Nilinde Community Mentor Mother Approach

Nilinde (Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Nairobi and Coast Counties of Kenya) is a five-year USAID-funded project dedicated to improving the welfare and protection of children affected by HIV and AIDS.

The project saw an opportunity to enhance its coverage and support to children living with HIV and their caregivers by extending implementation of the Mentor Mother approach into community settings. Through creation of a “Community Mentor Mother” cadre, Nilinde aims to address the needs of children living with HIV holistically — supporting an enabling environment for their growth and stability by serving the entirety of their household and, thus, saturating their immediate interpersonal environment with support.

This technical brief discusses the project’s design of the Community Mentor Mother approach, and shares lessons from its initial implementation.