repssi annual report 2009

a n n ua l r e p o rt 20 0 92 p s yc h oso c i a l w e l l b e i n g f o r a l l c h i l d r e n 3

2009

REPSSI AnnuAl REPoRt


about repssi (regional psycho social support initiative) 2

acronyms/abbreviations 3

1. Message from the chairperson of the board 4

2. Message from the executive director 6

3. the programme report 8

3.1. Knowledge developed in the application of pss:

creating and sharing Knowledge for impact 8

3.2. strengthening capacity of governments & civil society

through developing partnerships 14

3.3. pss Knowledge, skills and information exchange 22

3.4. strengthening Mer systems for repssi and partners 26

3.5. repssi organisational capacity development 30

3.6. financials 31

3.7. repssi partners 32

Contents


ACC african centre for childhood

CAtIE canadian hiV and aids treatment information exchange

ECD early childhood development

ESARo east and southern africa regional office

IAt information and action tool

Jol Journey of life series

Mt Master trainer

M&E Monitoring and evaluation

Mou Memorandum of understanding

PSS psycho social support

PSSAt psycho social support assessment tool

REFA regional facilitator

SAD swiss academy for development

unICEF united nations children fund

Acronyms/Abbreviations

Visionto see all children affected by hiV and aids, poverty

and conflict access stable and affectionate care and sup-

port in order to enhance their psychosocial wellbeing.

Mission

repssi exists to provide leadership, quality technical

assistance and knowledge generation and transfer in

the field of psychosocial care and support for children

in communities affected by hiV and aids, poverty

and conflict.

Values

repssi remains vigilant on the “do no harm” principle

by maintaining functional and operational values which

speak to:

Integrity Collaboration leadership Excellence

Respect Innovation Accountability Diversity

REPSSI’s strategic objectives: repssi’s overall goal is to contribute towards

mitigating the psychosocial impact of hiV and aids,

poverty and conflict among affected children in east

and southern africa by assisting in:

developing knowledge in the application of

psychosocial care and support.

facilitating skills transfer and knowledge exchange

on psychosocial care and support.

strengthening the capacity of governments, civil

society and other institutions to respond to the

psychosocial needs of children.

strengthening the monitoring and evaluation

system of repssi and its partners.

Founded in 2001; REPSSI is a non-profit organisation working to mitigate the psychosocial impact of HIV and AIDS, poverty and conflict among children and youth in 13 East and Southern African countries. REPSSI advocates for a holistic response to caring, protecting and supporting affected children by supporting their social and emotional well-being needs together with those of the caregivers. the organisation firmly believes in the value of mainstreaming psychosocial care and support into all programmes that support vulnerable children.

About REPSSI (Regional Psycho Social Support Initiative)


board directors are now members of repssi. also

on behalf of the board, i would like to welcome the

new board directors who will begin their tenure in

2010. these are dr connie Kganakga, dr lorraine

sherr and anne lindeberg.

i would also like to commend the outgoing board for

applying itself tirelessly to the relationship between

the sub regional boards and the regional board and

agreed to changes that must be instituted in the differ-

ent constitutions across the region to align them to

the regional constitution. changes to the bylaws and

articles have been recommended and these will be

finalised in 2010.

i am also happy to say that the board continued

throughout the year, to give full support and direction

to the director and her team. as mentioned earlier,

2009 was a year of tremendous activity and growth

for repssi. the board recognises their dedication and

hard work and conveys its profound appreciation to

the whole team. it was a year during which staff was

stretched to the limit but they managed to effect a

number of key changes in the organisation and re-

mained fully motivated and committed to the cause.

in conclusion, i would like to say that none of repssi’s

work would have been possible without the gener-

ous support of our international cooperating partners

(icps). we greatly appreciate the contribution that

they continue to make towards our success. it is not

only their critical financial support, but also the guid-

ance and dedication which they give to repssi that

we are grateful for.

on behalf of the board i wish to acknowledge this

support and to encourage our partners to continue

working with us to ensure that we are able to pro-

vide technical leadership to initiatives to improve the

psychosocial wellbeing of children in east and

southern africa.

repssi looks forward to an even better 2010, and

welcomes the soccer world cup coming to our

region with great anticipation and excitement.

once again thank you to all and best wishes for the

year ahead.

lynette Mudekunye

outgoing Board Chairperson

2009 was a difficult year around the globe as we reeled from the economic

crisis that undermined national, community and family efforts to address the

plight of children. this left more children vulnerable and unable to access

basic services, making the social protection agenda more relevant than ever.

throughout this diff icult period, repssi main-

tained its focus, drawing attention to the need for

ensuring that children’s psychosocial wellbeing re-

mains firmly embedded in policies and practices that

promote the rights of children. psychosocial well-

being is indeed a human right, a fundamental ele-

ment for effecting sustainable child care, protection

and support.

following the completion and launch of the sadc

oVcy (orphans, Vulnerable children and youth)

framework and business plan in 2009, repssi and

unicef have begun to support sadc to develop

a “Minimum package of services for orphans, vulner-

able children and youth” which will provide a frame-

work for action by all governments in the region.

the package includes a specific framework for the

provision of psychosocial support. it is envisaged

that the framework will contribute towards setting

standards for quality in psychosocial support

programming throughout the region.

repssi also launched an ambitious accredited certif i-

cate programme Working with Children, families and

communities affected by HIV and AIDS, conf lict, pov-

erty and displacement in Africa for community based

child care workers in eight countries. the certif icate

programme, based on an innovative model of action

learning and teaching, is aimed at developing applied

competence in people who are involved in this f ield

to respond to the many challenges of working with

vulnerable children in east and southern africa.

we are convinced that this programme will make

a signif icant contribution towards addressing the

critical shortage of a skilled workforce for children.

there is no doubt that the crises that confronted

children and which brought repssi into being are still

very present and real. recommendations from the

external mid-term evaluation which was conducted

during the year under review, ongoing research and

consultations with key stakeholders will inform the

development of a new strategy in 2010 as we prepare

to position repssi to maintain its signif icant role.

