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As of April 2008, there are 28 FXB-Villages in operation in Burundi (3), India (5), Rwanda (12), Thailand (4) and Uganda (4).
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The FXB-Village
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The FXB-Village is a low-cost, sustainable, community-based program to help families and communities respond to poverty, AIDS, and the rising number of orphaned and vulnerable children. The FXB-Village aims to strengthen families' capacities to improve their living conditions and lift themselves out of poverty permanently.
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How the FXB-Village program operates
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The FXB-Village provides a comprehensive and integrated package of support to needy families to help them get back on their feet. It includes multiple components such as income generating activities, medical care, education, professional training, nutritional support, psychosocial support, and HIV prevention and treatment, as well as an introduction to savings and micro-credit.
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Each FXB-Village provides 80 to 100 families (between 500 and 600 people, mostly children) with a basic package of health, education, psychosocial support and IGAs. It can operate independently or in parallel with others.
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The program costs approximately US$172,500 over three years, with scaled down costs each year. Families become increasingly self-sufficient, as they acquire the capacity to manage their own medical and schooling needs.
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In addition, by financing locally initiated small-scale projects designed to generate a continuous income flow, FXB is investing in the development of a thriving and diverse local economy.
What makes the FXB-Village unique
- Low-cost: With an investment of US$ 172,500 over 3 years, FXB staff accompany, advise, evaluate and monitor families progress towards self-sufficiency.
- Community-based: The Program is embedded in the community and the people participate in choices and decisions concerning them. We work in a bottom-up approach, with special attention to individuals’ needs. The FXB-Village has been developed over the years through continual dialogue between local communities and FXB staff, and has adapted to the evolving context of HIV and AIDS policies and activities.
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Proven success: Up to 85% of the beneficiary families have succeeded in becoming entirely self-sufficient, at times making a remarkable profit of $1 to $4 a day. Their sustainability lifts them out of poverty.
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How beneficiaries are selected
In order to target impoverished families and avoid duplication of assistance, FXB works closely with basic administrative authorities, heads of PLWHA associations, heads of community groups, representatives of religious groups, anti-AIDS clubs for young people and organizations that provide care for AIDS victims. The selection process takes into account:
- Degree of vulnerability (health status) of the beneficiaries.
- Situation and integrity of the family hosting AIDS orphans.
- Number of children receiving care.
- Capacity and willingness shown by beneficiaries to achieve the program objectives.
Once the families have been selected, FXB identifies heads of family by creating a file that includes their identity, names of people in their care, children's ages and schools, physical address, and socio-economic situation. FXB then records all beneficiaries in a healthcare center where they go to receive the appropriate treatment.