Zingane Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Project Small Grants

Bantwana Zimbabwe is launching a Small Grants Challenge to support projects that improve the health, safety, economic stability, and/or education wellbeing of orphans and vulnerable children. This initiative is supported by USAID.
Local community and voluntary organisations are crucial to broadening access to services and improving wellbeing of vulnerable children. They tend to come into being because of a passion for helping advance opportunities for children. Bantwana Zimbabwe provide Small Grants of up to $10,000 to nascent community-based organizations and youth-led organizations. The organisations will implement targeted local interventions in any of the OVC project domains including such areas as health, social protection, disability mainstreaming, access to ASRH services, GBV prevention and response, nutrition, and HIV treatment & care. All recipients will receive both technical and organisational capacity development from Bantwana Zimbabwe.

Priority Program Areas

Household Economic Strengthening, Entrepreneurship & Economic Growth
A continuum of activities that support innovation and entrepreneurship, in particular startups in the social entrepreneurship space that are sustainable and contribute to livelihoods; activities that encourage small businesses that augment household income for vulnerable populations and young people.

Education
Activities that promote school attendance, retention, and progression, early warning systems to curb dropping out of school by vulnerable children. Contributing to high-quality education leading to higher grades by vulnerable children.

Health
Support high-impact, quick-implementation activities that benefit the health outcomes of vulnerable children including children and adolescents living with HIV.
Child Protection
Support violence against children’s interventions through a comprehensive prevention and response lens (specialised child protection interventions are eligible). Child protection interventions should be in line with the National Case Management System (NCMS).

Targeted Project Participants

The intended project participants generally include:
• Children, youth, and adolescents living with HIV 0-24 years.
• Child survivors of sexual, gender-based violence.
• Children of key populations.
• Children of HIV-positive caregivers with a risk of treatment interruption or high viral load.
• HIV Exposed infants (Including HIV-positive pregnant women).

Eligibility Criteria of Applicants

Applicants should be currently resident in any of these districts in Zimbabwe; Kwekwe, Gweru, Lupane, Bulilima, Gwanda, Insiza, and Bulawayo. The programs must take place in, and be focused on, any of the districts noted above. Applications are encouraged from all sectors. The Small Grants Challenge will not fund individuals.
The following entities are eligible to apply:
• Community or faith-based organizations.
• Youth-led organizations.
• Organisations should have roots in Zimbabwe and the communities they want to serve.
• Have legal authority to operate in the proposed districts.