in line with the constitution, which allows for board

rotation, 3 board directors stepped down at the

last annual general Meeting in May 2009 in the

first structured retirement of board directors. on

behalf of the entire board, i wish to express our

most sincere gratitude to the board directors that

have served repssi and are now retired. these are

dr Mimie sesoko, Vincent Monene, Jennifer Marinelli,

dr Kurt Madorien and daphetone siame. all previous

1 Message from the Board Chairperson


the quest for scientific evidence to guide the pss

programming and delivery of services, has led to a

joint collaboration where the swiss academy for

development (sad), child fund Zambia an repssi,

are conducting a study in Kafue, Zambia. Key pre-

liminary findings are showing the value of community

mobilisation in caring for and supporting vulnerable

children. the study is due to end by end of 2010.

looking to the future, our goal is to enhance our

visibility through heightened marketing and commu-

nication strategies which should result in us capturing a

wider audience of both local and international part-

ners. we endeavor to see the period beyond 2010

defined by further consolidation, innovation and

growth of our work as well as the creation of pow-

erful partnerships that will enhance awareness of the

psycho-social support (pss).

formulating the new repssi strategy for the next

5 years will take precedence in the coming year.

lessons from the past years’ experiences and recom-

mendations from the external reviews will significantly

guide repssi’s future direction.

in closing, i would like to thank the staff, partners, and

board members of repssi for driving the successes

of the organisation. our special gratitude goes to the

international cooperating partners without whose sup-

port we would not have realised these achievements.

i am convinced that with continued support from all

stakeholders, 2010 will be an even more successful

year for repssi.

noreen M. Huni

Executive Director

the call from the southern african development

community (sadc), un agencies, governments and

other high level stakeholders for repssi to take up

leadership and to mobilise the pss agenda has grown

stronger. it is against this backdrop that we actively

galvanised our resources and strategically and con-

sistently created new opportunities for ourselves to

succeed in our mission which is, to provide the neces-

sary technical assistance required in order to enhance

the emotional and social wellbeing of all children.

repssi works with and through partner organisations in

the 13 countries of east and southern africa. these are,

as i would say, “all weather” friends in the struggle to im-

prove the lives of children. these organisations go many

extra miles for children. we are proud of our association

with these partners and convinced that together with

them, we can continue to make a meaningful contribu-

tion to the children’s development and wellbeing.

alongside the existing working partnerships, we have

connected with other regional players in the ‘50 by

15 hiV prevention Movement’ to augment southern

african government’s efforts to halve the hiV infections

by 2015, and eradicate parent-to-child hiV transmission

in line with the sixth millennium development goal.

repssi is also collaborating with helpage

international in developing psychosocial support

guidelines for older care givers of orphans and

Vulnerable children (oVc) and parents living with

hiV. in lesotho, repssi is supporting touch roots

africa, commissioned by the department of social

welfare and unicef in lesotho, to standardise

pss materials.

we are also very pleased with the piloting of our

certif icate programme developed as an enabling

strategy for persons working with children, families

and communities affected by hiV and aids, conflict,

poverty and displacement in africa. initial results

from the evaluation of the programme by the south

african institute for distance education (saide) in-

dicate that the pilot delivery of this certif icate was

extremely successful, and for us, it represents a tan-

gible and significant contribution by repssi to this

worthy cause. we look forward to affording more

organisations and individuals the opportunity to ac-

cess this programme and other tools we have de-

veloped, in their efforts to improve the care and

support of vulnerable children in africa. we also

look forward to the successful completion of the

programme by all the enrolled students.

2 Message from the Executive Director

In the seven years since our inception, we at REPSSI are pleased to announce

that our work, together with that of our national, regional and global partners,

has put the spotlight on children’s emotional and social wellbeing. the growing

impact of HIV, AIDS and poverty, coupled with the recent global economic

crisis and political instability in parts of Africa, continue to cause families and

communities to face acute challenges which threaten children’s wellbeing.


implementation of the 2nd phase of the repssi-

sad-cfZ research will continue into 2010, with a

greater focus on ensuring adherence to minimum

standards of application of psychosocial interven-

tions. participation of research communities will also

be optimized.

in tanzania, repssi consultant dr Kurt Madoerin,

with funding from the symphasis foundation, con-

ducted another operations research study on cash

transfers for people living with hiV and aids. the

study looked at the impact of the combination of

psychosocial support being provided for both adults

and their children in conjunction with economic sup-

port being given to ensure the children had access

to schooling. the Kwa wazee programme of cash

transfers to older care givers is still in operation and

has informed the tanzania national development

cash pension programme. as attention shifts from

individual children targeted to families and their

children programming, it is important for repssi to

continue to support the exchange of information on

such important developments. Knowledge generated

from the Kwa wazee programme has for example,

informed the production of a manual on the support

of older care givers as well as one on support to

children that are caring for ill or aging adults.

in the western cape province in south africa, op-

erations research on mainstreaming pss into schools

using the hero book series in the curriculum has

shown that the hero book process provides a more

learner-centered approach, resulting in educators

becoming more sensitive to psychosocial issues

affecting learners. the hero books also have the

potential to create opportunities for peer support

and to increase learners’ self confidence in terms of

problem solving and academic abilities. the results

of the study also informed the second edition of

the hero book series as well as the consolidation of

plans to upscale the process.

3.1.1 Consolidating and Building on Our Strengths: New or Revised Tools and Approaches repssi is continually looking at ways of consoli-

dating its practices and of building upon its exist-

ing organisational strengths. in 2009, this entailed

focusing on and reviewing the content of some of

its approaches and key tools in a concerted effort

the success of our programmes, as well as the

relevance of our organisation rests heavily on our

ability to verify scientifically, the validity and the

efficacy of our interventions. during the year un-

der review, repssi consolidated its methodological,

consultative and knowledge development processes

with the aim of developing evidence-based psycho-

social care and support knowledge required to

address the contextual needs of children, families and

communities affected by HIV & AIDS, poverty and

conflict in the east and southern africa region. to

this end, repssi developed high quality tools and

manuals to guide practitioners in the mainstreaming

of psychosocial support in order to enhance children’s

psychosocial wellbeing.

the process of knowledge development is rooted in

operations research as well as extensive engagement

with repssi’s partners. an example of operations

research was conducted by the swiss academy for

development (sad) in partnership with child fund

Zambia (cfZ) in Kafue, Zambia. this produced pre-

liminary findings which indicated that the psychosocial

benefits of a single, ‘stand-alone’ intervention are not

sustainable, particularly if the intervention excludes

family and community participation. other key lessons

from the operations study include:

the need to set standards for each identif ied

pss approach and tool at the point of its

development.

adherence to the set minimum standards for

the research interventions is critical.

full participation of children in the pss

intervention sessions is of utmost importance.

pss knowledge and approaches must not be

applied in isolation but must be mainstreamed in

other programmes to realise effective outcomes

for psychosocial wellbeing.

