Issuu

2023 PROGRESS REPORT

CHILD HEADED HOUSEHOLDS PROGRAM

children living as part of 180 households supported through the program.

INTRODUCTION

100%

83% of households introduced to a trained guardian.

$750 the average annual income for households who completed their final year of training.

100% of households growing their own food and 60% running a livestock project.

Children who have been orphaned, abandoned or left to care for an elderly family member are acutely vulnerable to the effects of extreme poverty. For those without family members they can turn to, many live as part of a childheaded household.

crucial interventions. Working directly with the head of the household, typically the eldest child, we help them to learn skills and to access support that can change their family’s future.

1,045 vulnerable children supported to date.

No matter their age, the eldest child bears the responsibility of being the sole provider and caregiver to their household. With no safety net it is a struggle to survive.

Since 2018, our Child Headed Households Program has provided

We teach them essential life skills, such as how to start earning an income through their own small business and how to develop economic and food security through agriculture and a livestock project. We also train guardians from their community to provide vital mentorship and protection to the household.

Over the course of three years, the transformation seen among children living in such challenging situations is remarkable. From isolation and a severe lack of resources, they become beacons of hope in their communities.

“All my siblings are back in school and we are eating three meals a day. I am happy now and I am proud of myself.” of school-aged children back attending school fulltime, up from 51% when they joined the program.

Sifra, 18, from Kabasindagizi, Uganda, who lives with her four younger siblings.

A FOUNDATION FOR CHANGE

Malawi and Uganda respectively rank 172nd and 159th on the UN’s Human Development Index, with 62% of the population of Malawi and 57% of the population of Uganda estimated to be living in multi-dimensional poverty.

In 2023, we worked with some of the most rural communities in both countries where child-headed households are extremely isolated and vulnerable.

• 44% of the population are below the age of 15

• 2.5m children are orphans

• 25% of the population do not have food security

ENDURING UNIMAGINABLE CHALLENGES

• 43% of the population are below the age of 15

• 900,000 children are orphans

• 52% of the population do not have food security

2023 IN NUMBERS

Living as part of a child-headed household makes every day a struggle for survival.

Without a parent or guardian to provide for the family, the role of caregiver and head of the household typically falls on the eldest child. Often without any form of income or savings, they cannot meet their basic needs and the whole household will struggle to access basic necessities such as food, clothing and medicine.

Their immediate lack of resources increases the risk that the children will drop out of school so they can prioritize earning an income. However, with safe and reliable work difficult to come by, they are likely to engage in dangerous child labor that makes them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

Girls are particularly at-risk. Without someone to protect them, they are under a constant threat of early marriage and teenage pregnancy. They may face stigmatization and discrimination from others in their communities, further isolating them from those who could provide a vital lifeline.

Whilst the total number of child-headed households in Malawi and Uganda is not known, every child we work with through the program has their own version of this narrative.

Despite the challenges they have faced, the children we support are rewriting their story and making remarkable progress in securing a sustainable future for themselves and their siblings.

UGANDA

HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK?

The four key elements of the program are:

We introduce the program in communities that we have been working with for at least one year, enabling us to identify the most vulnerable children.

Over three years, we work with the head of the household through four key areas. Individually, they work towards addressing the immediate and ongoing challenges the households are facing. Collectively, they set them on a path towards long-term stability and security.

TRAINED GUARDIANS

Households are introduced to a guardian from their community who has been trained to provide psychosocial and business support, build their ties to their community, and mentor them through the other areas of the program.

SMALL BUSINESSES

The children are provided with training, equipment and materials so they can start their own business and begin to earn an income. They start a variety of small enterprizes; the most common is buying and selling groceries.

FOOD GARDENS

Households are taught how to grow their own food and are provided with seeds and equipment. They are also trained how to make their own natural fertilizer using manure from their animals.

A workshop session in Malawi building the relationship between 20 households and their guardians.

LIVESTOCK PROJECTS

They are given vaccinated livestock and trained how to safely rear them to become valuable assets. Households are also supported to build pens to house their animals, and take part in “pass-ons” with other households so their animals can produce offspring.

