Gede Foundation - Promoting Health and Hope in Africa

ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN (OVC) SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The OVC Scholarship Program was originally established to help children orphaned by HIV/AIDS stay in school and finish at least a secondary-level education. It was intended to provide education and psychosocial support to orphans whose parent(s) died of AIDS and whose remaining parent/guardian is incapable of providing for tuition and school needs.

Gede Foundation’s OVC Scholarship Program took off in 2003 originally with twenty one (21) scholars ranging from Nursery/Primary to Secondary Level. All twenty one (21) students received education at the Federal Capital Territory without having to worry about school fees, books and other school materials that were needed for their education. To be able to stay in the program, the foundation’s only expectation from these orphans was to perform academically above par.

In an effort to reach out to more beneficiaries, the foundation is expanding its scholarship program to include OVCs from six other states – Adamawa, Cross River, Benue, Enugu, Oyo and Kaduna. We are reaching out to OVCs in other parts of the country to partially support their educational needs and, in doing so, offer a sense of hope to more orphans who want to be in school. Unlike the regular scholarship program, this expanded scholarship program will not give full scholarship grants.

Gede Foundation, in coordination with partner NGOs in each state will constitute a selection committee to screen nominees. Support may be in the form of tuition fee grants or the provision of school supplies for deserving scholars.

Our Program Officers will regularly monitor and evaluate the academic as well as psychosocial performance of our scholars. In addition to educational support, the orphans and their guardians will avail of free medical check-ups, testing and counseling using facilities of the Foundation.

SKILLS ACQUISITION PROGRAM
Orphans old enough to earn a living are often forced to play the role of household heads and drop out of school. They are obliged to generate income to help support the family and send their younger siblings to school. The Foundation believes that these children should be assisted by linking them with other NGOs and agencies who can build skills in their areas of interest that will help them earn income for the family.

ONE-TIME GRANT FOR CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION
The grant will be offered once a year to orphan students in certificate classes, e.g., Senior Secondary Three (SS3) to enable them to register for the Certificate of Examination required by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) or the National Examination Council (NECO). Applicants who have not been accepted into the regular scholarship grant will be given priority in addition to having satisfactory academic performance and financial need.

MICROFINANCE
At Gede Foundation, we believe that poverty may be reduced by implementing sustainable, innovative and effective microfinance initiatives, thus our Microfinance Program came to be. Our program is designed to empower Nigeria’s poorest by providing affordable capital, financial services, appropriate technology and capacity building resources. The aim is to provide small grants that will fund sustainable income-generating projects for impoverished families. A total of 100 families will benefit from this program.

The Microfinance Program is our response to a challenge brought about by older orphans in our OVC Scholarship Program who are in need of skills training that will enable them to earn a living to support their families. Once equipped with the proper tools and skills of a trade, they will need a start-up capital to get their business going. This program will provide financial assistance as well as support for proper business management and sustainability.

ADVOCACY
The Advocacy unit is responsible for promoting positive policy changes by directing the attention of people in various communities towards solutions to HIV/AIDS– related issues. It serves as an interface between the foundation and the community through community mobilization and sensitization regarding HIV/AIDS, TB and other infectious diseases.

We continue to build an enabling environment that incorporates orphans and people living with HIV/AIDS into the community to include rather than exclude them. We are in touch with government agencies, institutions and private establishments to continuously inform them of the orphan crisis. Through our advocacy program, the capacities of schools are enhanced to establish sexual and reproductive health centers where adolescents can access information on health, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases.

As our advocacy program strives to create awareness about the magnitude and seriousness of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, we aim to diminish discriminatory practices, change policies that do not promote prevention and care, and facilitate sustainable community efforts towards finding solutions to the HIV/AIDS problem.