GOH program was begun in 2006 in partnership with Canadian Baptist Ministries.
Goal: The program is aimed at improving the lives of both the infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. This entails building the capacity of the guardians through economic empowerment and directly supporting the orphans and vulnerable children in education, health and psycho-social support. The program project sites are in Machakos County, Kitui District, Kathiani District, Kangundo County, Mombasa (Mivumoni), Thika (Kakuku) and Mbooni District (Maiani). GOH has 13 support groups comprised of mostly women and widows. The program activities carried out under the Guardians of Hope project include:
Educational support: 436 OVC receive school fees, provision of school uniform and scholastic materials.
Health support: provision of sanitary towels to OVC school girls.
Orphans and vulnerable children psycho-social support.
HIV/AIDS awareness and reduction of stigmatization.
Capacity Building: 340 guardians receive training on food security and farming, ways of income generation; such as soap making, basketry, carvings, fabrics tie & dye, outside catering, tree commercials (selling tree seedlings and flowers), and value addition to the orphan crops such as cassava, sweet potatoes and green grams among others.
Achievements Presenting certificates
Successful implementation of food security; portable kitchen gardens, conservation farming, cereal bulking and banking.
Improved school performance among the OVC; educational support given on basis of performance as a motivation to work hard.
Reduced HIV/AIDS stigmatization among the communities.
Improved livelihoods.
Micro-finance (micro-credit scheme; savings & loans scheme) that has helped communities start small businesses.