Orphans and Vulnerable Children - CRIN

Threats to the Food Security of OVC

In this activity, you will:

 Discuss the factors that may threaten food distribution to vulnerable children

Facilitator’s notes:

For this activity you will need:

 Flipchart and markers

To facilitate this activity:

1 Divide the participants into small groups. Ask each group to brainstorm as many threats to

OVC food security as they can think of. Encourage them to think of threats at the family level,

community level, and national level. Each group should discuss the threats to food security in

three aspects: availability, utilisation and accessibility of food. Write responses up on the flipchart.

2 Once each group has made a list of threats, ask them to select the two or three items that most

threaten the food security of OVC in their own community. Back in plenary, have each group

present its ideas, which you can write up on the flipchart.

3 Then, based on these lists, ask whether the groups agree on the threats that are the greatest

problems in their own community. If they do, ask them why; if they don’t agree, ask them why not.

Allow time for questions and discussion. You may supplement the participants’ ideas using your

facilitator’s notes.

Activity 2

Threats to OVC food security may include any or all of the following:

• Sickness or absence of household head to tend to crops


• Sickness or absence of household head to prepare food and cook


• Child- or elderly-headed household has difficulty attending to all the tasks required to
  grow or prepare food


• Time is spent on tending to the sick or attending funerals instead of farming or food
  preparation


• Money for food is spent on medicines or burial costs instead


• Livestock, farming equipment and tools may be sold to pay for medical or burial costs


• Knowledge about farming techniques is not passed down because parents have died


• Adults in the household no longer able to bring in income to buy food


• Lack of money to buy seeds, tools or food


• Community stores of grain and food are depleted because so many people are falling ill
  and dying


• OVC who have been brought into other households may not receive as much food as
  other family members


• Lack of understanding about good nutrition.

20 minutes

(^218) Unit 2, Module 3 Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children