Request for Applications for Lesotho Grants Program

BUILDING LOCAL CAPACITY FOR DELIVERY OF HIV SERVICES
IN SOUTHERN AFRICA PROJECT
BUILDING LOCAL CAPACITY FOR DELIVERY OF COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES TO
ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND THEIR CAREGIVERS IN LESOTHO
REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS – GRANTS PROGRAM

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for
International Development or the United States Government.
Building Local Capacity for Delivery of HIV Services in Southern Africa Project
Cooperative Agreement Number: LWA# GPO-A00-05-00024-00
Leadership, Management and Sustainability Program
Management Sciences for Health
Address:
MSH Lesotho
1st Floor
NBC Sechaba House
Alliance Park
Four Bowker Road
Maseru, Lesotho
Tel No: (+266) 22 316 096
Contact person: Joe Kumadzulo, Lesotho Grants Manager
Email: blcsouthernafrica@msh.org

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents....................................................................................................................................... iii
Acronyms .................................................................................................................................................... iv
Section 1: Funding Opportunity Description ............................................................................................5
1.0 OVERVIEW OF THE LESOTHO BLC PROJECT ................................................................................. 5
1.1 Grants Program Purpose and Objectives ...................................................................................................... 5
1.2 The purpose of the Grants.............................................................................................................................. 5
1.2.1Proposed Activities .................................................................................................................................... 6
1.2.2 Goals/Targets ........................................................................................................................................... 7
1.3 Authorizing Legislation and Regulations ....................................................................................................... 8
1.4 Award Administration ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Section 2: AWARD INFORMATION ..................................................................................................... 10
2.1Funding, Award Size ....................................................................................................................................... 10
2.2 Start Date and Period of Performance ......................................................................................................... 10
2.3 Termination of the Grants ............................................................................................................................ 10
SECTION 3: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION ..................................................................................... 10
SECTION 4: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION .............................................. 11
4.1 Points of Contact and Delivery Information............................................................................................... 11
4.2 Formats and Application Details .................................................................................................................. 12
4.2.1 Proposal Guidelines ............................................................................................................................... 12
4.2.2 Budget Guidelines .................................................................................................................................. 12
Section 5: Application Review and Evaluation Process .......................................................................... 12
5.1 PROPOSAL EVALUATION...................................................................................................................... 12
5.1.1 The Grants Selection Committee .............................................................................................................. 14
SECTION 6: AWARD ADMINISTRATION ......................................................................................... 14
6.1 Grant Agreement ........................................................................................................................................... 14
6.1.1 Type of Award ........................................................................................................................................ 14
6.2 Reporting Requirements ................................................................................................................................ 14
6.3 Monitoring and Evaluation Requirements ................................................................................................... 14
SECTION 7: OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION ..................................................................... 15
Annex 1: Proposal and budget Formats ................................................................................................... 16
1.1 Proposal format, and guide notes ............................................................................................................ 16
1.2 Budget format, and guide notes ............................................................................................................... 21
Annex 2: attachments ................................................................................................................................ 22
Annex 3: Project Summaries ..................................................................................................................... 23

ACRONYMS
AIDS
BLC
CBO
CSO
DSW
FBO
HIV
MOH
MOSD
MOLGC
MOU
MSH
NGO
OVC
PEPFAR
PLWHA
PMP
RHAP
SADC
SOW
USAID
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
Building Local Capacity
Community Based Organizations
Civil Society Organization
Department of Social Welfare
Faith-based Organization
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Ministry of Health
Ministry of Social Development
Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship (Lesotho)
Memorandum of Understanding
Management Sciences for Health
Non-governmental organization
Orphans and Vulnerable Children
President‟s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief
People Living with HIV/AIDS
Performance Monitoring Plan
Regional HIV/AIDS Program
Southern African Development Community
Scope of Work
United States Agency for International Development

