ELCAP

 From the  Coordinator's Desk

Rev. A. Kheibeb

Ambassodor' Girls' Scholarship Programme - AGSP

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The Ambassadors’ Girls’ Scholarship Program (AGSP) aims to removes obstacles that prevent vulnerable girls from continuing and excelling in primary school.  Common obstacles include financial costs and cultural factors such as the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on girls and their families.

Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the AGSP provides scholarships and mentoring at the primary school level.  Scholarship benefits include tuition,

Books, uniforms, and other essentials needed to continue education.  Mentoring benefits include activities that promote self-development, provide positive role models, and prevent and mitigate the spread of HIV/AIDS. The Evangelical Lutheran Church AIDS Progamme (ELCAP) is one of 2 organizations that administer the AGSP in Namibia.  ELCAP helps 434 girls and 100 boys in 49 primary schools in eight regions of Namibia (i.e., Karas, Hardap, Otjozondjupa, Oshikoto, Kuene, and Erongo).

Eligibility Requirements:

Applicants must satisfy mandatory requirements and one or more discretionary requirements to be considered for an AGSP scholarship.  All applicants who meet this minimum requirement will be compared against one another and ranked from the girl most in need to the one least in need. 

Subject to availability of funds, scholarships will be awarded to the neediest girl, then to the second neediest, and so on.

The mandatory requirements that applicants must satisfy are:

· They must be in primary school;

 · They must be economically disadvantaged; and they must not receive other scholarships or assistance.

 They must be economically disadvantaged; and they must not receive other scholarships or assistance. 

A new AGSP applicant also must satisfy one or more of the following discretionary requirements:

•  The applicant is an orphan;
•  The applicant is a street child;
• The applicant or someone in the applicant’s family has HIV/AIDS, a disability or a sickness;
• The applicant is from a family that migrate to different areas throughout the year; or
• The applicant is at risk of exploitation, such as child abuse.

Existing AGSP Scholars must re-apply at the end of each school year to continue the scholarship in the following year.  Existing AGSP Scholars must satisfy the same mandatory and discretionary requirement set for new applicants.  In addition, existing AGSP Scholars must demonstrate academic success during the school year that just ended.  Failure to do well in school will end the scholarship.

AGSP Scholars or parents of AGSP Scholars who have questions about the AGSP should contact the AGSP Focal Teacher or the AGSP Committee at the primary school that the AGSP Scholar attends.

Guest arriving at the launching of the boys addition to the girls scholarship program

Girls who want to apply for an AGSP Scholarship or parents who want their daughter to apply should. All girls who are offered an AGSP Scholarship are required to sign a contract to become an official AGSP Scholar.  In exchange for receiving mentoring benefits and assistance with school fees, hostel fees, school supplies, toiletries, uniforms, and transport fees, AGSP Scholars agree to:Attend classes regularly, perform well academically, and not misbehave; send their grade reports for April, August, and December to ELCAP head quarters; and inform ELCAP of a change in the status reported on her

AGSP application, such as receipt of additional scholarship or assistance.

Because of the age of an AGSP Scholar and because much of the information covered by the contract is better known by the scholar’s parents and guardian, the latter must ensure that the contract is honored.  Failure to do so will terminate the scholarship for their children.

More Information about the AGSP also is available from ELCAP head office. Please see our Contacts Page for Details.

In line with its objectives to provide Care and Support, ELCAP uses a household approach to deliver Care and support for clients, orphans and vulnerable children.

Caring involves physical, social, emotional, spiritual care as well as health awareness and treatment support. A team of 150 volunteers provide the care at household level to 1200 clients and families.

The programme is implemented through 5 regional offices in 8 political regions. Regional offices are located in Keetmanshoop, Mariental, Windhoek, Otjiwarongo and Karibib.

Support groups have been established to encourage positive living and improve client behaviour in taking ART medication routinely and accordingly.

Support to OVC aims to ensure that the most vulnerable children have access to  education through: payment of school fees, hostel fess and the provision of school uniforms and basic stationary.

