Faraja Trust Fund (FTF) was established in 1991 as a non-governmental organisation providing integrated HIV/AIDS prevention, supportive care and coping services in the Morogoro Municipality and surrounding localities. The mission of FTF is to alleviate suffering among the HIV and AIDS affected and vulnerable persons through building and sustaining their self-help capacity to protect themselves from the HIV and AIDS epidemic.

The organisation is currently implementing the following programmes and projects.

• Community-Based Peer Action Programme.
• Counselling and home care programme for HIV AND AIDS affected individuals including orphans.
• STI/HIV prevention in primary, secondary schools and vocational training institutions.
• Faraja Micro Finance Project - Women Neighbourhood Associations.
• Street Children Rehabilitation Project through the Street Side School.

The Faraja Street Children Rehabilitation Project was established in 1997 in Morogoro Municipality in response to the plight of children affected by HIV and AIDS. Owing to the HIV and AIDS epidemic, the Morogoro region experienced an alarming growth in the number of orphans and street children. As a result of the epidemic many children were forced to drop out of school and start working to support the family. The project seeks to rehabilitate and resocialise vulnerable children (orphans and street children) by involving the family and community institutions. Its ultimate purpose is to provide vulnerable children with an opportunity to leave the street and to re-establish connections with their families and communities. This is done through promotion of positive values, family counseling, and the creation of a network of community resources and services in support of the children.

Lessons learning

The Faraja Street Children Rehabilitation Project has scored impressive results from its work with vulnerable children. These results constitute important lessons learned to be documented and shared with other information users who are already working or intend to start working with similar target populations.

SAT M&E staff visited the Faraja Street Children Rehabilitation Project to document the lessons learned. This report is a product of the process of exploring, analysing and documenting the steps followed in setting up the project and the assessment of results achieved.

The goal of the project is:

To improve the quality of life for the orphans in Morogoro region.

The general objective is:

To reduce suffering among orphans through counselling, education support, provision of basic materials needs and through imparting skills for economic empowerment.

The specific objectives are:

• To identify needy orphans in Morogoro and determine their needs for support.
• To determine the individual educational needs of each child/youth and assist/support accordingly.
• To assist most of the homeless orphans to return to their homes of origin or settle in other safer living environments.
• To empower needy youths, who fail to continue with formal levels of education, through skills training for self-reliance.
• To provide material and psycho-social support according to need.
• To mobilise community participation in offering care and support.
• To build capacity and empower guardians to lessen the burden of care.

Activities

The activities implemented by the project include:

• Conducting needs assessments for the orphans and neglected children.
• Placement of vulnerable children in primary, secondary and vocational schools.
• Payment of school fees and other school related expenses.
• Provision of medical care.
• Counseling for youth, orphans, street children and their relatives.
• Re-socialisation of orphans and street children in the Street Side School.
• Placement of children in a safe living environment.

Criteria for identifying vulnerable Children

To qualify for support the children has to satisfy the following criteria

• Be a street child.
• Be an HIV and AIDS orphan or have parents/guardians who are on home based care.
• Be infected with HIV and AIDS.
• Absence of relatives who can support the child.
• Social orphan (these are children whose parents are alive but are receiving inadequate care).

Establishing contact with the vulnerable children

Two approaches were utilised in making contact with street children and orphans.

The first approach involved making direct contact with the children in the streets. This approach was used mainly with street children who lived and worked on the streets. In the second approach street children and orphans were contacted through the local community structures. Ten cell leaders and local chiefs assisted in setting up meetings with the orphans. A cell is made up of ten households  which fall under the leadership of  a ten cell leader.

The meetings were then followed up by home visits.

Home visits

The purpose of home visits is to

• find out why the child is not going to school.
• acquire more information about the child’s guardians.
• assess whether there is any stigmatisation of the child by guardians/neighbours.
• assess how well the guardians are providing care.
• assess the economic situation at home to determine whether the guardian needs financial support.
• assess the food situation at home, whether the children have enough food to eat.
• initiate a relationship earlier with the children (in cases where the parents are on home based care).
• assess how the community is supporting the orphans through interviews with local leaders e.g. ten cell leaders and chiefs.
• monitor the health of the orphans when they are sick.
• determine whether the child can be put in foster care.

After going through the screening process the children are photographed and then a support form is completed.

Re-integration of children into school

Street Side School (SSS)

The school which began in 1997 is a rehabilitation and resocialisation center for the most vulnerable children. It was established with the objective of addressing the educational needs of street children who because of their age, are no longer eligible for entry into the formal primary schools. In Tanzania the law stipulates that any child who has reached the age of ten is not eligible for entry into primary school. The SSS helps street children to catch up with their age mates in the formal primary schools, before they are reintegrated into the latter.
The Street Side School has a complement of 8 staff members who comprise of:

The SSS also works with religious and civic group’s for example:

• The Muslim and Christian community are invited to teach religious education at the SSS.
• The Boy Scouts organises boy scouting for pupil from the SSS.
• Pupils from the SSS work as ball boys at football matches.