SECTION 1: FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
1.0 OVERVIEW OF THE LESOTHO BLC PROJECT
The Building Local Capacity (BLC) for Delivery of HIV Services in Southern Africa Project is a five-year
project (2010-2015) contributing to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Regional HIV/AIDS Program (RHAP) goal to strengthen the overall sustainability, quality, and reach of
HIV/AIDS interventions in the region. BLC builds the capacity of government and civil society entities in
the Southern Africa region, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland, to implement
policies and health services for those infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS.
The project‟s vision for Lesotho is that by the year 2015, the Lesotho Ministry of Social Development
(MOSD), civil society organizations (CSOs), and development partners will work in coordination to directly
provide and link orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) and their caregivers to quality programming and
services that are age and gender specific. They will work with community members, especially in remote
areas, to ensure that interventions are applied through local mechanisms/structures targeted to each
community and sustainable over time.
In Lesotho, through the Grants Program and other activities, BLC contributes to the government‟s National
Health and Social Welfare Strategic Plan (2006-2011), National OVC Strategic Plan (2011-2016), President‟s
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Lesotho-US Partnership Framework 2009, and the
USAID/RHAP goal to strengthen the overall sustainability, quality, and reach of community-based
interventions given to OVC and their caregivers.
1.1 Grants Program Purpose and Objectives
The grants to be awarded through this solicitation will support local CSOs to implement activities that
provide essential care and support services to OVC and their caregivers in Lesotho.
1.2 The purpose of the Grants
The BLC Grants Program will award two grants for organizations to carry out activities in the following
districts and specific community councils:
1. Mohale‟s Hoek – in the community council of Siloe
2. Qacha‟s Nek – in the community councils of Ntsupe and Tsoelikana
It should be noted that the BLC project has supported two organizations to implement projects before in the
above mentioned areas for a year. The project in Siloe community council in Mohale‟s Hoek will end in April
2013; whilst the project in Ntsupe and Tsoelikana community councils in Qacha‟s Nek ended in September
2012.
The successful applicants will therefore propose projects that will continue to provide quality and sustainable
services to OVC and their caregivers in these areas. The successful applicants are expected to provide
services to the same individual beneficiaries that were reached during the first year (data on all individuals to
be served will be provided to the successful applicants; out of safety and privacy concerns for the children,
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the data will not be made public). The services provided will depend on needs of the beneficiaries, whilst at
the same time, building on services that have already been previously provided.
Applicants are encouraged to consult the scope of work that was implemented in the first year of the
respective project by the previous implementing partners so that they may develop a relevant project. Annex
3 of the RFA contains the summary of scopes of work that the previous BLC-supported projects
implemented in the areas mentioned above. However, applicants must also demonstrate that they have
conducted participatory consultations with the stakeholders in the communities as part of the project
conceptualization process to ensure that the local community needs are addressed and adequately responded
to in the proposed project. Therefore, as part of evidence that communities have been consulted, applicants
will need to obtain an endorsement letter from the community councils (e.g. from community council
secretary) confirming that targeted areas are those that were previously supported through BLC.
1.2.1Proposed Activities
Listed below are the proposed activities for the project which the applicants can consider for including in
their projects. The mentioned activities are for illustrative purposes only and the Lesotho BLC Grants
Program may fund activities that do not appear on this list. In all respects, applicants are encouraged to be
innovative in proposing interventions that provide care and support for OVC and their caregivers in line with
the BLC Grants Program objective, the Lesotho National OVC Strategic Plan 2006-2011, and PEPFAR
Guidance for OVC programming. For more details on PEPFAR Guidance for OVC programming please
visit the following websites: 1) http://www.pepfar.gov/documents/organization/83298.pdf; and 2)
http://www.pepfar.gov/documents/organization/137495.pdf). While recognizing that Lesotho has not yet
adopted national minimum care standards, each applicant will be expected to demonstrate the care standards
it utilizes in its programming.
Activities that involve procurement and/or provision/distribution of food and agricultural products
will not be funded. Applicants may, however, include these activities in their proposals as long as
they are procured from alternative sources of funding to complement the BLC support.
The Lesotho BLC Grants Program encourages applicants to propose projects that address the following
priorities:
Providing psychosocial and spiritual support to caregivers and children in the family in order to
minimize depression and anxiety;
Providing training and counseling on food security and nutrition support to caregivers and children
in the family; including developing and/or maintaining homestead gardens to increase food
availability for households;
Prolonging the lives of children, parents and/or other adult caregivers by providing them
with/linking them to/facilitating their access to essential primary health care services (including
PMTCT);
Providing access to educational and/or vocational training or other skills acquisition in order to
improve employment opportunities of children in the households to ultimately strengthen their
economic status;
Providing legal support for the protection of the rights of the adult caregivers and children in the
family, including the protection of their assets and their rights;
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Partnering with key service providers i.e. governmental, non-governmental and private sector to
provide comprehensive services to caregivers and children affected by HIV/AIDS in the families
being served;
Creating and/or maintaining referral networks and linkages that already exist and include community
support groups or volunteers, other health and social workers who can monitor the capacity and
needs of families or OVC affected by HIV/AIDS;
Providing innovative interventions that aim at strengthening the economic and livelihood status of
adult OVC and caregivers;
Regular monitoring of (children) OVC at an outcome level according to specific domain areas to
assess whether they are thriving;
Develop and implement monitoring and evaluation system for regular collection of high quality data,
data analysis, and reporting to measure progress towards intended goals;
Regular and timely updating of OVC and caregivers database; and,
Strengthening community based care and support systems for sustainable care and support for
children and their caregivers.
The expectation is not for each partner to implement all the essential services, but to ensure that beneficiaries
have access to all the services through the undertaking of holistic programming that ensures that appropriate
linkages through referrals are made for those services that the applicant cannot provide or undertake.
Further, the applicants should articulate how their proposed projects will be sustained beyond the funding by
proposing specific sustainability strategies.
Proposed interventions must be age and gender appropriate; the proposal should explain specifics of how
this will be accomplished in the project. Proposals should describe which activities will specifically target
boys/girls and various age groups. Projects working with children are especially sensitive and applicants will
need to show how their interventions will be guided by the principal of „do no harm.‟ For instance, projects
taking place in schools will need to ensure that the activities are conducted in a non-stigmatizing manner that
could potentially further damage the child psychologically. Projects involving girl children should be
implemented in a cautious manner that ensures that in no way does it encourage abuse, exploitations,
trafficking or prostitution.
1.2.2 Goals/Targets
As discussed above (Section 1.2) the respective projects are supposed to reach beneficiaries that have already
been reached previously by precedent organizations. The following are targets of beneficiaries to be reached:
1. Mohale‟s Hoek in the following council: Siloe 2,500 OVC and caregivers, estimated since the project
is ongoing till April 2013. The target may slightly increase; and the successful applicant will have to
validate the ultimate reach with the BLC project.
2. Qacha‟s Nek in the following councils: Ntsupe and Tsoelikana (3,511 OVC and caregivers in both
councils).
If there is an urgent and justified need to provide support to a child or group of children and their caregivers
that were not part of the previous intervention, the project can be allowed to provide them with the needed
care and support services. In the event where such cases, that is, whereby new children and caregivers are
reached, they will need to be documented as new beneficiaries. Further, applicants should demonstrate in
their proposals how beneficiaries will receive „repeat services‟ throughout the life span of the proposed
project, instead of beneficiaries getting services once.
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Grants will be performance-based against set targets for specific indicators which will measure the
effectiveness of service delivery of at least a minimum of one high-quality care service to OVC and their
caregivers.
1.3 Authorizing Legislation and Regulations
The BLC Grants Program will follow the requirements of USAID‟s Automated Directives System (ADS) 303
Grants and Cooperative Agreements (as revised June 28, 2012), the Mandatory Standard Provisions for US
and Non-US Non-Governmental Recipients, Mandatory Standard Provisions for Fixed Obligation Grants,
the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-122, 22 CFR 226, the provisions of the MSH Associate