A group of volunteers in a rural village, Kalkfeld,  had been supported to start a small shop with basic commodities. They support themselves and their clients from the income generated from this initiative.

A soup kitchen is providing one meal a day, three times a week to 100 clients and vulnerable children in, Block E of Rehoboth town.

The same initiative will start in Koes and Otavi beginning of next year.

 OVC's receiving the soup for the day

Objective of the PACT Prog

HOME-BASED CARE:  PROVISION OF RESOURCES

Purpose

To provide for the provision of home-based care through ELCRN congregations.  Individual congregations of the ELCRN are responsible for the primary support of their home-based care groups.  ELCAP will provide some assistance in the following areas:

Training - TOT

ELCAP provides training for trainers of trainees.  This is four-phase training on home-based care, counseling skills, adult education, and other issues related to care and prevention of HIV/AIDS.  Attendance is required at all phases for graduation. 

ELCAP provides:

Training - HBC

For training home-based care providers in local congregations.  Local congregations are responsible for provision of the venue and any food or accommodation that is necessary. 

Technical assistance - HBC

ELCAP provides technical assistance on home-based care-related issues including:

• To facilitate this technical assistance, ELCAP supports a Programme Care and Support Officer at the National Office.  Additionally 4 Regional Representatives based in Mariental, Windhoek, Karibib, and Otjiwarongo  also provides technical assistance to the local congregations.

Home-based care kits - HBC

ELCAP provides initial materials for conducting home-based care including such things as basic medication, soap, gloves, etc. (see list) to every trained home-based care provider affiliated with an ELCRN congregational AIDS committee.  ELCAP also considers additional provision of materials on an as-needed basis. 

Food support - HBC

ELCAP provides congregational AIDS committees with an initial 50-count bag of E-Pap, a maize and soy protein meal.  Distribution of E-Pap will then be determined by the congregational AIDS committees.  It is recommended that three-fourths of the E-pap be sold for minimal income-generation to support AIDS committee activities (including additional purchases of E-pap), while the remaining fourth be given to needy clients.

 Church and Business against HIV/AIDS- (Chabahiva

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   Mr. Desmond Komeheke- Workplace Programme Officer

In response to the increasing HIV epidemic in Namibia (with a current prevalence rate of 19.8% - MOHSS), ELCAP embarked upon a Workplace Programme (WPP) to target the tourism & agricultural sectors.

The programme aims to:

·         Strengthen HIV/AIDS information strategies to promote sustainable behaviour change among employees.

§  Promote HIV prevention and support, including condom distribution systems that make condoms readily and consistently available.

§  Assist employers in the agricultural and tourism sectors in establishing, strengthening voluntary counselling, testing and treatment programmes in the workplaces.

Cooperation with Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR)

In the tourism sector, ELCAP trained Peer Educators in Okakuejo, Halali, Namitoni, Gross Barman and Canyon River lodge. Since 2007, ELCAP mobilized 811 workers and trained 51 peer elucidators in 11 sites and had refresher course for the already trained peer educator.

Voluntary Counseling &Testing (VCT) Newstart Centers

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 As part of ELCAP’s overall strategy to reduce HIV/AIDS, voluntary counselling and testing centers (VCT) opened on 15^th March 2004 under the NEW START brand at the ELCAP Centre in Rehoboth. ELCAP currently works and will work closely with the Ministry of Health and Social Services’s Health Centre and ante-natal clinic and Catholic Health Services’ St. Mary’s Hospital by providing trained counsellors for HIV testing. Other partners in the VCT include Intrahealth International, Nawalife, Childline/Lifeline.

 The VCT is funded by USAID. Two NEW START VCT Centre’s also opened in collaboration with the MOHSS in Mariental during September 2004 and in Otjiwarongo during January 2005 . Currently the Otjiwarongo and Mariental VCT’s programmes are implemented by Intrahealth International with Rehoboth VCT by the Council of Churches through Global Fund.