3 the Programme Report

1

P S Y C H O S O C I A L W E L L B E I N G S E R I E S

Mainstreaming Psychosocial

Care and Support into Home-

Based Care Programmes For practitioners working with children and families affected by HIV and AIDS

04_HBCare manual.indd 1

9/28/09 1:04:13 PM

1


For practitioners working with children and families affected by HIV and AIDS, poverty and conflict

Mainstreaming Psychosocial Care and Support into Economic Strengthening ProgrammesEconomic

01_ES manual.indd 1

9/28/09 11:10:18 AM


A GUIDE FOR FACILITATORS

ABOUT THIS BOOK: The process of making a hero book involves leading groups of

children through a series of autobiographical storytelling and art exercises. By doing this,

the children fi nd solutions to the personal and social challenges they face. The process

also helps to encourage the community to respond to these challenges in an active way.

Author: Jonathan MorganSecond edition, April 2009

(ACTIVE CITIZEN)

*2009 Hero Book.indd 1 10/2/09 12:27:33 PM

3.1 Knowledge Developed in the Application of PSS:

Creating and Sharing Knowledge for Impact


Conf lict Responses

The Talking Book guide to accompany the talking

book that is a tool for adults to disclose a child’s

hiV status to the child.

the Advocacy Handbook to guide partners in

advocating for psychosocial support in their

countries and programmes based on repssi’s

own experience of advocacy in the region.

Guidelines for Supporting Early Literacy and

Supporting Informal Learning at Home, in the

Early years (produced in conjunction with a

partner working with young children to enhance

the learning of young children)

The Mental Health Needs of Children & their

caregivers in low income areas (authored by

prof. brian robertson. this has formed the basis

for community health workers’ training to promote

children’s psychosocial wellbeing in africa)

feedback from those that use repssi materials has

indicated that repssi models, approaches and tools

are easily replicated and are safe, technically sound

and sufficiently varied to respond to a range of psycho-

social needs or challenges.

3.1.3 Adaptations and Translations in order to ensure that the materials that ressi de-

velops maintain their core messages when adapted

to apply to different contexts, the organisation has

taken steps to ensure that quality and key messages

are maintained during the adaptation, translation

and replication processes:

translations of repssi materials ensures that

they can be used at community level and thus

increase access to the tools and knowledge

available. a translation protocol has been de-

veloped and implemented which will enable

“the Journey of life (Jol) is one

of repssi’s core tools to mobilise

communities to protect and care

for the children in their midst. the

Jol has been widely used across

the region. in namibia Jol has

been used for counseling couples.

in Malawi, it has been adapted to

be more contextually relevant and

the Ministry of gender, children

and community development has

used this version for community

outreach sessions to over 10 500

communities. a village chief in

Malawi explained to south african

visitors on an exchange visit that

the Jol workshops had helped his

community to “focus on resources

they have themselves in their

community and to find appropriate

ways to care for children in their

community without depending on

others. in the past people believed

that help would only come from

ngos, but now they had a sense

that they could change things

themselves.” an outcome of the

Jol workshop was a village savings

scheme that enabled villagers to

save enough money to buy fertiliser

for their crops to increase their

yields. community members who

participated in the Jol workshops

clearly value the children in their

village and have a sense of capacity

for child care, protection and

support and are proud in their own

achievements.”

to ensure quality assurance its programmes. some of

the key outputs included strengthening ‘the Mill’,

which refers to repssi’s quality assurance protocol

that ensures that repssi’s methodological and con-

sultative knowledge processes, through the inclusion

of guidelines for pre-tests, results in the successful

development and packaging of culturally appropriate,

safe and user friendly pss knowledge.

the quality of the approaches and tools in terms of

relevance of content and safety in application attests

to the successes of this revised Mill. altogether,

eighteen tools or approaches were developed or

revised and made ready for pilot or full-scale roll-out.

these include materials on:

Mobilising Children and Youth

Understanding HIV Basics

Tracking your Health

The Mental Health Needs of Children & their

caregivers in low income areas

Guidelines for Supporting Early Literacy

Supporting Informal Learning at Home, in the

Early Years

Are we making a difference?

3.1.2 Guidelines for mainstreaming psychosocial support into different sectors. each guideline is the product of engagement with a

different repssi partner working in that field:

Schools

Nutrition programmes

Paediatric HIV and AIDS Care

Economic Strengthening programmes

Early Childhood Development

Home Based Care

Programmes to mobilise children and youth

pyramid by Kelvin ngoma


greater access to quality psychosocial

knowledge amongst Swahili and Portuguese

speaking populations. french translations of

tools such as the hero book, which is used

directly by children are also underway.

In Jordan, the International organisation for

Migration on behalf of the Department of

Education has requested permission to translate

the “Guide to Mainstreaming PSS’. this was as a

result of interaction with our tools in meetings

and symposia.

3.1.4 Replication of PSS Modelspss models have been replicated in a number of

cases.

salvation army – tanzania has been replicating

the model of Mobilising children and youth into

child- and youth-led organisations, based on

the Vijana simama imara (Vsi). humuliza was

instrumental in the capacity building process

for salvation army. initial results of the process

indicate that the model is replicable in other

programmes.

following the successful pilot on ‘Mainstreaming

pss into schools using hero books, the

department of education in the western cape

(south africa) and repssi are now scaling out

and institutionalising the model within the life

orientation curriculum.

