Help 23 needy families get sustainable livelihoods

OVERVIEW 

In September 2018, Kickstart Kids International embarked on fundraising for the Family Empowerment programme which is set to be implemented in February 2019. 

The primary project of Kickstart is Olturoto Children’s Village (OCV), serving one of the poorest communities in rural Kenya since 2014. OCV provides transitional, family-based, quality, alternative care to orphaned and vulnerable children in need of rescue from sexual and physical abuse, neglect, abandonment, early marriage and female genital mutilation. At the heart of our work is the belief that all children belong in a family and as such do not institutionalise children but rather support them effectively in the short term (1 – 3 years) until we can place them back into a safe, stable and sustainable home environment.

OCV works to ensure the child and family are empowered and a sustainable environment has been established prior to the reintegration. It has become clear that one of the biggest impediments to successful reintegration of a child is the lack of financial empowerment of local families.

Kickstart will be partnering with Wessex Social Ventures (WSV), a UK based social enterprise which provides development organisations with pre-designed micro social-enterprise business models, that have shown their ability to create widespread impact in communities and create a livelihood for entrepreneurs and their families.

This partnership will be ongoing with the two organisations working hand in hand in the implementation of the project. We will be combining Kickstart’s local knowledge and experience working with vulnerable families, with WSV experience in setting up micro-social enterprises. This partnership is about going beyond simply creating a sustainable livelihood for the families, to also providing a vital supply of products and services to help keep students in school and communities healthy.

THE FAMILY EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME 

The Family Empowerment Programme is a pivotal next step for OCV in that it will strengthen the reintegration process for vulnerable children back into home environments through the promotion of economic empowerment and strengthening of families in the Olturoto community. 

 The objectives of the family empowerment programme are as follows:

1. Implement microenterprises that will produce a sustainable level of revenue generation for families that are planning to take-in orphaned and vulnerable children from OCV. Also provide a vital supply of products and services to help keep students in school and communities healthy.(SDG 8)
2. Through financially empowering the families, ensuring that children remain in school, receive good nutrition, have access to healthcare and quality shelter post-reintegration from Olturoto Children’s Village.(SDG 3 & 4)
3. Through economic empowerment, ensure that children remain in a safe, stable and sustainable home environment (SDG 3 & 4)

The future long-term guardians of vulnerable children at Olturoto Children’s Village shall be guided and trained on how to establish one of two micro-enterprises.  

1. Petals – The Petal brand establishes community owned micro-enterprises, which make and sell the reusable sanitary towels at 22-33% the cost of commercial alternatives.
2. Right Light – Right Light gives access to safe and affordable lighting for study and work. Clean lighting has an infinite number of benefits and applies to everybody, everywhere.

The project will be implemented over a 3 year period with the pilot taking 6 months and new guardians being on-boarded as children are admitted.

THE NEED

In the course of our work, we have recognised that empowerment of guardians is a key component so as to re-establish or newly establish the family as a complete wholesome, socially and economically empowered unit where the children can thrive in the long term. This ensures de-institutionalisation of children and underpins reintegration success.

While the primary reasons of separation would have been addressed through the standard operating procedures at OCV, without empowering guardians, reintegration cannot be successful.

Challenges faced by children post-reintegration in the absence of empowerment

1. Inadequate food and poor nutrition levels
2. Inconsistent or no school attendance due to lack of school fees and/or food
3. For girls, no access to sanitary products leading to reduced school attendance
4. Insufficient or no access to basic health care
5. Unstable and uncertain future

Challenges faced by Families post-reintegration in the absence of empowerment

1. Inability to provide for basic needs of the child on a long-term basis (food, shelter, education, healthcare)
2. Lack of basic parenting and child care skills thus leading to reoccurrence of child protection related issues
3. No access to support groups allowing for interaction with persons undergoing similar challenges

THE APPROACH

The Family Empowerment Programme supports child protection and works to strengthen the reintegration process thus ensuring children are able to be placed back within families. 

1. Enhancing family and psycho-social support systems – OCV organises family therapy sessions and capacity building in areas such as children’s rights, substance abuse, family cohesiveness, counselling, parenting skills, nutrition and basic health care.(Ongoing)
2. Self-help group – OCV brings the guardians together through membership to a registered self-help group to address common issues and engage in table banking activities. Trainings and other wellbeing activities for the guardians are channeled through the group.(Ongoing)
3. Economic empowerment and strengthening – OCV will train the guardians on entrepreneurship and then assist them to identify a suitable micro-enterprise from WSV’s portfolio.  OCV will support the guardians and closely monitor progress ensuring the continued success of the enterprise. The long-term impact of this process is ensuring sustainable livelihoods for these families and a safe, secure home environment for the child post-reintegration

SELECTION OF GUARDIANS

The guardians to experience the pilot phase shall be selected based on the following criteria

1. Most deserving cases based on need/financial vulnerability
2. Where children have been reintegrated or are close to reintegration
3. Where micro-enterprises will be most successful based on feasibility studies

TRAINING OF TRAINERS

WSV facilitators will conduct a training of trainers for local staff at the initial stage. This will build local capacity and allow local staff to implement the programme with the guidance of WSV. Translation of materials will also be done to ensure delivery through easily understandable media for the guardians (Kiswahili).

FEASIBILITY STUDY

A feasibility study was conducted and completed in April 2018 in order to establish the viability of the project in advance. The results were positive and ratify the viability of all three of the micro-enterprises.

MONITORING & EVALUATION

Monitoring and evaluation shall be conducted using a 3-tiered system. Our approach shall be to collect impact data through the guardians, local staff and on the ground exposure. An initial baseline is done during the beginning of the pilot, the first impact assessments are then done at the end of the pilot. Impact assessments are then done once per year. Whenever new enterprises are being set up in a new area, this process repeats as needed.

• Guardians – The guardians shall collect impact data through monthly business reports and education records. They also collect direct customer and education feedback that show buying habits and indicate health and attitude changes.
• Local staff – Local Kickstart staff shall collect ongoing impact data. This includes regular observations and surveys at 0, 6, 18, 30 and 42 month milestones, focused on 3 levels:
  Guardians – look at the change in the life of the guardians and supported children.
• Community – looking at the wider impact on the community.
• School – looking at the education change for the students and impact on the school.

WSV shall track the overall impact of the programme, and sustainability of the businesses  

The major tools to be used for data collection shall be: 

• Questionnaires
• Mobile phones

This triple layer approach means we can gather large quantities of data more frequently and at lower cost, with great access to beneficiaries. To simplify the process and make sure the data is effectively gathered, WSV shall provide Kickstart with a data collection app, allowing us to effectively gather data in the field while without access to internet.

The other tools for the M&E system are the: Theories of change, MEL frameworks, databases and analysis tools. As well as guidelines for everything including interviews and observation.

PROJECT KICK-OFF

The pilot phase of this project will kick-off in February 2019.