Award 674-A-00-10-00060-00 where appropriate and any applicable US and Lesotho Law. The authority for
this RFA is to be found in the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act, as amended.
The grants shall be provided on fixed obligation grant terms. In this respect, the progress of the
grantee in achieving the grant objectives and targets will be measured through achievement of milestones.
Achievement of a milestone will be measured by the items listed under each milestone. On achievement of
the milestone and after submission of proof of accomplishment (including required source documentation)
along with the combined payment request and benchmark certification form, the grantee will receive a
disbursement based on the delivery of stated milestones in the performance monitoring plan.
1.4 Award Administration
The flow chart in Figure 1 below provides the stages involved in the administration of this third round,
summarizing the major phases within the award administration. This RFA and its associated announcements
in the local newspapers are part of the formal application process. The whole process will be openly
competed and managed in a transparent manner.
The grants cycle comprises the following phases:
Planning
Announcement for applications
Screening of proposals by Grants Selection Committee (GSC)
Selection of potential applicants by GSC
Pre-award assessments
Proposal improvement
Negotiation and award
Administration
Close-out
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Figure 1: Grants Cycle
Grants Planning 26 Nov 2012– 25 Jan 2013
Request for Application
(RFA)
Estimated Release Date:
1Feb 2013
Full Proposal Submitted 22 Feb
2013; Reviewed against
selection criteria by full
Selection Committee on 27 Feb
Applicant rejected
Proposal Preliminarily
Recommended for
Approval
High Risk Applicants
Rejected
Pre-award assessments
conducted 7-8 March;
Responsibility
Determination Letter to
BLC Project Director 14
March 2013
Notification letters sent and dates for
pre-award assessments on 28 Feb
Proposal Improvement meetings with pre-screened
applicants conducted 21 – 22 March to go over MSH
expectations for grants proposal revision and
budgeting
Proposals revised by organizations and resubmitted
for GSC review on 5 April; GSC members submit
written recommendations via e-mail by 10 April
Applicant rejected or
requested to make
significant changes &
reapply next round
Negotiation & revision as necessary; Award
& Certifications period 15-30 April 2013
Monitoring & Evaluation
Financial
Technical
Administrative
Technical Assistance
Close-Out
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SECTION 2: AWARD INFORMATION
2.1Funding, Award Size
Individual grants made to organizations will be up to US$200,000 per annum equivalent to Lesotho Maloti
depending on the proposed activities and the organization‟s capacity to manage the funds. It is estimated
approximately two awards will be made to cover the two districts and their targeted areas as indicated above.
2.2 Start Date and Period of Performance
It is estimated that MSH will award the grants in April 2013. The period of performance for the grants is
between one and two years, subject to the grantee‟s performance. The applicant shall propose a two-year
project with detailed scope of work, work plan and budget for year one. The proposal should also contain an
overview of proposed work to be conducted in year two with a summary budget. A grantee that is able to
demonstrate consistent high performance against their set targets in year one may be eligible to have their
grant extended for a further one year.
2.3 Termination of the Grants
USAID retains the right to unilaterally terminate any and all activities funded through sub-grants. USAID
may require MSH to terminate the grant activities or the grants program unilaterally in extraordinary
circumstances. Further, every award shall include a termination provision that allows for: 1) mutual
termination in writing by both parties; and 2) unilateral termination by MSH in the event that USAID (i)
terminates the USAID/ Building Local Capacity Contract; (ii) rescinds MSH‟s authority to enter into grants
under the Building Local Capacity Contract; or (iii) requires MSH to terminate the individual grant award (or
any group of awards).
SECTION 3: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION
In order to be eligible to submit a proposal for the Lesotho BLC Grants Program, an applicant must be
eligible to receive USAID funds by meeting the following minimum requirements:
Proof of registration in Lesotho
Minimum statutory requirements (they do not appear on the Excluded Parties List,
Terrorism/Special Designated Nationals, Blocked Persons or Office of Foreign Assets Control lists)
An established bank account and financial controls systems
Additionally, the applicant must:
1) Be a local organization. “Local”, as defined by USAID, means that an entity must have all four of the
following:
a) Be organized under the laws of the recipient country (Lesotho);
b) Have its principal place of business in the recipient country;
c) Be majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the recipient
country or be managed by a governing body, the majority of whom are citizens or lawful permanent
residence of the recipient country; AND
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d) Not be controlled by a foreign entity or by an individual or individuals who are not citizens or
permanent residents of the recipient country.
2) Propose a project that contributes to the goals of the BLC Project, PEPFAR and Lesotho National OVC
Strategic Plan (2011-2016).
3) Have the potential to reach a significant number of project beneficiaries (minimum number as mentioned
above in respect of the district/community council of implementation).
4) Provide at least two donor references. Information required for references is contained in Annex 3.
5) Have current operations and/or recently operated in the proposed district. In a case whereby the
applicant has neither current operations nor recently operated in the target district of implementation,
they should justify how they would assure effective project implementation and how operations will be
managed.
NB: Please note that MSH may consider applications from organizations that it supported previously; and have
either completed or are still implementing their projects. No preference will be afforded to these organizations
and all applications will be subjected to the competitive selection process as outlined below.
As per ADS303.3.6.6, USAID (and implementing partners) may limit competition to local or regional
(indigenous) organizations. In keeping with the regulations, this solicitation is limited to local organizations
only. U.S., European or other regions‟ organizations may not compete for the awards. If a decision is made
to open this procurement up to foreign entities (non-Basotho) the solicitation will be re-advertised and recompeted.
SECTION 4: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
4.1 Points of Contact and Delivery Information
Applications, which consist of a proposal, work plan, summary budget and required annexes, must be
received by the Lesotho BLC Project no later than 17:00 on 22 February 2013. Late submissions will not
be reviewed or screened by MSH.
It is the policy of USAID that English is the official language of all award documents; hence all documents
must be submitted to the BLC Project in English. The proposals must be submitted in English as a
Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF document and must not exceed the number of pages stipulated in the
proposal format provided (see Annex 1), excluding attachments (e.g., resumes, reference details, work plan,
budget, etc.). Page limitations include the following requirements: 1.5-spaced text printed on one side of the
page only; and 11-point (minimum) font in Times New Roman. Applicants are cautioned that submitting
superfluous material as attachments will detract from their application.
The budget must be written in English in Microsoft Excel format, expressed in Lesotho Maloti and, one page
maximum. No sub-grants are allowed under this grant program. See budget guidelines below (Annex 2) for
more information.
The proposals may either be submitted in electronic or hard copy format (hand-delivery). In the case where
electronic format is preferred the address is blcsouthernafrica@msh.org. Please include the title of your
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organization and the word “Grant” in your subject line. You will receive confirmation of delivery within 24
hours; if you do not receive said confirmation please call or e-mail again to request the confirmation in
writing.
In case where hand-delivery is preferred, please bring the proposals to:
MSH Headquarters Lesotho
1 st Floor
NBC Sechaba House
Alliance Park
Four Bowker Road
Maseru, Lesotho
Tel: (+266) 22 316 096
Contact person: Grants Manager, Joe Kumadzulo
A written receipt of delivery will be issued for hand delivered proposals.
If for any reason BLC does not read or evaluate your proposal, you must be able to produce either the
electronic or hand-written receipt.
Applications may NOT be submitted by fax or postal mail.
4.2 Formats and Application Details
4.2.1 Proposal Guidelines
The proposal format and guidelines are explained in Annex 1 in this RFA. Only proposals that are written
following the provided format and guidelines will be accepted for review. Proposals that do not follow the
provided format and guidelines will be rejected and no further action will be taken on them.
The successful applicants for this request for proposals will meet the BLC team for a proposal
improvementsession (whereby the applicant will address the Grant Selection Committee‟s review feedback)
and consideration of a grant award by MSH on behalf of USAID.
4.2.2 Budget Guidelines
The budget format is provided in Annex 1 in this RFA. The one-page summary budget should include both
the estimated costs to carry out activities under the grant for year 1 and summary budget for year 2. Budget
summaries should include cost information at the category level with total amounts in Lesotho Maloti.
SECTION 5: APPLICATION REVIEW AND EVALUATION PROCESS
5.1 PROPOSAL EVALUATION
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MSH has established a Grants Selection Committee (GSC) to review and evaluate all proposals received.
The main criteria for all awards under the BLC project is based on proposals and work plans that are results
oriented, technically sound, administratively complete, and based on allowable and reasonable costs.
The proposals will be competitively evaluated against the following criteria:
Technical Merit (5 points)
