Children in Distress Network (CINDI)

CINDI is a network designed to provide support in sharing information, mobilising resources, and undertaking advocacy work on behalf of children affected by HIV/AIDS. Since 1996, CINDI members have been identifying common concerns around which they wish to take joint action to effect change for the benefit of vulnerable children. This resulted in the formation of Working Groups that exist only as long as members deem them necessary. For example, the Nutrition/Umsoco/African Roots ("from ground to table") group seeks to promote good nutrition practice in the context of HIV and AIDS and the propagation of wild edible plants in the context of food security. For this purpose, CINDI employs a Nutrition Training Officer who is based at a CINDI member organisation, and seeks funding for efforts to transfer technical skills to fellow CINDI members with food gardens. To cite another example, Thapelo Medicines Access seeks to provide supplies and support for CINDI members and their volunteers who are home-based carergivers. And the Children Helping Children group works with more privileged schools to promote AIDS awareness, break down prejudice, provide practical help, and challenge adults to care.

CINDI's projects are detailed on the CINDI website, and include:

• Child Advocacy Project (CAP) - Cap's goal is to ensure that children and their caregivers access relevant, user-friendly information in respect of their rights. This initiative involves: conducting campaigns in relation to child rights and social security; establishing two Community Advisory Centres in local communities; undertaking research into policy implementation gaps in KwaZulu-Natal and making recommendations to relevant tiers of government; analysing programmes implemented by CINDI members in the areas of housing, food security, education, and health; providing relevant capacity building for CINDI members and stakeholders; recording good practice; and developing a CINDI Data Base and interactive website.
• CHIP (Child Intervention Panel) - seeks to respond to delays experienced by children within the child care system. The panel aims to ensure administrative justice for children and their caregivers. Anyone who believes that the best interests of a child are not being served, and who has unsuccessfully tried all other avenues to resolve a problem, completes a CHIP report form, which is available from the CINDI and CAP offices.
• Through CINDI members, the Singatha School Uniform Fund seeks to provide vulnerable children with school uniforms if their attendance at school is jeopardised by their being unable to afford the cost of a school uniform.
• Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) - As part of its member capacitation programme, the CINDI Network Office is developing a monitoring and evaluation system for its members who are funded through the CINDI Funding Conduit.
• CBO Mentoring Project - for details, click here.
• Irish Aid research - In order to inform the practice of CINDI Members, Irish Aid made funding available for 3 research projects and the development of a networking toolkit based on the CINDI Model. Members themselves decided on the research topics as follows: reducing stigma, enhancing resilience, and supporting endogenous community-based responses.
• Comfort Dolls - CINDI members use comfort dolls in their therapeutic work with bereaved children, and some give them to HIV-positive children to assist in antiretroviral (ARV) compliance. Using a pattern available on the CINDI website, knitters from the United States and the United Kingdom (UK) have been creating and mailing the dolls.

HIV/AIDS, Children.