16 was the average age of the head of the household.

$32,754 was invested in the running of the program by WeSeeHope in 2023, covering all training, support and equipment costs.

“George is a different person to the one I first met. He’s much more confident and focused on his future.”

Lois, George’s guardian, who graduated from the program in Malawi in 2023.

100%

of households who were part of the program in 2023 had the full support of a trained guardian like Lois.

DEVELOPING PROTECTION & SUPPORT

At an incredibly uncertain time in their lives, guardians provide a vital support system to the child-headed households.

Living in the same community as the children, guardians visit the households every day and provide guidance, counseling, protection and a helping hand in their homes.

Guardians are a source of emotional stability and they help the children begin to process the trauma of being abandoned or of losing one or both of their parents, a crucial step in improving their wellbeing and mental health.

With an adult in their corner, the children have someone to advocate for them in their community. This strengthens their ties to support systems and local leaders, a key process in protecting their rights and reducing their risk of exploitation and abuse.

Alongside the head of the household, the guardians take part in training workshops covering business, agriculture and livestock rearing skills so they can be effective mentors to the children. In addition to these technical skills, they help to instill important life lessons and values for the children, helping their development and preparing them for adulthood and their future independence.

$60,450 generated through businesses in 2023.

253% increase in average annual income for households who graduated in 2023.

51% of households in 2023 running more than one business.

EARNING A RELIABLE INCOME

Setting up a small business provides an immediate boost to the children’s standard of living.

Having completed training alongside their guardian, we provide the head of the household with equipment and materials to launch a business, such as starting a taxi and courier service with a bicycle, making baked goods with cooking equipment, or buying and selling groceries.

Earning a reliable income means that the children can address their lack of resources and meet their immediate needs, such as buying food and medicine and investing in urgent improvements to their homes.

With the support of their guardian, they grow their businesses, giving them more disposable income to invest in their futures. Without the daily pressures to earn money and meet their needs, the children can continue with their education or further upgrade their homes with higher quality materials such as steel roofs and even solar panels. Running a business also gives them the opportunity to learn vital life skills that can boost their development and improve their future employment opportunities.

It also gives them a greater sense of purpose and achievement which builds self-esteem and resilience.

Joan (left), 16, a member of the program in Kisege, Uganda, has grown eggplant, onions, beans and maize.

100% of households growing their own food.

$10,045 total income generated by all the households by selling surplus food - the most successful year to date.

IMPROVING FOOD SECURITY

The means to grow their own food can make a huge difference to the overall health of young people living as part of a childheaded household.

Setting up a food garden provides numerous benefits. A reliable source of nutritious food is crucial for the physical health and development of the children. Their garden ensures they have access to fresh fruit and vegetables which previously would not have been available to them.

Having completed training in a variety of agricultural skills, we provide the households with seeds so they can grow reliable, staple

crops such as maize, sweet potatoes and rice, and encourage them to invest in a wide variety of other fresh produce.

By growing their own food, the household builds their independence and resilience. Learning skills such as irrigation and crop rotation helps to mitigate the effects of adverse weather and climate change. They are also shown how to make natural fertilizer using manure from their livestock which can boost the productivity of their gardens. Not only does a garden improve their food security, many households are often left with a surplus of food that they can sell for an additional source of income.

60% of households running their own livestock project in 2023.

$1,491 income generated by all households through sale of livestock.

238 animals provided to households, 666 offspring born.

NURTURING LIVESTOCK

Livestock can be transformative assets to a vulnerable household.

After their first year of training, we provide each household with vaccinated animals such as chickens, pigs or goats. We then support them to build a corral to house their animal and train them how to best care for and benefit from them.

Owning livestock gives children access to a reliable source of nutrition. Their animals provide milk, eggs and meat; sources of protein and nutrients that are critical to their growth and overall health.

