Our History

  VOCA is grounded on the work of its predecessor, Orphan Support Africa (OSA). Before OSA, there was Malawi Children’s Village (MCV), which uses a village-based outreach program to assist orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).    

Orphan Support Africa (OSA) Formed 

 In order to move beyond the 37 villages of MCV and expand some of the lessons learned there (malawichildrensvillage.org/), several of MCV board members and friends formed Orphan Support Africa. I moved to Malawi for five years to develop the organization and its programs. Initial funds came from individual contributions and grants from the Roy Foundation and individuals at Farallon Capital Management. In October 2006 OSA was a fortunate beneficiary of a Gates Foundation grant over three years that totaled $2.1 million. This was a great leap forward in building OSA’s infrastructure and improving its grant-making capacity for community groups. By 2009 OSA was supporting more than forty Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in Malawi who cared for 45,000 OVC. More importantly, “The OSA Approach” effectively strengthened participatory processes within those CBOs which increased each group’s sustainability. Training preceded the distribution of grants and included grant-writing, financial management, orphan care, as well as Participatory Training and Evaluation. Unique among most NGOs in country were frequent staff visits to CBO sites to improve their problem-solving skills and monitor grant compliance. From our very first visit to a CBO, OSA intended to leave it someday. The CBOs understood and anticipated this exit. It happened a bit sooner than planned, as donor funds disappeared during the Great Recession.    

Village Orphan Care-Africa Steps Up 

OSA exited Malawi in 2012 and today no longer operates in Malawi.   An unintended consequence of this regretful situation was the provision of a crucible with which the resiliency of our CBO partners could be asessed. OSA had emphasized sustainability—both economically and in social capital through broad community participation.  Assessments of our CBOs, beginning in 2011, on the impact of “The OSA Approach" showed most were still strong and earning regular income from their IGAs (Income Generating Activities). Encouraged by these surveys, Garry Prime and I decided to form another charitable organization that would sustain the CBO’s efforts to become self-sustaining. Most IGAs were challenged primarily by natural disasters and needed small levels of support to revitalize their projects. To do this, VOCA was organized in the USA as a non-profit charity in June 2015, and in January 2016 delivered small grants of $1,500-2000 to CBOs in Malawi so they in turn could support their vulnerable children.     

Current Program Funding 

CBOs selected for VOCA grants were successful partners with OSA, and had sustained their IGAs during five years before VOCA without funds from the US. Encouraged by a high sustainability rate of around 80%, further grants will be awarded to currently funded groups and also to new groups, perhaps expanding to the Northern and Central Districts. In the next years, VOCA anticipates funding ten to twelve CBOs. To keep our fiscal and organization footprint small, VOCA works only with OSA’s former partners. Feston Pangani, project consultant in Malawi, currently administers VOCA and monitors its grants. Consultant Rebecca Chivundula provides financial review of VOCA and the CBOs. 

--Michael Hill, Board Director, VOCA; former Executive Director, OSA

               (VOCA operates as a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization in the USA only).