­ Alignment between the proposed project focus and objectives, the organization‟s Mission
and mandate and the OVC priorities in the proposed district
­ Type of services proposed to be provided to OVC and their caregivers are comprehensive,
needs-based and includes a referral strategy
­ Proposed linkages and ways of collaborating with government such as staff from MOSD,
community councils, Ministry of Education and other relevant government offices
­ Proposed linkages and ways of collaborating with other partners such as other local civil
society organizations, support groups and other community-based organizations including
networks
­ Demonstrated knowledge of OVC, and the selected community council(s) and villages where
the intervention is proposed
­ Activities reflect system strengthening, community ownership, and sustainability
­ Present clear and actionable monitoring and evaluation plan
­ Articulate basic standards of service to be provided
Past Performance in other grants and Organizational Management (2 points)
­ References provided by applicant give positive feedback on previous grant performance
­ Basic financial, accounting, and operational systems
­ Legally registered to work in Lesotho (registration at the Law Office at the Ministry of
Justice)
­ Organizational bank account & demonstrated financial control capacity
Cost Reasonableness (3 points)
­ The proposed budget demonstrates an emphasis on OVC service delivery which is evidenced
by the proportional costs
­ The number of OVC reached represents value for money against the budget (consideration
for the geography of the area of intervention as well as the proposed services will be given)
All applicants will be notified in writing within 10 days of the GSC meeting with regard to their potential
merit of their application. Applicants deemed to have merit will have their institutional capacity assessed by
undergoing a pre-award assessment exercise; a date for the assessment will be included in your response letter
should you be successful at this stage. Those applicants who successfully pass the pre-award assessment and
are deemed responsible to manage US Government funds will then meet the BLC team to improve their
proposals at a date to be mutually determined.
MSH will maintain a written record of the process and results of the GSC. This record will account for how
the application was evaluated against the selection criteria and will contain a justification for the decision
whether or not to fund the proposal. Such a written account will be used upon completion of the review
process to provide feedback to the applicants. All applicants will receive written notification within 10 days
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after the GSC meets. Applicants whose proposals are selected by the GSC will be notified in writing of their
preliminary acceptance, informed of any revisions or concerns of the GSC and provided a date for their preaward
assessment visit by the Grants Manager.
Decisions made by the GSC will not be final until the pre-award assessment is conducted and the applicant is
deemed responsible.
5.1.1 The Grants Selection Committee
A Grant Selection Committee (GSC) comprising the Lesotho OVC Senior Advisor, a member of BLC‟s
Monitoring and Evaluation team, and other members of the BLC technical staff and project partners such as
the MOSD has been established. The GSC will be advised by USAID. Decisions of the GSC will be made
in accordance with the Selection Criteria laid out in Section 5.1; and, each applicant will be graded against
these criteria in writing.
SECTION 6: AWARD ADMINISTRATION
6.1 Grant Agreement
The grant agreement is the official legal document governing individual award. The BLC Project Director
has been delegated with the signatory responsibility for the grants from MSH Senior Contracts Officer. The
USAID Agreement Officer‟s Technical Representative (AOTR) will approve the selection of grant recipients
and the substantive provisions of the grant agreement.
6.1.1 Type of Award
The BLC Project will award Fixed Obligation Grants. In this respect, grant funds will be disbursed upon
achievement of pre-determined milestones. Grant closeout will be accomplished by acceptance of the final
milestone and approval of payment.
6.2 Reporting Requirements
Specific reporting requirements will be included in individual grant agreements, tailored to the programmatic
requirements of each grantee. Reporting will be designed to meet both the BLC project needs and those of
project partners, particularly the MOSD. Technical and financial reporting will be done quarterly; and on a
monthly basis data on beneficiaries reached will be submitted.
6.3 Monitoring and Evaluation Requirements
All BLC grantees are expected to routinely monitor their activities, accomplishments, and the quality of
services provided. BLC provides to its grantees training on monitoring and evaluation, reporting templates,
data quality standards, indicators and other expectations on an ongoing basis. The grantees are required to
report on a quarterly basis their progress against PEPFAR and BLC custom indicators using BLC‟s M&E
indicator reporting template. The grantees may also develop their own indicators as well to report on, but at a
minimum they are required to report against PEPFAR indicators so that BLC can accurately and in a timely
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manner report to USAID the project‟s overall progress. In respect of this RFA, successful applicants will
attend a reporting orientation where they will be trained on BLC indicators, source documentation, and
reporting templates.
SECTION 7: OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
MSH and USAID reserve the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted under this grants
program. Grants under this program cannot be used to purchase equipment, agricultural commodities, fund
infrastructure or construction projects, or for international travel. Other restricted and unallowable goods
can be found in the regulations referenced in section 1.3 above.
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ANNEX 1: PROPOSAL AND BUDGET FORMATS
1.1 Proposal format, and guide notes
The BLC Grants Program proposals will serve as the working document to guide the grantee‟s dayto-day
implementation and achievement of stated objectives and results. Grantees will be legally
obligated to fulfill what is outlined in the approved proposals. The guidance provided in this
document serves to assist those applicants who have decided to submit proposals following this
RFA.
Please note that the guiding questions have been provided to help the applicant conceive ideas.
Applicants should NOT respond directly to the questions in a Question, Answer format; otherwise
the proposal may result into a disjointed document which may confuse the GSC or make the
proposal difficult to evaluate.
A. Cover Page
1. Name, address and registration number of organization
2. Names of at least two contact people their positions, telephone number, e-mail address
3. Title of the Project
4. Location of Project {district and council(s)}
5. Duration of Project
6. Total Estimated cost (Lesotho Maloti)
B. Proposal
1. Executive Summary (Maximum one page)
Lead question: What is the outline of the proposed project in summary?
This section should be a brief, clear summary and should contain the following information and can
include any additional information to describe the proposed project.
Guiding questions:
Where will the proposed project take place? (include names of districts/councils)
How does the proposed project fit with and/or complement activities of the applicant
organization?
Why is this project needed?
What are the project goals, objectives, and key strategies?
How will the project involve other stakeholders, if any, such as MOSD), Community Based
Organizations, support groups, secondary caregivers?
What are the approaches being proposed for reaching project objectives?
What is the proposed number of potential beneficiaries to be reached?
What is the total budget proposed for this project?
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2. Justification/Background (Maximum one page)
Lead question: Why do you want to carry out this project in that specific location?
This section presents an overview of the context in which the proposed project will take place. It
should provide the context of OVC and their caregivers in the selected project area to serve as the
basis for the selection of interventions, major delivery strategies, and key project partners.
This should include historical aspects, opportunities and most relevant constraints, and previous
efforts to deal with the subject in the areas you propose to work. The most relevant factors and
points that need to be considered in order to solve the problem should be specified.
Guiding questions:
Where will the proposed project take place? (include names of districts/councils)
What OVC (and their caregivers) services have been provided in the previous project?
What are the felt needs for OVC that remain to be addressed in the proposed project?
What other characteristics impact the health status of the population in this area? (e.g.,
socioeconomic status, religion, gender equity, literacy, etc.)
How is the proposed project consistent with current MOSD, Lesotho OVC Policy,
PEPFAR, and global policies and strategies on OVC?
Are there similar projects to the one being proposed being undertaken by other
organizations or the applicant in the same location for this proposed project? What are the
opportunities for complimenting and partnering? How will you ensure there is no
duplication of effort?
3. Project Implementation Strategy (Maximum four pages, not including tables)
Lead question: How do you actually intend to accomplish the goal of the project?
This section provides the context of the proposed project strategy and describes the implementation
plan. Include details on the proposed technical interventions and corresponding activities. The
project Results Framework and work plan should be presented clearly. Describe in a narrative the
goals, activities and desired results of the project as well. Note that you can ideally have one goal for
the project, several objectives and multiple activities per objective.
Guiding questions:
What is the goal of this project?
What are the objectives of the project?
Describe the project‟s modus operandi (the program approach) - how will you reach the
OVC and their caregivers with services: Is it with staff, it is with support groups, is it with
individual appointed caregivers?
What activities will be implemented to ensure the goals and objectives are achieved?
­ Ensure that for each objective there are relevant activities.
17