The first SSS was held under a mango tree. This was done in an effort to deal with the stigma associated with educating street children. At that time there was a strong belief in the community that it was pointless to educate street children. Initially Faraja staff used to go out into the streets to round up and bring the street children to the SSS.

The “class under the mango tree” approach was soon discontinued as the children started to miss lessons as a result of constant jeering by their peers and the need to return to the streets to earn a living. These problems were resolved following the construction of a block of classrooms in a secure place which was free of distraction.

Re-integration into formal schools

The project also helps with placing children into the formal government and privately owned schools. These children are assisted with school fees (this assistance applies only to pupils in secondary school, as primary school education is free), transport fares, provides school uniforms and medical support.

Monitoring of children at school

School monitoring visits are conducted with the aim of tracking the academic progress at the school. Monthly reports from the head teachers together with mid-term and annual academic performance reports are the most important monitoring tools. These tools help in detecting children who are not performing well so that educational counselling or remedial support can be given. 

Monitoring by ten cell leaders

The ten cell leaders and the local chiefs are an stakeholder in the community. Their role is designed to pressurize the guardians caring for children supported by Faraja to ensure that the children are actually going to school. Any child who misses school is reported to the ten cell leader who then tries to ascertain the reasons behind the absenteeism. Guardians who fail to execute their duty of ensuring that the children are going to school are reported to the police and they are liable for arrest and payment of fines.
Two strategies were initially used to encourage the children to continue attending school:

Free medication

Access to free treatment at the local clinics and hospitals is one of the strategies that was used by Faraja to build relationship with the guardians of the children who could not afford to pay for treatment. In return for free treatment, the guardians were required to ensure that the child attended school. Any guardian who failed to do so was disqualified from receiving free treatment.

Poor guardians or foster parents were given financial support, in the form of a loan or a grant, to help them establish income generating projects. The financial support was given on the condition that the guardians had to ensure the supported child was attending school. The aim of this assistance was to enable guardians to generate funds for their daily basic needs and also to discourage them from sending children into the street to earn an income. The repayment of the loans depended on the performance of the income generating activity.

In the early phase of the project, children in the SSS tended to abscond from school, returning to the streets to engage in petty trading. Faraja realised that these children were used to having money all the time and the school deprived them of an opportunity to make money. Faraja decided to give each child loans ranging from Tsh 5000 – Tsh 10000 as start up capital. It was agreed that loan recipients would have to come to school first in the morning and then in afternoon they were free to go to the streets to do their trading.

The two strategies involving free medication for guardians and loans to children were discontinued with time as the children got used to coming to school without any supervision. The children started coming to school on their own without someone urging them to do so. To show their appreciation the guardians agreed to directly seek free treatment from the clinics and the hospitals in order to save resources and to ensure that more children benefited from the project.

Vocational education

Places for vocational training are sought for children whose age is above that stipulated for entry into the formal schools or the SSS. Initially placement for vocational training was sought from the government institutions. This approach was discontinued because government institutions did not impart the necessary practical skills essential for one to fit into the job market. Vocation training is now done through job attachments which combine both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. This approach helps in moulding graduates who are ready for employment in the formal sector.

Children who do not have other relatives that can stay with them are helped by Faraja Trust Fund to seek foster parents. The foster parents are then counselled on how to live with and handle these children. The parents are reassured that the fostered child will not be a liability to them , as far as education is concerned, as Faraja will meet all educational costs required.

Foster parents with a poor economic background are given loans to start income generating activities. This also helps in curbing the practice of sending children into the streets to supplement the family income through petty trading.

Faraja also convenes meetings with foster parents/guardians on a quarterly basis. Issues that are discussed at these meetings include the academic performance of the child, behavioural development and  prevention of HIV and AIDS.

Challenges faced by the project

Strengths

• Project has grown and accepted by the community.
• Staff works as a team
• Spirit of volunteerism is also high (most of the volunteers were once supported by FARAJA, they are paying back for what they got from FARAJA to express their appreciation and thanks)
• There is collaboration between the various units; the home based care unit collaborates effectively with orphan and vulnerable child unit.
• Adequate funding through the use of the funds FARAJA is able to cater for the needs of orphans and guardians comprehensively. This is essential in building stakeholder confidence with the project.
• Volunteers have the appropriate skills to work with children through their previous work experience and study visits to other organisations.
• Volunteers have a strong commitment to working with children.