3.1.5 Lessons Learneda number of lessons were drawn from our knowl-

edge research and development efforts. the most

outstanding were that:

piloting must be done before any model or tool

is scaled out.

operational research is critical in providing

empirical evidence on the impact of repssi

tools and approaches.

the fiscal and human resource requirements

for operational research are extensive, and

often under-budgeted.

orientation on developed approaches/tools is

important for repssi program staff to ensure safe

implementation. sound knowledge of repssi tools

results in a wider range of options being available

to program staff as they work towards influencing

partner mainstreaming of pss.

the learning exchange visits are an effective

means for assessing application and providing

evidence of outcomes within a capacity

development program.

3.1.6 Successes partners in the region expect repssi to provide

leadership in pss knowledge development and

capacity building.

repssi models and approaches are easily

replicated.

translations of repssi materials has increased

access to pss knowledge, thereby increasing the

scale and scope of application.

repssi publications are safe, technically sound

and varied sufficiently to respond to a range of

psychosocial needs or challenges.

partners have acquired sufficient pss knowledge,

skills and tools to support communities to

respond to the psychosocial rights and needs of

vulnerable children and their families.


the certif icate aims to enhance the knowledge,

skills and practice of community level workers who

interface directly with children and youth on a re-

gular basis. 553 learners (mostly community workers

providing care and support to vulnerable children)

enrolled and 495 are due to complete the

programme in april 2010.

the first of its kind in the region, the programme

was offered as a supported open distance learning

process where students studied in groups with the

support of a designated mentor. the study groups

met once every fortnight for discussion and tutor-

ing. all the mentors and mentor supervisors in each

of the eight countries where the programme was

offered were contracted by repssi. an example of

this success is the group in dedza district, Malawi

which was made up of government employed social

workers and child protection workers. the mentor

of this group noted that the programme had trans-

formed the way in which the district operated as it

had encouraged these workers to move out of their

offices and to go into the community to work di-

rectly with children and their families.

the programme covers six modules and all the assign-

ments (two per module) were marked at the uKZn.

the final module involves practical placement in an

organisation where the student designs, implements

and monitors a short project and submits an assess-

ment of their findings and learnings from the project.

More men enrolled for the certif icate in four of the

countries, a trend which is not synonimous with most

literature on the burdern of care. the accreditation

might have been the motivation factor. a signicant

number of the learners were above 35 years old,

with the oldest learner being 70 years old.

countries participating in the certif icate programmen

umbe

r of

lear

ners

50

40

30

20

10

0

leso

tho

Mala

wi

namibi

a

swaz

iland

tanz

ania

ugand

a

Zambia

Zimba

bwe

Chart depicting learners enrolment by age (yrs) in January 2009

<30

31-40

41-50

>50

REPSSI adopted mainstreaming in 2005 as its

foremost approach for pss capacity development in

13 countries in east and southern africa. through

encouraging a mainstreaming approach, repssi sup-

ports organisations to review their operations to

incorporate psychosocial care and support at the

levels of organisational policies, technical knowledge

and skills, interventions at service delivery and en-

hancing beneficiaries’ understanding and practices

for caring, supporting and protecting vulnerable

families and children. this involves incorporating pss

principles and elements into:

policies, legislations and procedures

programme design and activities

planning and budgeting

capacity building and human resource development

monitoring, evaluation and research

networking with government sectors and

institutions

3.2.1 The Accredited Certif icate Programme: “Working with Children, families and communities affected by HIV AND AIDS, conflict, poverty and displacement in Africa” repssi, in partnership with the university of Kwa

Zulu natal (uKZn) and unicef, established the

african centre for childhood in 2008. this partner-

ship led to the development and successful launch

of the certif icate programme code named “working

with children, families and communities affected

by hiV/aids, conflict, poverty and displacement

in africa”, in lesotho, Malawi, namibia, swaziland,

tanzania, uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

this was the culmination of five years of planning,

curriculum and material development as well as

negotiations with various academic institutions on the

need for quality and standard training for community

based providers of care and protection for children.

PSS mainstreaming is about looking at all aspects of

policy development, organisational programming capacity,

service delivery and engaging with beneficiaries/citizens to

deliberately provide for children’s psychosocial wellbeing.

3.2 Strengthening Capacity of Governments &

Civil Society through Developing Partnerships


the south african institute for distance education

(saide) initial evaluation results also noted the

importance of field support as a contributory factor

to the success of the project. repssi and partners

provided extensive field support to ensure effective

learning, with emphasis on immediate application of

learnt knowledge and skills. repssi endeavours to

retain this quality by ensuring the support function

remains deeply rooted within the communities in

order to promote comprehensive care, support and

protection for children.

with support from unicec efaro and other

stakeholders, 2010 will see the project being

rolled out in Kenya and Mozambique. the enrol-

ment figures will be increased to 1000. in five of

the countries work will focus on building the ca-

pacity of local academic institutions to deliver

and accredit the certif icate within those coun-

tries. the rest of the countries will continue

with the original program as per the pilot phase

model. furthermore, repssi is in the process of

translating the certif icate materials into portuguese.

in 2010 repssi will give priority to lobbying gov-

ernments, child care civil society organisations and

funding partners to:

recognise this certif icate as the certif icate of

choice for community level child carers to

strengthen the child care, support and protection

workforce.

formally recognise the graduates as a critical

employable force in enhancing the social welfare

human resources capacity.

assist learners with scholarships.

this involves enlisting national agreements from

governments and academia to host the programme.

work on the development of the diploma and degree

modules will also begin in 2010.