­ Each activity should be described how it will be undertaken (inputs, outputs
frequency can be included)
Present a results framework that clearly represents the program‟s expected results and
objectives. Please see Table 1 (below) for a results framework template.
What are the potential barriers to the proposed project?
How the project will address potential barriers?
Table 1. Results Framework
(Note that the table has been populated for illustrative purposes only)
Goal
Objective Activities Results
To provide continuum of
care to OVC
Conduct training for care givers in
identification of OVC
Conduct household visit to identify
OVC needs
Caregivers equipped with knowledge on
OVC identification
OVC needs identified and relevant support
provided
• Present a work plan that clearly represents the proposed project activities. Please see Table 2
(see below) for the work plan template.
Table 2. Work plan Template
(Note that the table has been populated for illustrative purposes only. This table can also be
provided as an attachment)
Objective Activities Implementation Period Personnel Comments
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
1.To
provide
continuum
of care to
OVC
1.1 Conduct
training for care
givers in
identification of
OVC
X
Program
Officer
1.2 Conduct
household visits
to identify OVC
X X X Caregivers
18

needs
4. Monitoring and Evaluation (Maximum one page)
Lead question: How are you going to check and follow the performance of your project?
This section outlines the project‟s plans for tracking and monitoring key project indicators. Explain
how you will routinely monitor progress against indicators and your project objectives. Also, provide
an indication on how you will evaluate the quality of services provided.
Guiding questions:
How will monitoring of activities be carried out? Where necessary include monitoring
activities in the budget. Further, include a monitoring and evaluation table (Refer to Table 3
below) that outlines all the proposed project indicators that are linked to specific project
objectives.
How will the data flow from beneficiary point of contact to reporting? Please clearly state the
data flow and the personnel involved in the process.
How will results be shared and used with the stakeholders and partners (e.g., district/council
level health officials, MOSD and local authorities). How will the community/beneficiaries
use the data and benefit from it?
Table 3. M&E Table
(Note that the table has been populated for illustrative purposes only. It is expected that the
applicant will incorporate indicators that are relevant to their proposed project)
Indicator
Target
(over
funding
period)
the
Data
Source
Data
Collection
Method
Data
Collection
Schedule
Responsible
Team/Person
Number of eligible
adults and children
provided with
psychological,
social, or spiritual
support
Number of eligible
children who
received food
and/or nutritional
services
19