Weaknesses 

• Poor skills in monitoring and evaluation for example there are no indicators to assess the impact of the project. The project has not been able to report and document its success stories
• Although volunteers have done a great job for the organisation. The methods/criteria used in their recruitment is questionable. There is no clear cut criteria hence the organisation ends up  taking people who do not have the commitment and are just waiting for an opportunity to move on to other jobs.
• The criteria used in the selection of vulnerable children is also questionable. The guidelines say that all orphans are eligible for support but there are orphans who do not need support.
• FARAJA  does not network with other organizations to avoid There is the risk of double supporting one child and duplicating services.
• Project staff do not have child counselling skills.

Lessons learned

• Economic hardship force children into the street when they lose their parents. Children are forced to live with their grandparents where they are forced to become breadwinners at an early age, through petty trading of bananas, fruits, vending. Without really addressing the economic problems faced by guardians the streets will continue to be an attractive source of earning a livelihood.
• Grandparents are a special category of guardians who need a lot of sensitization. They see no point in sending their grandchildren to school as they themselves have survived without any education. There is need to create awareness about the benefits of education for their grandchildren through sensitization campaigns. Although grandparents end up appreciating the value of education they need economic and material support with fees and uniforms, to lessen the burden of sending children to school.
• The government initially left it to the NGOs to take the lead in providing for the educational needs of street children. However it has been quick to learn and adapt the concept of the SSS by setting up a parallel special education program, which is designed to assimilate these children in the formal system. Therefore a child’s age is no longer a limitation to go back to school.
• Before the response the communities in Morogoro had lost hope of their capacity to rehabilitate street children and orphans. There was a lot of stigma attached to street children and orphans. Even the extended family had ceased to be a source of support. The support given by Faraja has changed the situation, the extended family members and neighbours are now willing to assist street children and orphans.
• When doing home visits there is need for the various departments to collaborate e.g. the unit responsible for orphan support should work with the home based care unit. This is critical when conducting home visits due to the fact that children whose parents are beneficiaries of HBC will need support in future. This augurs well for a smooth transition from HBC to OVC support.
• Street children and orphans can succeed in life if they are given opportunities and support. With counselling and proper supervision they can change their behaviour.
• The educational system, particularly the curricula needs to be made friendly to the special needs of orphans and street children who have life experiences that differ from the other school children. For example stigma is high in the schools especially for orphans infected with HIV. Schools need to empower them to cope with these special needs. 
• Children who are infected by HIV and AIDS should be informed about their status before it is too late. There is a risk that some children who are infected can start having sexual relations at an early age thus endangering the health of their partners.
• Children cannot be forced to leave the street. The correct approach is for staff to  initiate contact with the children right in the street. With time and through dialogue the children will become aware of other possibilities and be ready to change their life. 
• Building trust is fundamental, as many children have had traumatic experiences with adults and do not trust them. Project staff needs to be patient and nonjudgmental when dealing with vulnerable children.
• The circumstances in which street children find themselves are a reflection of the vulnerability of their social environment. Therefore it is important to create a supportive social environment by strengthening the capacity of the family and community to receive and take care of their children.
• Parental involvement can increase the chances of school reintegration. The recognition of the importance of education by parents and their active participation in ensuring that children go to school helps to integrate the child in school.
• Community involvement helps to strengthen social capital, overcome negative stereotypes and promotes greater awareness of the problems and risks faced by vulnerable children. By involving the community it becomes easier to identify and strengthen the network of community resources available for support. 
• Reuniting the child with the family is the most desirable outcome. To achieve this, consideration must be paid to the family’s capability and willingness to receive and protect the child, and the child’s wish to go back as well. Reunification is a process not an event that requires counseling for children and parents, confidence building, conflict resolution and financial support for poor families. Follow-up activities are also necessary to make sure that reintegration is a long-term success.
• In providing support for the vulnerable children there is need to go beyond basic assistance. The ongoing provision of basic assistance may intensify dependence on the project. The use of development-oriented activities through integration of the children into the labor market actively promotes links between children and lab our institutions as this teaches participants practical skills
• Helping vulnerable children to return to school—or remain in it—presents many challenges. Because of their life experiences it is possible that children may have developed health, psychological, and behavioral problems that affect their school and social relations. School staff needs to be sensitized to overcome the negative stereotypes, associated with vulnerable children and to pay attention to their special needs.
• Traditional job-training programs based on the simple transmission of theoretical/technical skills without any practice fail to impart skills that meet labor market needs. At the end of training graduates are unable to secure employment in the working environment, as employers are reluctant to accept them. There is need to work in close cooperation with the business sector, a source which can impart practical skills.
• Goodwill is not enough to ensure a positive, long-term impact on children as little can be accomplished without the help of well trained and dedicated workers.