Força à Comunidade e Crianças Project (FCC) – Child and Community Strengthening

Home to approximately 27 million people, Mozambique is among the countries most affected by the HIV epidemic. More than half the population (54.7%) is living in poverty, and there are an estimated 1.8 million orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) who are made vulnerable due to their lack of access to quality education, health care, food, shelter, psychosocial support and exposure to child labor, human trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitation, and violence.

World Education/Bantwana implemented Força à Comunidade e Crianças project (FCC) (Child and Community Strengthening): a five-year (2015-2020) initiative aimed at improving and expanding evidenced-based models of integrated support for OVC and their households across 16 districts in Mozambique’s Manica, Sofala, Zambézia and Gaza provinces.  In partnership with the Government of Mozambique and a range of local implementing partners, the project utilized schools and communities as platforms to reach more than 100,000 vulnerable children and adolescents annually with integrated health, education and social protection services to help them thrive and grow into productive and healthy adults. WEI/Bantwana drew upon its tested OVC care and support models in the region to provide social & child protection, early childhood and broader parenting education and support, health and nutrition, psychosocial support, adolescent and reproductive health, life skills, entrepeneurship and economic strengthening support, and gender-based violence prevention interventions.

FCC significantly enhanced community-based HIV prevention and response mechanisms for OVC and their caregivers in Mozambique, increasing the capacity of individuals, community, structures, organizations,and government bodies. The project helped strengthen locally driven referral systems within communities to ensure that OVC and households are able to access a range of services that holistically meet their needs.