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A new realism in how care can be administered in resource-poor settings, where medical expertise is limited, has produced some strong new models of care.

About BOCAIP

BOCAIP supports community based organizations intervention programs by:

  • Providing an effective management structure and programs that support the development of sustainable interventions.
  • Assisting with funding, staff recruitment, fund raising, financial reporting, training programs and monitoring programs that help community based organizations to achieve and maintain a level of sustainability.

BOCAIP operates 11 counseling centres and 4-day care centres throughout Botswana including the Bana ba Keletso Orphan Day Care Centre. Funding for BOCAIP is provided by various governmental and non governmental organizations including:

  • United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (Unicef)
  • African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership (ACHAP) - a public/private sector initiative developed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  • The Merck Company Foundation
  • The government of Botswana
  • International and local church organizations
  • Private donors
  • Government bodies such as US AID

Bana ba Keletso Orphan Day Care Centre

One of the programs that Orfund supports is the Bana ba Keletso Orphan Day Care Centre, which operates under the umbrella of the Botswana Christian AIDS Intervention Program (BOCAIP). BOCAIP was formed in 1998 to assist Botswanan community based organizations (CBOs) in establishing responses to the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Program Goals

The broad based goal of the Centre is to support the children in the community who are orphaned. This involves providing them with the necessary skills, information, and training to reduce the psychological and social effects of being orphaned, and to reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS infection. The Centre's serves as a feeding centre, preschool and centre for school going children where they can receive counseling, as well as support for school work and mentorship.

Background

Started in 1998 as a community based response to the ever-increasing number of children who are orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS, the Centre now has over 300 registered children ranging in age from 2 - 18. Approximately 60 are of preschool age. Orphans of all types are registered with the Centre regardless of how their parents died. This is done to try to eliminate the stigma and isolation associated with HIV/AIDS.

Daily Life at Bana Ba Keletso

All the registered children live at home with their caregivers, most of who are elderly grandparents, or aunts or older siblings.

The preschool children come to the Centre for the full day. They engage in different activities such as learning to read, learning to write, playing games, social skills, arts and crafts and bible lessons.

The school going children come daily from 2 - 5 p.m. They engage in activities such as doing homework, receiving extra tutoring, receiving trauma counseling, playing games, learning social skills, and participating in drama and cultural activities and arts and crafts.

All the children receive a full meal before returning home. While some of the children walk to the Centre others are transported to and from the Centre in two kombi vans, which are operated by the Centre.

Centre Staff

The Centre's activities are overseen by a centre coordinator trained in social work, two-day care teachers and nine volunteers known as Centre Mums. In addition to assisting the two day care teachers at the Centre, the Centre Mums also visit the caregivers of each child on a regular basis to offer counseling and to discuss any problems that the caregiver or Centre might be experiencing with the child. The Centre's staff also conducts community outreach programs that focus on issues concerning the children.

Funding

The Centre has an annual operating budget of approximately Botswana Pula 250,000 or approximately CDN$ 80,000 per annum. The majority of funds to operate the Centre are provided through private donations.

The Centre is considering revenue-generating projects in an effort to become more self sufficient and sustainable. One such project is the commencement of a market garden that would partially eliminate food purchases for the children. If successful, the market garden could potentially produce surplus food for sale. Orfund Foundation is supporting the efforts of the Centre in the development of a market garden by providing access to a soil scientist who has extensive experience growing food crops in Botswana.

Currently the Centre's two largest donors are the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation and Unicef.

The centre's physical infrastructure is inadequate to support the increasing number of children. Therefore the centre has numerous infrastructure expansion plans in progress.

The Botswana Government's Role

The government of Botswana has taken a leadership role in the fight against AIDS in Africa. The government is working with many world-recognized organizations to provide effective prevention and treatment programs to everyone in Botswana.

The government of Botswana's approach to orphan care is to have the local community as the primary support provider. This approach is driven by the belief that sustainable orphan care is only achievable if the local community is the driving force behind care interventions. To accomplish this the government is forming partnerships with non-government organizations (NGOs) that are actively working with community-based organizations (CBOs) to develop effective intervention strategies and projects.

At this time the Botswana government does not support the development of orphanages where the child is a full time resident living away from a family caregiver. This policy is largely driven by the belief that a loss of community and culture will result from such a policy.