FOST promotes the improvement of the nutritional status of OVC and their households, including children in early childhood, through awareness and education of caregivers. FOST interventions also strengthen the livelihood situation of the households, through the sale of surplus vegetables, sweet potatoes and tomatoes produced in the gardens.  FOST has extensive experience in the area of economic strengthening and food security at household level and has the ability to replicate project activities in other food insecure areas.

A FOST flagship programme is support for self-help groups. The programme utilizes Internal Savings and Lending approaches for the most vulnerable households in the community. The project has reached over 1850 women who have been supported to establish and to grow their own businesses. This project has enabled women to send over 1650 children to school, improve their household income and participate in the development of their communities. The groups meet monthly and FOST uses the meeting to undertake training and awareness raising in a range of lifeskills and parenting skills linked to the rights of vulnerable children.

FOST also undertakes Psychosocial Support (PSS) to build children’s resilience and improve their coping skills to deal with loss and grief through a number of interventions, including case management, psychosocial support camps, memory work, age- appropriate support and counselling, education assistance. PSS provision, especially through PSS/OVC camps, has been a success story. The initiative has created positive memories for both children and their caregivers and helped to improve their relationships. 

FOST also implements PSS meetings with caregivers to avoid burn out of caregivers and train them on parenting skills. Through these meetings, FOST has discovered that there is a child in every adult that needs the chance to play. Involving adults in play has helped them to realise the importance of play for children and has given the skills to interact with children.