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Social Support
Background
TASO clients continually confide in their counselors that their children's future is one of their greatest concerns. As they struggle to fight the disease and remain strong for their children, they fear an uncertain future. In the year 2000, TASO launched the Child Survival Initiative in response and identified 200,000 clients' orphans and vulnerable children.Recognizing that education is the best response to the plight of orphans and vulnerable children, TASO's Child Survival Initiative aims to provide scholastic support to the neediest clients' children.
The Child Support Initiative has helped to ease the financial burden of over 4,000 families, but the benefits extend far beyond finances. Parents, guardians, and teachers report that the beneficiaries have gained confidence, improved their academic performance, and developed social and life skills. The apprenticeship program has empowered the students to run their own businesses and some are now providing for their siblings.
Donors include the US government, Department For International Development, Danish International Development Agency, Development Corporation Ireland, Swedish International Development Cooperation, Barclays Bank and Celtel.
Formal Education support
By choosing one child per household based on financial need and academic performance, TASO has broadened the impact of child support. TASO has to date supported over 5000 children with tuition, boarding fees and scholastic materials in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Another 1,567 children have received apprenticeship training. As the Child Survival Initiative grows, TASO has been able to help more and more children. In 2005 alone, TASO supported 959 children in primary school, and 610 children in secondary school.
Most of the children have been able to finish school and move on with life. Others have attended to University and are able to support their families.
Apprenticeship program
OVCs training in carpentry
TASO supports older children who have either dropped out of school or failed to continue to levels of higher education through the apprenticeship scheme, an effort to train children of TASO clients in practical skills so that they can quickly gain self-reliance and support siblings. The various courses include saloon and hairdressing, brick laying and concrete practice, motor vehicle and motorcycle mechanics, Catering, carpentry, tailoring, welding, motor vehicle spraying and electrical installation. TASO has developed a curriculum in all these courses.
Since the inception of this program, TASO has supported over 1,567 children under this scheme. All the graduating children are given start up tool kits to be used in their respective vocations.
Child play centers
CIFF signed an agreement with TASO to provide psychosocial support to orphans who accompany their parents to centers for treatment. TASO and CIFF created child play centers in order to provide better access of OVC to quality medical care. The project also improves the nutritional status of OVC through the provision of high nutrient value foods, strengthening the economic coping capacities of OVC families through provision of loans for starting IGAs, enhancing the capacity of families and communities to respond to the psychosocial needs of orphans, vulnerable children, and their caregivers and improving the institutional capacity of TASO in provision of children day care and support services.The pioneers of these activities are TASO Entebbe and Mulago. So far, more than 400 children have benefited from the Entebbe child play center. Among other activities, these children have been involved in outdoor games and entertained with films of their age group.
AIDS Challenge Youth Club (ACYC)
TASO ACYC members during a radio talk on HIV/AIDS
and other health related issues
The AIDS Challenge Youth Club was founded by a group of people whose parents or relatives were living with or died of AIDS. They found that they could support and care for each other as a way of reducing the trauma and learn from experience to change their behavior and prevent HIV infection. TASO supports the establishment of ACYC as a pilot project aimed at addressing sexual reproductive health issues of the youth with regard to current AIDS epidemic. The aim of ACYC is to build a vision of boys and girls to respect their masculinity and feminity respectively and encourage positive attitudes towards people living with AIDS.
Among other activities, ACYC members reach out to communities; they carry out home visits and also carry out radio talks to educate the youth. Centers carry out peer education talks as well. Many ACYC clubs have been opened in schools to reach out to the young people in schools.
© Copyright 2003. The AIDS Support Organisation |