3.2.2 Working with Governments – Strengthening PSS Capacitygovernments are acknowledging the psychosocial needs

of children as a national concern. Various challenges in

relation to pss capacity have been acknowledged and

strategies to address them put in place. these range

from developing national pss strategies as highlighted

in south africa and tanzania, to skills-building for district

officials, which are concerns for Malawi, uganda and

Kenya. for repssi, the solutions begin with acknow-

ledging the gaps. repssi has therefore continued to

consolidate partnerships with governments to influence

policy and to support the implementation of policies

that protect children and advocate for pss. examples of

such collaboration include:

the signing of Mou/letters of agreement with

11 government departments in 11 countries

which have helped to secure formal partnerships.

similar arrangements are still being pursued in

angola and botswana.

inclusion of pss capacity building in ugandan,

tanzanian and Kenyan government 2010 work

plans and budgets which is underway.

commitment of resources from the governments

of Malawi, namibia, Zambia, uganda, tanzania

and Kenya, following their participation in the

development of repssi-country work plans in 2010.

strong expressions of support for the

nationalisation of the certif icate programme

which have been expressed in all 8 pilot

countries, as well as Mozambique and Kenya who

were not part of the pilot. one participant from

sos children’s Villages – Zambia noted that:

even though participants are not quite halfway

age of learners


“The master trainer development

process has been an enriching

and enlightening process in that

it has broadened and sharpened

my horisons in working with

communities and children in

particular especially in providing

psychosocial support and care.”

Michael ngobeni – participant on the

programme in south africa.

“I have learnt a lot through the

process of master training. I got new

insights and every time I was coming

from training I was delighted that I

would approach my work differently,

with new skills and knowledge which

were adding value in my work at

organisational and community level.”

siMbarashe Mahaso – recent graduate of

the programme in Zimbabwe.

through the programme, they are advocating

that “every person working with children must

have access to the programme”

3.2.3 Successes the development of the sadc

oVcy framework and business plan

which was adopted by the Member

states was a great success. this prompted

sadc to move children’s issues from being an

activity to being a special programme within

sadc. repssi and unicef are thus, joint-

ly spearheading the development of sadc

Minimum package of care and support services

for oVcy and a regional pss framework for

sadc Member states to support the children.

supporting the application of these policy docu-

ments at national level will form a signif icant

component of repssi work going forward.

all 13 governments are keen to respond to

the pss rights and needs of children and are

looking to repssi to meet their technical support

requirements.

some national government departments now

have trained repssi pss expertise (Master trainers)

3.2.4 PSS Capacity Development for National and Regional Civil Society Organisations repssi invested considerable effort in strengthen-

ing partnerships with national civil society in all the

countries in which it works. it has been noted that

some partners have started owning the process of

building internal pss capacity with minimal support

from repssi and at the same time, transferring the

same skills throughout their networks. furthermore,

re-application of the pssat and partner-to-part-

ner mentorship activities indicate that partner pss

capacity has increased.

29 valid repssi-partner Mous, accounted for

over 210 affiliate organisations and more than

3 million children accessing quality psychosocial

support through the partner networks.

29 network partners have developed joint

work plans with repssi that are being

implemented over two years mostly through the

partnerships development strategy. 13 of these

now have a marked increase in PSS capacity

specifically in relation to:

access to updated pss materials

pss Knowledge and skills

pss training plans and budgets

25 refa received further training and are

effectively supporting partner capacity building

efforts, providing mentorship to Master trainers

as they facilitate PSS mainstreaming in their

organisations and communities.

29 Master trainers graduated recently. two of

them were contracted to support the mentorship

of the 95 currently on the program.

repssi continues to build both its staff and

partners’ capacity in advocacy for pss.

a n n ua l r e p o rt 20 0 920

3.2.5 Sharing PSS Programming Experiences in order for pss partners to network more effectively,

repssi has instituted consultative forums. the May

2009 repssi partners’ second consultative forum

attracted over 40 organisations and 6 government

departments. partners showcased their pss initiatives

and successes in programming for children in their

respective countries. their achievements ranged

from advocacy efforts which resulted in policy change

such as happened with child fund in Zambia; being

awarded the role of national pss technical support

organisation in the case of tpo in uganda; to

consol homes in Malawi winning the red ribbon

award at the 2008 international aids conference.

repssi and its partners attribute these successes to

repssi’s ongoing guided capacity building support

for pss programming. each one of these organisa-

tions had used repssi tools and approaches in work-

ing with families and communities, resulting in an

increased level of child and youth participation and

enhanced psychosocial wellbeing for children.

the forum also demonstrated the relevance of the

partnerships development strategy as a systematic

process of engagement, requiring the development

of shared work plans and greater commitment of

resources from partners. the master trainers and

regional facilitators program remains the flagship of

the capacity building process. current but not active

repssi partners (communities of practice) strongly

recommended that repssi should apply this strategy

with all its partners. repssi was able to regain the

partners’ trust and listened to their voices in informing

repssi’s programming. the outcry from the partners

for leadership and technical support from repssi was

evident. Most testify to the effective use of repssi’s

pss approaches and tools.

learning exchange visits carried out in namibia,

swaziland, Zimbabwe, tanzania and Kenya showed

strong evidence that affiliates had a sound under-

standing of pss, and the role of the community in

supporting vulnerable children and their families. in

most cases, this is a direct positive result of employing

the Journey of Life package. unicef and the Malawi

government benefitted from a visit to the education

Ministry of Zambia, where they observed the main-

streaming of pss into the “Schools as Centres of Care

and Support” programme. as a resultant, the Malawi

Ministry of education is now working closely with

repssi and partners on mainstreaming pss.

3.2.6 Lessons learned the pssat ensures that all elements of the

mainstreaming pss are assessed and monitored.

previous repssi partners (now called communities

of practice – cops) require formalised partnerships,

with Mou, even though their benefits are reduced.

the structured, closely mentored capacity

development process is effective in ensuring

maximum transfer of skills. partners are taking

responsibility for cascading knowledge within

their organisations independent of repssi.

national interest in the repssi Master trainer

program has grown, particularly with government

departments responsible for the welfare of

children. a more conducive alternative model

needs to be developed soon.

incorporating a process of direct community

implementation in the Master trainer development

process yields benefits for both the organisation

and participating communities. communities have

increased capacity to support children and each

other. children testified to renewed and better

support.


document and critically analyse child and youth

participation methodologies in the region.

the findings will complement repssi work on

Mobilising children and youth, and Mainstreaming

pss through effective child participation.

working with riatt Knowledge Management

team, which aims to inform a coordinated

response to children and aids through

promoting the generation, dissemination and

effective use of knowledge in the region.

collaborating with iasc Mental health

and psychosocial support reference group

on Mental health and pss, whose focus is

predominantly on Mental health and pss in

emergencies. repssi aims to consolidate its

knowledge and contribution in this area, part-

nerships with war trauma foundation and

terre des hommes have been initiated in this

regard, with specif ic emphasis on repssi to

expand into east and west africa.

