USAID administers the U.S. foreign assistance programme providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.

Says Neill Stevenson, programme manager, "For the previous five years the programme has been funded by PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and has provided a comprehensive package of services to 13,000 orphans and vulnerable children in the uMgungundlovu district each year. The new award will go beyond service delivery to focus on capacity building and technical assistance to government departments to ensure sustainability.” The uMgungundlovu district is at the epicentre of the pandemic with one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world.

The Maykhethele Programme (“I choose for myself") is coordinated by CINDI and implemented by a consortium of NGOs including Community Care Project, Lifeline and Youth for Christ. Says CINDI director, Rekha Nathoo, “A recent independent external evaluation of the programme found that the consortium approach offered several key advantages as the programme has been able to provide a range of services in a responsive, flexible and yet comprehensive manner. It recommended the comprehensive, integrated, child-centred, holistic, household level approach as a best practice.”

Both Stevenson and Nathoo are grateful for the generosity of the American people and would like to thank all those who made this programme possible including caregivers, children, government and schools.