Number of eligible
children who are
provided with
health referral
Number of eligible
children who are
provided with
education and/or
vocational training
5. Sustainability Strategy
Lead question: How will the interventions that the project will be undertaking continue beyond the
project‟s contractual lifespan with BLC?
This section provides an opportunity to explain the project‟s strategy to ensure that some of the (or
all) interventions carried out during implementation period of the project do remain operational for a
reasonable time after the project closure. It is important to include tangible activities in the
sustainability strategy
Guiding questions:
What community structures have been put in place to assist with carrying out
interventions?
What capacity building interventions have been initiated to ensure community structures
undertake project implementation in a professional manner?
Note: You can make reference to some of the activities you proposed in the community system
strengthening approach
6. Organizational Capacity (Maximum one page)
Lead question: What capacity does your organization have as an institution to deliver the project?
This section provides evidence that the applicant has the ability to carry out a successful project and
describes how the applicant will implement the proposed project.
Guiding questions:
What is the organization‟s general purpose, mission statement, goals, annual budget
(including funding sources), major work and main methods of operation?
How will the proposed project be managed? Include a description of the key responsibilities
of staff (and volunteers) involved and/or other relevant organizations, reporting
relationships, authority and lines of communication within and between staff involved. In
the attachments, please provide an organizational chart that clearly shows the key project
personnel and how they fit into the overall organization.
20

