, the Local Links project addresses three broad constraints: fragile economic safety nets and limited security of assets upon which to draw during the continuum of HIV/AIDS illness; a lack of a comprehensive set of quality services and referral mechanisms at local levels; and a lack of rights protection of children affected by HIV/AIDS.
Local Links operates nationally and in Limpopo and Free State provinces with the following objectives:
- Strengthening the economic coping mechanisms of families and communities using CARE's voluntary savings methodology;
- Strengthening the capacity of local organizations to meet the needs and rights of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC)
- Improving advocacy efforts on behalf of orphans and vulnerable children.
This four year project commenced May 2004.
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