3.3.2 Emerging Issues and Implications for PSSin recent months, repssi played a signif icant role

at conferences and seminars, presenting papers

and leading discussions on various issues affecting

children. in June 2009, repssi presented a paper on

“promoting social inclusion and respect for diversity

in times of hiV and aids, calling for uniVersal

access to early childhood development (ecd)

at the ecd world forum foundation in belfast.

repssi is now leading the world forum working

group on “Voices of hope for children impacted

by hiV and aids”.

REPSSI also participated in regional and interna-

tional platforms to share pertinent insights and

knowledge. a paper on the ‘Journey of life’ was

presented at the family-based care conference in

nairobi, Kenya. in addition, the executive director

presented a paper in new york on ‘children and

aids’ on world aids day in 2009.

REPSSI, through its processes of managing pss

knowledge exchange, focused on taking the lead in

ensuring that this knowledge is both regionally and

globally accessed. the process of sharing pss know-

ledge in repssi has taken on varied approaches so

as to ensure maximum dissemination and exposure.

currently repssi deploys internet, print, collabora-

tions at various levels, workshops/conferences, learn-

ing institutions, news media and other means to prop-

agate and share pss knowledge with stakeholders.

repssi is represented on 11 national, regional and

international fora on oVc and/or Mental health and

pss, and has assumed a leadership role in ensuring

both children and PSS are consistently on the agenda.

REPSSI Executive Director is chairperson of the

Regional Inter Agency task team (RIAtt) and sits

on the global Inter Agency task team steering com-

mittee, leading the regional partners coordinated

response for children and AIDS in the region.

in 2009 repssi made enormous strides in some

countries in terms of influencing child oriented

policies and key frameworks:

in swaziland repssi made significant contributions

to the development and implementation of the

national plan of action for oVc.

in Zambia repssi in collaboration with Miet

championed work on schools as centers of

excellence.

3.3.1 Strategic Engagements repssi is strategically involved with various partners

in taking the pss agenda forward. participation

includes working with technical groups, the joint

development of technical tools, and working with

small communities as knowledge incubators. some

of the strategic engagements include:

regional inter agency task team (riatt) on

children and aids – child participation working

group, which has commissioned a study to

In addition, REPSSI is represented in the following groups:

lesotho national coordinating committee child protection committee

South Africa national action committee for children infected & affected by hiV & aids

tanzania Most Vulnerable children implementing partners group tanzania aids forum

namibia the collaboratives

Regional riatt regional african aids ngos sadc oVcy network

Global psychosocial network iasc Mental health and pss reference group

3.3 PSS Knowledge, Skills and Information Exchange


a knowledge management system and quality

assurance protocol has been implemented

to enhance sharing and the exchange of

knowledge worldwide. not only is the new

system expected to increase the effectiveness

and efficiency of repssi, but to also signif icantly

reduce communications costs.

3.3.4 Online and Multimedia Exposurerepssi redesigned its website. the portal was

search engine optimised, navigation was made easier

and the layout more visually appealing. the portal

ranks among the top ten sites when online searches

are made for “psychosocial support”. the website

received a substantive increase in visits from stake-

holders in the region as well as globally surpassing

9600 hits for the month of october, showing that

many stakeholders are eager for pss knowledge.

the number of downloads hugely surpassed the

projections for the year.

repssi is a stewarding member of the Mhpss psycho-

social support network, serving as a community host

and it launched its e-group on the network, enabling

a coordinated psychosocial response in the region.

this has created greater awareness of regional

emergencies including natural disasters.

in 2009 repssi enjoyed considerable media coverage.

television, radio and newspaper interviews were

initiated or requested by several journalists and

producers.

in south africa, sabc international news invited

repssi to participate in a live interview on

pediatric art and pss. health-e news recorded

a radio interview with repssi on ‘safe disclosure

by parents living positively.’

lesotho television covered the launch of repssi

materials in Maseru. print and television media

were at the product launches held in namibia,

lesotho, swaziland and south africa and several

newspaper articles on the launches were

published in national newspapers.

repssi also supported the development of 2 partner

documentaries whose main objectives were to high-

light the plight of vulnerable children. in Zimbabwe

a documentary was filmed with the bethany project

on the day of the african child. in Zambia, the doc-

umentary entitled ‘let them speak” was shown on

national tV. both documentaries had good viewing

and positive commentary.

3.3.5 Marketing and Multimedia Communicationsin december 2009, repssi received a strategic

social marketing and analysis report, supported

by the nfsd. the document outlined several key

steps to strengthen repssi’s market position and to

address the needs of oVc more effectively.

during the same period, repssi secured pro-bono

support from a renowned marketing company

tbwa\hunt\lascaris, which is looking at de-

veloping a communication campaign for repssi in

order to increase the organisation’s visibility and

awareness on the psychosocial wellbeing of children.

in 2010, repssi will incorporate aspects of the recom-

mendations into repssi’s organisational processes and

take forward the communication campaign.

3.3.6 Lesson Learntthe one lesson learnt out of this is that institutional-

ising the use of new technologies must be accompa-

nied by training support.

looking ahead to 2010, repssi sees itself providing

guidance for effective programming in the areas

outlined below. this is critical for pss knowledge

“incubation”, building the body of pss know-ledge

and practice in relation to children’s nurturing,

protection and welfare.

the areas of focus include:

social protection for vulnerable families and

their children

family and community centric programming for

sustainable child care, protection and support

intervention

child sensitive programming versus child target-

ing hiV prevention and sexual reproductive health

and rights issues, including gender mainstreaming

community systems strengthening

child care, support and protection workforce at

all levels especially the social workers and para-

social workers.

hiV and mental health

Maternal and child healthcare including preven-

tion of parent-to-child transmission of hiV &

child survival

culture and family-based care and support for

vulnerable children

in 2009, repssi commissioned two literature re-

views in relation to pss and adolescent sexual and

reproductive health and rights; and traditional

customs/beliefs as a source of psychosocial support.