Please also give examples of some of the management systems and structures that you have
in place to effectively manage and account for the proposed funding.
1.2 Budget format, and guide notes
The budget shall be prepared in Microsoft Excel in local currency with the project‟s total cost shown
in USD as well. The budget should relate directly to the proposed project. Specifically all relevant
activities should be reflected in the budget. Each activity should be costed as a stand-alone with all
costs that will take for it to be implemented budget within itself.
Name and Position
Total
Level of
Effort (days)
Daily Rate
No
persons
TOTAL PERSONNEL
No. of units
No. of frequency
Cost
unit
per
Total
No. of units
No. of frequency
Cost
unit
per
Total
3.1 Project Activities
3.2 Office operating
costs
TOTAL Activity&
Operating COSTS
TOTAL PROJECT
COST (MALOTI)
21

1.2.1 Budget explanations:
Personnel:
This category is made up of staff, paid volunteers, consultants or any other person spending time on
the project. You may not pay honorarium, sitting fees, or any other form of compensation to
government officials or Board members. Only those people who directly contribute to the activities
in the project will be paid. This includes compensation paid to staff depending on the level of effort
contributed to the project; level of effort should be measured on a unit of days. Please note that it is
not acceptable to increase salaries for the sake of the project. The costs would include other
allowable costs such pension, leave pay where provided in applicants conditions of service.
Activity and Operating Costs:
These are costs that are specifically incurred in the pursuance of achieving the final project objective
as related to project activities being undertaken and office operating costs.
Each activity is to be cost individually and wholly; that is, all costs needed to carry out an activity
should be included e.g. fuel, transport refunds, allowances, meals, hall charges, stationery. In this
respect the assumption is that all proposed activities are cost; though practically there may be some
activities that cannot be specifically cost- however, such activities would be obvious in the program
implementation strategy.
Office operating costs would include such costs as rent, office stationery, telephone, email, bank
charges.
ANNEX 2: ATTACHMENTS
The following documents must be included with the proposal document:
Evidence of Registration with the Law Office
Two contactable references (Name, Organization, Position, Relationship to your
organization, telephone number and e-mail address)
22

ANNEX 3: PROJECT SUMMARIES
Project profile for Siloe Community council
Project profile for Ntsupe and Tsoelikana community councils
YEAR 1 PROJECT SUMMARY FOR SILOE COMMUNITY COUNCIL MOHALES’
HOEK DISTRICT
PROJECT GOAL: To ensure the well-being of orphans and vulnerable children, and their care
givers, pregnant and lactating mothers.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES:
a) To provide needed care including psychosocial support, home based care, health referral and
children‟s rights to OVC and caregivers
b) Establish referral networks for services, and follow up pregnant women living with HIV/AIDS
on PMTCT, to promote treatment adherence.
c) To enhance nutritional support for PLWHA and OVC.
TARGETED BENEFICIARIES:
The project is implementing in 20 villages in the Community Council of Siloe, targeting 400
households; with an estimate of 2 to 3 OVC‟s per household. The project also is targeting
malnourished children and women living with HIV and AIDS.
23

ACTIVITIES:
OBJECTIVE ACTIVITIES OUTPUTS
To provide needed care including
psychosocial support, home based
care, health referral and children‟s
rights to OVC and caregivers
Establish referral networks for
services, and follow up pregnant
women living with HIV/AIDS on
PMTCT, to promote treatment
adherence.
Conduct community sensitization on the BLC project, services
and service delivery mapping and referral mechanisms.
Train 20 community monitors and their assistants identified and
selected by community members (1 monitor & 1 assistant/village)
on psycho social care and support.
Conduct sensitization to support groups and service providers
who could deliver services to OVC and caregivers.
Identify and train support groups and monitors on Human Right,
codes of conduct and child protection for Community Monitors.
Identify and register OVC and Care givers who need care,
treatment and support.
Identify available supportive services for prevention, care,
treatment and support to advocate for children‟s rights and
participation.
Conduct health care referral for OVC and care givers to health
facility by community monitors
Conduct a training workshop for 20 monitors on home based
care and PMTCT.
Provide training on nutrition and positive living for PLWHA
complementing food rations and ART they receive.
Organize male support groups to HIV and encourage women to
deliver in the facilities and access PMTCT services.
24
Community sensitized about project for
ensuring proper implementation.
Knowledge on psychosocial support will be
acquired, community monitors will provide
psychosocial support to OVC and their
caregivers.
Knowledge will be gained on child protection
and human rights
Eligible OVC and their care givers will be
enrolled for care and support
Supportive services will be availed to OVC
and caregivers through referrals
OVC will be referred to health facilities to
receive proper health care
Knowledge acquired in providing home
based care and referring women for PMTCT.
Increased knowledge of PLWHA on nutrition
and positive living.
Males will encourage women to deliver within
health facilities.

