Africa: African social welfare organisations receive prestigious international award

Press release
STARS Foundation

Record 4 African organisations receive prestigious international award

Nairobi: 02/12/2010, Four non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from Africa have been selected to receive a prestigious award by UK-based charity, the STARS Foundation. Bungoma-based NGO, ACE Africa Kenya, Nairobi-based NGO, Childline Kenya, Hargeisa-based Africa Educational Trust and Cape Town-based, Home from Home Trust, will each receive a STARS Impact Award, consisting of $100,000 in unrestricted funding and tailored consultancy support. They will be presented to the charities’ Directors on 2nd December at a ceremony in London.

STARS presents six awards to NGOs in Africa and Asia each year, in recognition of the excellent standards they set in helping the world’s most disadvantaged children. Each organisation is assessed over a list of eight criteria, developed with PricewaterhouseCoopers, to test whether they are demonstrably improving the lives of children, and are managed to the highest level of efficiency and innovation.

ACE Africa Kenya
Western Kenya is one of the regions hit worst by HIV/Aids in the country. About 15% of adults in the region are thought to be infected and the virus has an impact on everyone, whether they are infected or not. ACE Africa Kenya works in the remote locations of Bungoma and Siaya to reduce the impact of HIV/Aids on the lives of children. Cultural practices such as polygamy and wife inheritance mean that the infection rate in Bungoma is higher than in other parts of the country. There is roughly one doctor to every 60,000 patients.

Vicki Peaple, Africa-Middle East Programme Officer, STARS Foundation said: ‘ACE Africa Kenya, stands out in the field more than most because it researches where the need is greatest and develops holistic programmes based on this research, meeting the needs of vulnerable children living in the most remote parts of Kenya.’

ACE runs a range of programmes to help meet the many needs of the community. It provides nutritional education and help parents to generate income and feed their families through farming. It also provides counseling for those living with HIV, train children to educate one another about HIV/Aids, and hold HIV testing for anyone who wants it, with after-dark testing for those whom stigma prevents from coming during daylight hours. It hands out aid packages and support school-age children by providing uniforms, and in some cases, bursaries.

Childline Kenya
Before Childline Kenya was founded in 2004, children and adults who were victims of sexual abuse, forced marriage and ill health had few places to turn for confidential advice. Through the provision of a 24-hour helpline, Childline Kenya provides free advice, information, and basic counseling on a range of child protection issues. Through a range of workshops, conferences and outreach work, Childline Kenya educates communities on child rights issues. Its’ partnerships with more than 40 local specialist agencies mean that a child’s cry for help can be acted upon, and interventions into situations of abuse can be carried out swiftly.

‘We were particularly impressed with Childline Kenya’s approach to working collaboratively with others, enabling children to reach all the services they need, as well as its efforts to ensure the Kenyan Government protects, respects and fulfils the rights of every child.’ Said Vicki Peaple, Africa-Middle East Programme Officer, STARS Foundation:

Childline Kenya is a strong political voice acting as a vital advocate at a national level for child rights issues. In addition to lobbying the government, Childline Kenya has run a high profile and sustained media campaign to raise awareness that child abuse must be stamped out. The growing use of mobile phones in Kenya means that the confidential telephone line is now accessible even to those living in slums and remote rural areas.

Africa Educational Trust Somaliland
Africa Educational Trust (AET) run a number of education programmes teaching basic literacy and numeracy skills targeted at some of the most remote and inaccessible parts of Somaliland and Somalia. Internally displaced people, nomadic people, and people living in rural areas are taught through a radio-based literacy programme and mobile and makeshift schools.

Vicki Peaple, Africa-Middle East Programme Officer, STARS Foundation said: ‘Delivering any level of educational service to children in Somaliland whilst working under such difficult conditions is impressive, let alone reaching the high standards of innovation that AET manages to.’

Education in Somaliland has been severely disrupted due to the political upheaval of the region; its schools and educational resources were destroyed during the rule of Siad Barre, resulting in the virtual collapse of the education system. It is estimated that 80% of the educated population of Somaliland fled the country during conflict and this has left a drastic void in the development of post-conflict Somaliland.

Home from Home Trust – South Africa
Home from Home Trust was established to provide support and care for orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children across Cape Town and its surrounding townships. Using a carefully-developed model of cluster foster care, Home from Home Trust provides a community-based system of support for children, which sees them growing up in households of no more than six children, led by a loving and well-selected foster mother or parents. Home from Home Trust ensures the material, medical and psychological needs of these children are met. They currently support children in over 19 households.

Vicki Peaple, Africa-Middle East Programme Officer, STARS Foundation said: ‘We were really impressed with the model of care that Home from Home Trust has developed in a relatively short amount of time, and the positive impact it’s already having on the health and well being of children in their care.’

South Africa’s HIV and AIDS epidemic has had a devastating effect on children; it is estimated that there are between 1.5 and 3 million AIDS orphans in the country. Most of these children are being cared for in institutions, few of which are funded and equipped to deal with their complex psychological needs. Large numbers of these children have learning difficulties and are traumatized by the loss of parents and the separation from their community. Many of them are infected with the virus themselves, meaning specialist counseling is essential to their development.

The STARS Foundation does not impose conditions on the funding it awards. It operates a policy of unrestricted funding.

Muna Wehbe, Chief Executive, STARS Foundation said: ‘If funding is restricted for groups working in disadvantaged communities then they have little opportunity to respond quickly to the changing needs in their communities. Restricted funding is important and useful but if it is the only approach, groups of highly vulnerable children and others will be left out.’