ICS Africa

The starting point for ICS Africa was the safety and wellbeing of all children in Africa. The ICS Africa effort to make this a reality started in 1980.[5] Initially ICS Africa existed as Inter-Aid[6] until its founders moved on to establish the current existence, initialized as ICS. Over the years, ICS have retained these initials but under different names and approaches. From Inter-Aid to International Chritelijk Steunfonds[7] (ICS) to International Child Support (ICS) to Investing in Children and their Societies (ICS). These changes have been representing ICS’ continuous learning and innovation culture. Each phase has represented growth and shifts in strategy towards more promising investments in the interest of children and their societies.

From ICS Africa's work with communities, many valuable lessons that drive ICS Africa's innovations today have been drawn. ICS Africa's core thinking and approaches have evolved from charity interventions to approaches that delve deeper into the complexities of the forces that combine to deny children and their societies’ fuller and dignifying life experiences. ICS Africa is said to carefully consider how best their work with communities can vest the most respect and power in people themselves to own, shape and drive their lives.

ICS Africa's approach to programming is a unique model of enabling lasting change in communities through business action [8][9] as well as organizing for social change. ICS Africa works to stimulate entrepreneurship at community level as well as civic actions (Skillful Parenting,[10] Child Protection[11] systems) aimed at attaining safety and wellbeing for children.

The slogan ICS uses since 2011 is Creating Change. This refers to ICS's aim of making a real change in the socio-economic progress and the protection of children.

1. Nafics[12] - Nafics Ltd is a maize trading company in Kenya. Nafics wants to be a profitable business and improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers by filling in the imperfections in the Western Kenyan maize supply-chain, specifically in Busia and Kakamega.
2. Skillful Parenting Project (Africa)[13] - When wanting to change the lives of children in poor rural areas, it is essential to involve their parents or caretakers in this process. Parents need to feel the ‘Power to Parent’ to change the future of their children in a positive way. By implementing the Skillful Parenting Approach project, ICS worked with parents with the aim of making them better parents. Central to this approach were the prevention of child abuse, neglect and family disintegration.
3. Agribusiness (Kenya)[14] - The agribusiness project is designed to provide farm inputs (such as hybrid seed, fertilizer, improved bush beans and traditional vegetables) to farmers on credit for the purposes of ensuring timely planting, adherence to modern farming technologies and to increase the harvest. The agribusiness project is part of the ISEC (Investing in Social and Economic Change) program in Western Kenya, which aims at improving income and food security for households.
4. Agribusiness (Tanzania)[15] - The main economic activity for livelihood in Meatu, Tanzania, is rain-fed farming. To boost cereal crop and sunflower production ICS implements its agribusiness project in Meatu.
5. Young Entrepreneurs Program (Y.E.P.)[16][17] - To promote rural youth's (self-)employment in the Meatu District in Tanzania, ICS intends to develop an ICS Academy. This is part of ICS’ youth empowerment program and will consist of various youth training projects in all its program areas. The ICS Academy will include both sector specific training (in agriculture, ICT or mechanics) and entrepreneurship development programs.
6. Water Project - In the rural areas of the Meatu District in Tanzania only 45 percent of the people have access to safe drinking water. Water sources in Meatu are scarce and many are contaminated and therefore not safe for drinking. Animals often use the same water sources as humans, where the former also defecate, resulting in the prevalence of water borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhea. It also contributes to a higher under-five mortality rate in Meatu compared to the national average of Tanzania. This all could be prevented by having access to clean drinking water.