OBJECTIVE: 3
To enhance nutritional support
for PLWHA and OVC
Organize support groups of mothers-in-law to encourage women
to deliver in the facilities and access PMTCT services.
Conduct door to door monitoring visits by community monitors.
Conduct counseling interviews.
Conduct demonstrations and trainings to OVC and PLWHA
households on vegetable production.
Provide field gardening equipment to beneficiary families.
Mothers in law will encourage women to
deliver within health facilities.
Health conditions of the pregnant women
will be monitored regularly.
Increased knowledge in vegetable production
within OVC and PLWHA households.
Improved vegetable production.
25

YEAR 1 PROJECT SUMMARY FOR NTSUPE AND TSOELIKANA COMMUNITY COUNCILS
IN QACHA’SNEK DISTRICT
PROJECT GOAL:
The overall objective of the project was to provide protection, care and fulfillment of the rights of orphans
and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS at the Ntsupe and Tsoelikana Community Councils in
Qacha‟sNek district.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES:
1. To increase the capacity of communities, families and orphans themselves to respond effectively to OVC
needs.
2. To increase the institutional capacity of faith-based and community-based partners and Local Authorities
to deliver high quality OVC interventions.
TARGETED BENEFICIARIES:
Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (0-18 years)
10 CSO in the Community Councils of Tsoelikana H02 and Ntšupe H04
10 Church solidarities
40 Community Leaders
40 Teachers
100 care givers
10 Community Councilors
20 Chiefs
15,000 community members through pitsos and talks in churches and other important feasts
26

ACTIVITIES:
Objective Activities Outputs
To increase the capacity of
communities, families and
orphans themselves to respond
effectively to OVC needs.
Train community volunteers as advocates of child‟s rights
including OVC. Caregivers will be trained on child‟s rights, child
abuse, sexual offences and gender equality.
Train community volunteers, community leaders and teachers in
the provision of psycho-social support for OVC with the
assistance of other partners who have expertise in the area of
psycho-social support.
Train teachers on child protection issues- Teachers from local
schools especially primary schools and IECCD will be trained on
child‟s rights, child abuse, sexual offences and gender equality
using the same manual as above.
Train community leaders on child‟s rights focusing on child
protection issues- Chiefs, councilors, village health workers and
other civil society groups will be trained on child‟s rights, child
abuse, sexual offences and gender equality using the same manual
as above.
Conduct life skills camps for targeted OVC - During school
vacation selected children especially those who live on their own
and / or are head of households or live with the elders will be
invited to 5 days camp where they will be trained on basic life
skills such as hygiene; psycho- social support; HIV & AIDS;
sewing and knitting; gardening and will be given some
reproductive health tips.
Promote will writing through sensitization and the use of church
as custodian of copies of wills and written instructions for
customarily married parents. To that end, church ministers will be
mobilized and asked to join in this campaign and commit to
27
Number of families and communities
supporting OVC materially, and through
psycho-social support, reporting cases of
abuse and other forms of child exploitation
Number of community volunteers sensitized
on OVC‟s rights and needs and willing to
support them
Number of teachers sensitized on OVC‟s
rights and needs and willing to support them
Number of community leaders sensitized on
OVC‟s rights and needs and willing to
support them
Number of households having written will
All children in the area have birth certificates
All children of school age are back to school

To increase the institutional
capacity of faith-based and
community-based partners and
Local Authorities to deliver high
quality OVC interventions.
acting as custodians of wills and written instructions.
Promote birth registration- Sensitization and awareness raising
through pitsos and workshops on the importance of birth
registration will be carried out.
Upgrade support groups with OVC rights campaign advocacy,
lobbying and monitoring of OVC rights and needs skills.
Identify and train OVC village-based CBOs to undertake care and
support and Income Generating Activities (IGAs)
Establish community-led targeting system that will identify the
most vulnerable and those likely to need services for referrals and
advocacy
Assist partners (FBOs/CBOs and Community Councils) with
complementary training in data collection, report writing, resource
mobilization and management
Carry out monitoring of rights of children and establish a system
of feedback with OVC service providers
Support groups are trained to carry out monitoring of rights of
children and establish a system of feedback with OVC service
providers
Carry out community-level meetings between the local
government authorities and the local people to establish dialogue
on HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support, with special
emphasis on OVC.
Through community level dialogue, establish advocacy for
community council/local authority integrated plan and action on
HIV/AIDS, with particular reference to OVC
28
Upgrade support groups with OVC rights
campaign advocacy, lobbying and monitoring
of OVC rights and needs skills.
Identify and train OVC village-based CBOs
to undertake care and support and Income
Generating Activities (IGAs)
Establish community-led targeting system
that will identify the most vulnerable and
those likely to need services for referrals and
advocacy
Assist partners (FBOs/CBOs and
Community Councils) with complementary
training in data collection, report writing,
resource mobilization and management
Carry out monitoring of rights of children
and establish a system of feedback with OVC
service providers
Support groups are trained to carry out
monitoring of rights of children and establish
a system of feedback with OVC service
providers
Carry out community-level meetings between
the local government authorities and the local

Provide training for CSO and local government councilors to
carry out OVC care and support activities beyond the project
timeline
Establish a referral system and networking with other players with
the intent of access to the full spectrum of services as needed
through coordination and cooperation.
Through training on child protection to other CSO increase the
level of service provision to OVC
Assist CSO and other stakeholders to conduct follow-ups on
referred cases
Raise community and CSOs awareness on key legislative
frameworks, including Child Protection and Welfare Act 2011 the
Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act, the Sexual Offences Act
and some parts of the Land Act which has just been tabled in
Parliament.
Train selected CSO and District Child Protection Teams on child
protection and relevant legislation concerning OVC. CSOs in
these two community Councils will be selected based on their
needs and willingness and commitment to support OVC
Train selected CSO and District Child Protection Teams on PSS
with the assistance of MOET and TRA or other partners who
have expertise in the area of psycho-social support.
people to establish dialogue on HIV/AIDS
prevention, care and support, with special
emphasis on OVC.
29