Strengthen 100 Vulnerable Households in Calabar

In the preceding quarter, the Foundation continued to restore hope to vulnerable children through holistic support to their households. The supports covered were in the four service domains namely: healthy, schooled, safe, and stable through direct and referral services.

HEALTHY: This domain addresses the prevention as well as treatment response to health issues. The services provided to beneficiaries under this domain were health education, nutrition education, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Messages, HIV prevention messages for adolescents, and malnutrition screening for children under the ages of 5. Five (4 Females and 1 male) children who were found to be severely malnourished, were referred to the nearby primary health center for medical examination and diagnoses as well as treatment of minor illnesses. Respectively, also 10 children who were also found to be coughing and had a high fever, were screened for TB and referred to the primary health center for testing for Tuberculosis. A total of 87 beneficiaries (57 children; 20 males; 37 females; 30 caregivers; 6 males and 24 females) across Calabar Municipality, Calabar South, and Akamkpa Local Government Areas of the State were provided with this service during household visits.

SCHOOLED: In order to contribute to the achievement of the 4th sustainable development goal   -quality education, the foundation continues to provide its beneficiaries with educational support services such as payment of school fees and levies, and provision of scholastic materials, educational performance assessment, and career counseling. In this reporting quarter, 19 children; 7 males and 12 females) were supported through school fees payment and levies; 42 children; 22 males and 20 females) across primary and secondary schools in Calabar Municipality, Calabar South, and Akamkpa LGAs were assessed using the educational performance assessment tool, while 6 children (2 males and 4 females) who were found not to be performing maximally, were provided with career counseling, and their caregivers were also counseled on the need for their children to improve academically. These services were provided to the children and their caregivers through school visits, home visits, and quarterly kids and adolescent club meetings.

SAFE: Services provided under this domain in the reporting quarter were the birth registration of 4 children in Akamkpa LGA as well as the identification and referral of child abuse cases in project communities( Ikot Ishie; physical abuse and Ikot Efa; sexual abuse) to relevant partner organizations for management. These services were provided in partnership with the National Population Commission and The Cross River State Child Protection Network.

STABLE: In this domain, the Foundation continued its support for caregivers (30; 6 males and 24 females) and adolescents (40; 12 males and 28 females) in financial education. Following the downpour due to the rainy season, where caregivers complained about a reduction in their turn over which has directly affected their incomes and savings, as well as their inability to meet their household needs, caregivers were counseled on alternative businesses according to the seasonality to boost their incomes.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION: Monitoring and evaluation activities were carried out during the reporting period in order to determine the progress of the program on beneficiaries and households, and identify challenges that may be responsible for stalling progress and resources required to address program issues.  Monitoring tools were used during home and school visits and were completely, correctly documented, and filed in the beneficiaries’ folder.

NEXT STEPS: The Foundation in the next quarter, plans to engage children and caregivers in intense entrepreneurship ventures. We intend to involve adolescents in the making of liquid soap, pastries, and re-usable sanitary towels. This is based on the Foundation’s aim of increasing household income and tackling period poverty among its adolescent girls. We continue to appreciate your continuous support to vulnerable households in Calabar. With your support, we will continue to strive to restore hope to the more vulnerable.

Thank you.