3.3.3 Knowledge Exchange in 2009, repssi used icohere (a collaboration

platform for professional communities) to fa-

cilitate regional meetings. this heightened the

participation of all staff members despite their

dispersed locations.


During this reporting period, the psychosocial

assessment tool (pssat) and the Mainstreaming

assessment tools were merged to produce one tool

to measure the progress of partners in mainstream-

ing pss. in recent months, repssi has provided more

consistent technical support to partners in the moni-

toring and evaluation of projects and programmes

including extensive training that has been developed

and is being delivered by repssi.

below are examples of this.

3 sub-regional pss M&e training sessions for

partners have resulted in the presentation of

more reliable data, depicting children’s realities on

the ground. partners have also started to docu-

ment their success stories, publishing them in their

organisations’ newsletters.

repssi, in collaboration with unicef has facilitated

2 regional technical pss M&e training sessions in

south africa, followed by reviews of M&E tools

to incorporate psychosocial domains as part of a

post-training assignment.

repssi has also provided mentoring support to

partner programme staff in the field. these visits have

intensified partner relationships and engagement,

resulting in discussions and access to oVc data that

helps in analysing and verifying the levels of oVc ac-

cess to pss services through partner programmes.

tools such as the pssat and iat now form part of

partner M&e systems.

3.4.1 Information and Action Tool (IAT)a number of partner organisations in 13 countries

have started employing the iat, by adapting the tool

or adopting components of the tool depending on

their information and reporting needs. examples of

this are outlined below:

cafo in namibia, and nMcf and cwsa in

south africa and their networks have in-

corporated some of the themes from the

iat as a basis for developing individual child

registers which are regularly updated.

sets of data collected by use of this tool have

started forming a pool of information that could

be used as baseline data for most programmes.

subsequently, the caregivers are now initiating ap-

propriate actions and monitoring progress towards

the wellbeing of children in their programmes.

3.4.2 PSS Evaluating Tool Kittowards the end of 2009, repssi published a pss

evaluating toolkit Are We Making A Difference.

this M&e tool allows children between the ages of

6 and 18 to participate in the evaluation process,

amplifying the quality of results. the tool provides a

basis upon which psychosocial changes in children can

be assessed and measured. discussions to develop pss

indicator protocols that can be adapted by stakehold-

ers engaged in pss programmes have started. the set

of pss indicator protocols would enable programmes

to measure the impact arising from these interventions.

3.4 Strengthening MER Systems for REPSSI and Partners


adhering to agreed minimum standards, participation of the programme population, and a combination of pss interventions have greater benefit for children.

livelihood interventions can reduce poverty at the household level thereby reducing daily stress of children living in these households, but a livelihood intervention does not ensure access of children living in these households to the additional resources.

children’s committees and repssi pss interventions can potentially produce more social support in combination.

the hero book intervention can increase social support, number of coping strategies and contributes to the expectation of a better future life. however, it is also reported that the hero book intervention could have some unwanted consequences.

the tree of life (+ children’s committees) intervention turned out to be the most beneficial of all three pss interventions with regard to the selected indicators.

the non-binding nature of relationships between network partners and their affiliates challenges implementation of the pds, particularly makes regularly reporting difficult.

there is a wide understanding and appropriate use of repssi tools at partner level.

communities register positive outcomes due to pss capacity development.

children have a greater understanding of abuse, acknowledge that they can and are able to help themselves and each other, and are receptive to behavioral guidance.

partner staff are better able to help each other, and staff relationships have improved.

sustain the outcomes of the pss efforts if skills and

knowledge were retained within the organisation

through adopting the mainstreaming pss approach.

3.4.4 Key Lessons from the external evaluationsthe external evaluation report highlighted a number

of issues that need attention. these were that:

effective communication among repssi and with

partner organisations is critical to ensure successful

programming, for example having a feedback loop.

with repssi ‘being regional’, it is important to

ensure pss technical support reaches programme

staff and caregivers at the community level to effect

significant changes at the family and child levels.

decentralising the master trainers programme

is important to increase the number of trainees

supporting partners to mainstream pss into their

programmes.

Operations Research (Rebuilding Conf idence)

Assessment of PDS

repssi regionality is viable and workable, and repssi would benefit from aligning social programming to issues relating to gender, drug-abuse and sexual and reproductive health.

repssi regional strategy can be refined by paying attention to internal challenges within its control, like staff capacity and internal and external communication.

there is no consistent feedback mechanism to ensure that repssi is aware of the impact of its material.

assessing whether governments are served well by the pds strategy and if not, developing a process that better suits their needs.

team expansion through country officers where repssi already does not have staff members; or scaling down some activities should be considered.

External Mid-Term Review

Are We Making a Difference has become a critical child-

oriented, child-sensitive and friendly tool for participa-

tory evaluations of both children and adults. it has been

used extensively in soliciting evidence on the impact of

repssi programming. some of the changes that repssi

has noticed from its monitoring and evaluation visits

at the community level across the thirteen countries

where it has operated are as follows:

widows, caregivers and children say that the

burden of care, crisis and sorrow is being shared

through community programmes being run by

partners. communication has improved between

carers and children, which is positively influencing

the children’s behaviour. supported grandmothers

now also feel invigorated.

peers and guardians report that children are

happier. children feel more loved and have a

sense that there is less stigma and discrimination

towards to them. they are participating in activities

with other children through which they gain self

esteem and are able to be ‘children again’.

there are more centres at community level to

support younger children and these new envi-

ronments help promote their development and

protection.

older children are now more able to access

school, and vocational training with support from

the community which results in them acquiring

skills and the ability to support themselves.

there are more and stronger community

responses for children, including activities to improve

their material well being. the incidence of child

abuse has also been reduced.

