To begin with PAD has framed its intervention area in the eastern parts of the country including Dire Dawa, Harari ,East and West Harerge Zone of Oromia region Addis Ababa and Parts of Somali Region; while it has been planning to cross the national boundary and work in east African countries, like Djibouti, with the crosscutting issues like international migration, poverty reduction and HIV/AIDS.
Based on its organizational objective PAD has identified and sustainably addressing underserved men women and children with its active projects. Currently the organization is implementing projects targeting
- OVC and their care givers
- Migrants of different type benefit from sustainable economic, social and psycho-social reintegration that also benefits communities.
- Women men and children affected by mental ill health
- Trafficked street women and children and their families engaged in street bagging
- Vulnerable school girls and their families
- Abandoned who been placed under foster care and local adoption
- Vulnerable youth victim of human trafficking
- Youth in conflicting situation
- Homeless women with children and street children
3. PAD's EXPERIENCE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
Despite its short period of establishment, Positive Action For Development emerged to be the most capable and successful developmental partner in its operational area particularly in addressing the problem faced by highly vulnerable children (HVCs), marginalized and mental ill health affected male female and children, vulnerable youth empowerment and development and provision of support for vulnerable school girls and vulnerable women both in Dire Dawa city administration and Harari regional state. In a little more than three years of operation and partnership with the community, Positive Action For development (PAD) evolved from operating in one programmatic issue focusing on girl’s education to diversified development intervention including child protection, youth empowerment, poverty reduction, mental health, environmental protection and peace building
3.1 Child protection and DevelopmentInsert your text here
PAD child protection intervention is centered on the approach of alternative community and family based care support protection approach. The approach is innovative in nature that deviate from the traditional way of providing emergency like support to innovative alternative community and family based child care and protection approach. The approach involves foster placement local adoption and re-unification of vulnerable children. Accordingly, in 2013 the organization had launched in partnership with Dire Dawa Bureau of women children and youth Affairs using the financial support obtained from UNICEF. As the outcome of the project PAD managed to introduce alternative community and family based child care and protection approach to the wider community through organizing a serious of community mobilization activities including community dialogue. The project managed to support capacity building of the grass root community structure and CBOs in addition to establishing community level community child care and protection committees. The project also managed to provide independent living arrangement and reunification support for hundreds of vulnerable children for the first time in the history of the regional administration. Similarly PAD assumed a responsibility of implementing the same project in Hareri regional administration using the financial support of UNICEF through Harari bureau of women Children and Youth Affairs. Accordingly, PAD through the project managed to realize foster placement and local adoption of 14 children. In addition to this the project managed to establish grass root community level screening committee in addition to capacity building of CBO,s. In the same year the organization launched innovative projects targeting vulnerable children using the financial support of CSSP. The project proved PADs capacity to implement community based projects that the organization managed to achieve the objective of the project in a level noted as national best practice. That the organization managed mass foster placement, local adoption of vulnerable children and reunification of most at risk children, establishment of regional HVC/FUND; in addition to mobilizing hundreds volunteer family on the waiting list. The success obtain acknowledgement of regional and federal governments and suggested duplication of the achievement in other parts of the country. PAD also sustained its effort of addressing the challenges of highly vulnerable children in Dire Dawa city administration by designing a project financed by the great Ethiopian run through Mekdonia home of elderly and mental ill people..So far in its implementation of the project focusing on child protection PAD managed to achieve extra ordinary achievement including Mass foster placement of vulnerable children for the first time in the history of the country, Mass Local adoption of vulnerable children in a national record level, Family Reunification of hundreds vulnerable children, Introduction of alternative family and community based child care options in the region and Establishment of community structure mandated to support vulnerable children.
3.2. Youth empowerment and poverty reduction
Youth Development program is also the other programmatic program being implemented by PAD in partnership with VSO. The program aimed enhancing the technical capacity of the youth through established opportunity for on the job training and experience
sharing of graduate Ethiopian out school youth with volunteers from abroad. As part of youth development program the organization managed to implement projects targeting the capacity enhancement of graduate candidate vulnerable girls through deployment in the grass root community. The project managed to enhance the capacity of the graduate candidate. In addition to this the project managed to enhance
the capacity of Community based Organization involvement in youth development through developing CBO strategy of youth development.
3.3. Girls Education Project
In its girls education short term project PAD provided scholastic material support poor family background girls.Considering gender as a pivotal issue of development, PAD has been mainstreaming gender in all its activities and this was guided by its own gender policy. The organization sustained need based support provision to underserved vulnerable school girls. Hence, PAD managed to provide integrated support including provision of scholastic material support, facilitation of tutor service and facilitation of scholarship. In general so far the organization managed to address a total of 250 vulnerable school girl’s through its school girl focused approach. The organization utilized finance from Mekdonia, VSO and CSSP to support its girl’s education support.
3.4. Strategic partnership grant focusing on Mental ill health
The successful achievement of PAD in child protection project supported by CSSP encouraged the donor agency to scale up its partnership to strategic partnership level. In line with this PAD is selected to be the only strategic partnership partner of CSSP and hence launched strategic partnership grant targeting men women and children affected by mental ill health problem. In line with this the organization is being implementing mental health project entitled ‘’ Love and hope bringing facts and intervention for dignified living condition of people affected by mental ill health’’. The SPG project is being carried to achieve higher result areas including
More services and resources become available for people affected by mental ill-health and their families,
Quality of life (like schooling & medication) begins to improve and people effected by mental ill health and their families become connected and organized at the end of the SPG.
Government and public awareness on mental ill-health increase
By implementing all these projects, PAD has been able to benefit community groups including poor children, women, and other disadvantaged groups in a sustainable manner. Under its foster care arrangement project PAD has been undertaking various activities categorized mainly under community mobilization, foster family identification and capacity enhancement, Community based organization capacity enhancement, establishing foster care screening committee, household sponsorship promotion, institution and capacity building, monitoring and evaluation components.
PAD so far PAD success and organizational credibility made PAD to be the only organization financed by the regional as well as federal government in the region. In addition to this the achievement encouraged the donor agency like CSSP to scale up their partnership modality with PAD to highest level of strategic partnership in which PAD is selected to implement the strategic partnership grant targeting children, men and women affected by mental ill health problem. PAD is currently implementing projects addressing vulnerable Youth in partnership with VSO, strategic partnership grant financed by CSSP targeting children, men and women, projects focusing on child trafficking using the support of great run and projects targeting vulnerable children, vulnerable school girls and women in Hareri regional state.
4. Organizational Experience and Capacity of Projects Implementation
Positive Action for Development has executed several community development programs and projects in Dire Dawa city Administration, Harari Regional state and Oromia Regional states. PAD programmatic intervention focus includes Preace Building, Child Protection and Development, HIV/AIDS, Gender and Youth Empowerment, Basic Health, Livelihood and Economic Empowerment and Environment. In general, PAD successfully implemented projects summery presented under
