Challenge
Despite recent reductions in new HIV infections in Eswatini, the number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in the country remains high. The impact of HIV has disrupted and destabilized families and communal support systems, exacerbated by and contributing to widespread poverty. Economic insecurity has increased further in recent years due to climate-related shocks, including severe drought, leaving households ill equipped to care of OVC.
Solution
The goal of the Insika ya Kusasa (Insika) project is to prevent new HIV infections and reduce vulnerability among OVCs and adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Eswatini, including those living with HIV. Making Cents International supported Pact in developing the capacity of AGYWs to increase their socioeconomic resilience. To this end, Making Cents leveraged a proven capacity-building approach consisting of three sets of activities: 1) identifying viable economic opportunities, 2) developing AGYWs’ capacity to capitalize on these opportunities, and 3) building a supportive environment to enable their success.
Following initial assessments to ensure that tools and approaches developed for Insika were rooted in the reality of AGYWs’ lives, aligned with local market opportunities, and synced with Insika’s programmatic goals and structures, our experts facilitated a collaborative design workshop with the project staff and partners to discuss the findings and ideas for specific activities. The outcome of this process was a newly designed livelihoods development program for AGYWs that responded to their need for rapid engagement and learning and sustained support. For the program, Making Cents developed a rapid, eight-week enterprising skill-building course that included core soft skills and their application to livelihoods settings, along with key enterprising skills. The training included a Business Challenge activity where AGYWs worked in teams to apply their skills to a business for a day. This blending of skill building and skill application was received enthusiastically and proved especially engaging for AGYWs.
Making Cents also worked with the Insika team on the mentoring portion of the program. In this phase, AGYWs engaged in three different activities. First, AGYWs worked with their business mentors for group-based and individual support as they applied their newly developed skills. Second, AGYWs continued to meet as a larger group through Peer Mentoring meetings where they provided encouragement and support to each other. Finally, AGYWs worked as a group to host a Community Business Expo where they invited their families, friends, and other community members to showcase the businesses they have established and their commitment to the program.