Animals are also valuable economic assets. They can be traded or sold,

often for a high price, when the children are going through a difficult patch and are in need of a stopgap, or to fund a larger expense such as a new roof for their home. They also provide manure that can be used for fertilizer to benefit their food garden.

Once their livestock project is up and running, we organize a pass on program so that animals are shared between households living in the same community so they can produce offspring. Overtime, households can be left with many animals which gives them a significant safety net.

ESTHER’S STORY

Meet Esther, 15, who lives with her younger sister Kemigiza in Kanyasi Village, western Uganda.

Having lost both parents at a young age, Esther takes care of Kemigiza and their home. Living in a grass-roofed house, they did not have adequate shelter and struggled to access food and support from wider family members or their community.

In April 2022, Esther was identified by our partner, RIDE Uganda, who quickly introduced her to the program. Within just two years, she has made remarkable progress under the guidance of Agness, her new guardian.

Provided with initial stock, Esther started her business selling beans, maize flour and firewood from a stall set up near her house. Making a profit of 265,000 Shillings ($70) in her first year, she re-invested in the business and expanded her offering to sell a wider variety of fresh produce. This saw Esther almost quadruple her profits in her second year, earning over 1,000,000 Shillings ($255) through her growing business.

In that time, Esther’s food garden has gone from strength to strength. She now has a two-acre plot that produces maize, cassava, eggplant, rice and beans, giving her and Kemigiza dependable access to healthy and fresh food. She has also grown a significant surplus, making an incredible profit of 765,000 Shillings ($205) from selling food she did not need in the past year.

Esther was also given two goats through the program. Within two years, her goats have produced three kids and she has also used the profits from her business to invest in a pig and several chickens. This has meant that she has developed a significant economic safety net as well as further improving her access to nutrition.

With the income from her business and food garden, both Esther and Kemigiza are regularly attending school as they can afford to pay for school fees, learning materials and uniforms. They have also completed the construction of a new home with a steel roof and a solar panel, giving them a safer living environment as well as access to electricity.

MONITORING & EVALUATING THE HOUSEHOLDS

Due to the immense challenges the children face, it is essential that the households are provided with intense support and guidance over the three years with the program, in addition to their guardian. Therefore, each of our partners have a full-time Child Headed Household Officer who provides initial and ongoing training and support. They carry out regular visits - weekly for first year households, monthly for second and final year households - in order to check in, monitor their progress and collect data.

The Child Headed Household Officer is also responsible for submitting six-month and annual narrative and financial reports, as well as data for our analysis at the end of the program year.

A member of our Programs Team will visit the communities at least twice per year to observe the households, assess their progress and to hear feedback from the children themselves. They also provide online, day-to-day technical support and capacity building to each of our partners who run the program.

OUR DATA DASHBOARD

Data is a key tool that enables us to monitor and evaluate the program, and find ways to continuously improve it. Throughout the year, we collect data from each household, including:

• The income they have made from their business, food garden and livestock.

• The number of children attending school.

We have collected this economic and social data from every household we have worked with since we launched the program in 2018 up until the moment they graduate and continue on independently of our support.

Working with our long-term corporate partner, Qlik.org.the corporate responsibility arm of leading data analytics company Qlik - we have developed a live and interactive data dashboard that visualizes all of this data. The dashboard allows us to:

• Analyze the progress and challenges of the households.

• Learn how to improve and adapt the program to better meet their needs.

• Enhance our decision-making with our partners.

• Inform how we scale the program effectively.

Pictured here is the ACET Gulu team and WeSeeHope Uganda Manager visiting Fiona as she operates her grocery business.

THANK YOU

Since 2018, our Child Headed Households Program has provided a platform for some of the most vulnerable children living in the communities we work with to develop vital, life-changing skills.

We are excited for the future of this innovative and highly effective program and will be introducing it with two more of our partners in Kenya and Tanzania in 2024.

Thank you so much for your incredible support of WeSeeHope throughout the year.

Collaborating with people that share our passion for communityled, sustainable development is part of our DNA. If you are interested in supporting us, we would be delighted to hear from you at Hello@WeSeeHopeUSA.org