Psychosocial Supports Programme

The main problem that this programme is addressing is the lack of psychosocial support to OVC. HIV/AIDS pandemic is regarded as the greatest social disaster in many countries including Tanzania. In Geita District the disease has left 39,271 children in dilemma. The impact of parental death on children is complex and affects the child’s mental health and the society in general.  Living as orphans might further result in stunted development of the intelligence life skills such as communication, decision making, and negotiations skills etc. Added to this, orphans often have the lack of hope for a future and have low self-esteem. Emotional intelligence, life skills, health and self esteem are an integral part of an individual’s personality development. 

Despite the repeated experiences of danger, fear, threats, stress, trauma and insufficient basic needs facing orphans, and other most vulnerable children the social economic factors remain the leading factors for the increase of the mentioned problems. However at the same time since we started to work on PSS, we have observed that, direct and culturally appropriate psychosocial support interventions for OVC gives positive results to improve the resilience and coping capacity of children. 

The programme goal: 

To contribute towards improved access to psychosocial support among OVC through the establishment of Upendo Groups and an effective community based psychosocial support structures and influencing the communities to respond to the priority needs of orphans and other most vulnerable children by 2012:

Programme objectives: 

  1. To strengthen the capacity of the community and NELICO programme staff to develop and scale up practical low cost and high impact psychosocial support interventions for 5000 OVC in Geita District by 2012.
  2. To enhance the capacity of OVC and the community to provide psychosocial support and to respond to the priority needs of orphans and other most vulnerable children by 2012.
  3. To strengthen the capacity of professionals in the operational areas to provide psychosocial support to OVC in a way that helps them to develop their own capacity to cope with the loss of their parents and guardians by 2012.