Every day about 190 children from Koka village and the surrounding area come to the Koka OVC project. These children are between 4 and 15 years old, and are (half) orphaned. Often, they have lost their parents to AIDS or other diseases. Or they are vulnerable in other ways, because their parents are unable to take care for them, for example due to mental problems, unemployment or drinking problems. Without help, these vulnerable children struggle to survive .

 

In collaboration with representatives from Koka village, the projectteam carefully selects the children for the project. The committee checks whether the children meet the selection criteria and whether they are not participating in another project already. In this way they ensure that the most vulnerable children are taken care of.

 

Currently, 144 children participate as so called 'phase 1 children'. These children receive two meals a day, medical care and clothing. Besides, they use the sanitary facilities (shower and toilet) and they receive extra educational support.

 

40 children belong to the so called 'phase 2 children' group. These somewhat older children receive limited support, with the main focus on education and development of practical skills.

 

The OVC center is a day care center and not an orphanage where children spend the night. All children are cared for by foster families in Koka. Preferably, the Koka OVC project places the children with relatives such as grandfathers or grandmothers, uncles or aunts.  

 

The children spend the day in the OVC Center which is located close to the primary school of Koka. The Center includes a kitchen, canteen, classrooms, offices for the project staff, a spacious playground with play equipment, fruit trees (mango and banana) and a small vegetable garden. On schooldays the children come to the OVC Center.

 

The primary school in Koka has more than 1,400 students. The school does not have enough space to teach all children at the same time. Half of the children are taught in the morning, the other half in the afternoon. There are still 90 – 120 children in one classroom. The children from the project are in the OVC Center during the time they are not at school. They do their homework, receive tutoring, help prepare meals and play. By receiving them in the OVC Center, they do not roam the streets and are not used as cheap labor on the land or in herding the animals.

All for a better future .