3.4.3 REPSSI External Programme EvaluationsAn external mid-term evaluation of the whole REPSSI

programme was commissioned to assess the pro-

gress of the programme and to determine its prelimi-

nary impact. during the same period, an assessment of

the partnerships development strategy was commis-

sioned. also, the first phase of the operations research

conducted by sad was concluded and a report of the

preliminary findings released. the chart opposite out-

lines the main findings of the three reports.

a case study of olive leaf foundation, a repssi part-

ner from inception, found more significant insights.

it found that, even though the repssi-olive leaf

foundation partnership had not continued with the

same intensity under the current 2007 to 2011 sip,

children and caregivers are reporting greater capacity

to care for themselves and each other as a direct result

of pss interventions initiated by repssi. of specific

interest was the challenge noted of programming staff

by skills and capacity. repssi believes that programmes

like olive leaf foundation would be better placed to

1

Are we making a difference?


PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION TOOLS FOR MONITORING AND MEASURING THE

IMPACT OF PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT PROGRAMMES FOR CHILDREN AGED 6 TO 18

A manual for practitioners

Kurt Madoerin and Glynis Clacherty

*Making a difference.indd 1

10/2/09 12:13:52 PM


incoming resources 2009 € 2008 €

grants from donors 2 933 634 2 244 560other income 82 921 81 309interest received 3 611 31, 634total Incoming Resources 3 020 166 2 357 503 Expended Resources program costs 2 619 329 1 934 146governance & admin costs 335 622 356 342total Expended Resource 2 954 951 2 290 488 net (outgoing) resources for the year 65 215 67 015fund balance as at 1 Jan 373 689 306 674Fund balance as at 31 Dec 438 904 373 689 Balance Sheet at 31 December furniture and equipment 75 213 64 304current assets 1 507 861 2 394 177creditors (243 156) (97 713)deferred income (grants in advance) (901 014) (1 987 079)nets Assets 438 904 373 689 Represented by: Retained Income 438 904 373 689

3.6 Financials

repssi received continued support from its earlier core funders, sida, sdc and nfsd from whom the bulk

of the 2009 budget was received. interest in specific project funding is steadily growing with contribution from

new funding partners that include symphasis foundation, unicef and sad. our financial systems have grown

from strength to strength with successive years of clean audits. repssi in 2010 will be strengthening in-country

registrations in preparation for harnessing in-country funding. this is necessitated by the countries’ recognition

and demand for our programme.

grants form donors

other income

program costs

governance & admin costs

Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2009

3.5.1 REPSSI Staff a performance management system is now

in place. from 2010 all rewards will be perfor-

mance based.

staff continued to benefit from various

organisational support mechanisms, such as

participation in repssi sponsored conferences,

workshops and subject matter forums led by

experts. repssi supports formal studies for staff.

for example, all repssi staff attended in-house

training on project Management which was

delivered by thunderbird university lecturers

supported by nfsd in december 2009.

repssi experienced staff movement due to staff

resignations, promotions and new appointments.

dr. linda dube and phillip Methula left the

employ of repssi. two new staff joined in as

programme officers for the central and south

sub-regions respectively.

3.5.2 Zimbabwe Off ice relocation from Bulawayo to Hararefollowing a board decision, plans for relocating the

Zimbabwe sub regional office to harare are at an

advanced stage. the office will start operating from

harare in January 2010.

3.5.3 Lessons Learnt the current compliment of staff is stretched, given

the magnitude of the programme. repssi will review

this in the coming year. repssi is actively pursuing

fund raising projects and cost sharing with partners

which will enable the organisation to enhance its

technical human resource base.

repssi needs to give priority to diversifying its fund-

ing base in order to sustain ever growing programme

objectives and support the repssi strategic plan.

3.5.4 REPSSI Board Memberswe are grateful to our board members for their

commitment and guidance through all the challenges

we faced in 2009.

Justice euna Makamure – Vice chairperson

Ms. cynthia Mapaure – board treasurer

Mrs. lynette a. Mudekunye – board chairperson

dr. stefan erich germann

dr. lewis ndhlovu

Mrs. pelucy ntambirweki

Ms. nyambura rugoiyo

Mrs. noreen M. huni

Mr. Kaumbu Mwondela

Mrs. levina Kikoyo

3.5 REPSSI organisational Capacity Development


REPSSI’s International Cooperating Partners:

3.7 REPSSI Partners

Regional Partners:international federation of red cross and red crescent societies (ifrc)Media in education trust africa (Miet africa)raango (regional african hiV&aids ngos)regional aids training network (ratn)riatt (regional inter-agency task team in east and southern africa)sadc (southern african development community)safaids (southern african hiV and aids information dissemination service) sat (southern african aids trust)save the children uK (scuK)Vso raisa (Voluntary services overseas, regional aids initiative of southern africa)

Collaborating Partners:unicef – esaro the swiss academy for development (sad) thunderbird school of global Management university of Kwa Zulu natal (uKZn) novartis phamaceuticals human resources department

angola save the children child fund africare world Visionbotswana MarangMozambique world Vision international child development programme save the children wona sananaZimbabwe community working group on health farm orphan support trust hospice association of Zimbabwe farm community trust of Zimbabwe

tanzania africare tanzania fhi/tunaJali salvation army Kwa wazee Kenya child fund Kenya hope world wideuganda child fund uganda world Vision trans cultural psychosocial organisation

Country name

SuB

-REG

Ion

SuB

-REG

Ion

Country name

east

nor

thso

uth

cen

tral

Malawi Malawi girl guides association consol homes orphan carenamibia catholic aids action churches alliance for orphans philippi trust namibiaZambia Ministry of education child fund Zambia campaign for female education

swaziland national children’s coordinating unit – deputy prime Minister office save the children swaziland unicef swazilandlesotho red cross lesotho non governmental organizations coalition (on the rights of the child) touch roots africasouth africa child welfare south africa nelson Mandela children’s fund red cross society south africa harriet shezi western cape education department (wced)

repssi annual report 2009

Documents

d r e n

contentsa n n ua

r e p o rt

b e i n g f o r

repssi annual reporta

repssi partners

psychosocial needs of

affected children