Home Based Care an effective response to HIV/AIDS
Daily News Online, Botswana, 04 November, 2005
PHUDUHUDU - Residents of Phuduhudu settlement in Kgalagadi North are proud of the home based care programme, which they started some years ago.
Cynics had doubted whether it would succeed, but to their surprise and everybodys the committtee has not only survived, but is going strong. One of the longest serving members of the committee treasurer Kebonyemang Mosolomane said that it has not been been smooth sailing for the 10-member committee.
She said they managed because of their resilience and love for fellow human beings. Mosolomane said they make home visits to check on and assist the sick. As members of the committee we had to lend a hand to the terminally sick and those not able to do anything for themselves such as the elderly and the disabled.
The countrys home based care programme is regarded as one of the most effective intervention measures in its response to HIV/AIDS scourge. It was hatched when the countrys hospitals and health facilities could not cope with demand due to the rapid rate at which HIV/AIDS cases were increasing.
Home-based care programme is an important step towards improving the spirit of care-giving, it also harnesses community contributions and reduces premature deaths. Mosomolane explained their efforts have made a difference in the lives of HIVAIDS patients.
Also, the ARVs that are given to the patients have decreased mortality in Phuduhudu. Mosomolane said they are also doing their best to promote public awareness of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
Phuduhudu home-based care programme is under the auspices of the Hukuntsi Sub-district health team. In adition to providing community-based care support, the committee is involved in a number of community projects.
Mosomolane, however, lamented lack of support from some residents who neglected their sick and are in the hands of the home-based care members. Other families have joined the crusade to help the home-based care members.
Some committee members and other care-givers feel overwhelmed by the magnitude and multiplicity of the tasks they have to perform. Some members are exhausted and depressed because of seeing the terminally ill who are neglected by their families. Problems they encounter include lack of money for projects, a plot for agricultural purposes, and protective clothing.
Apart from the funds from the district home-based care coordinator, the home-based committee members raise funds for their projects. According to Mosolomane they raise funds through several activities to augment the little they get from the council.
We usually organise concerts to raise funds and we do not wait for the money from the council, she says, adding that they were able to build two houses for some destitute persons through the money raised from concerts and sengaparile sales.
She also cited inadequate support from the village development committee (VDC) as something that inhibits progress. If they had full backing Phuduhudu home-based care would be flourishing.
VDC ke yone palamente ya motse ka jalo, e tshwanetse go tsenya letsogo mo tirong e ya boithaopo, she argued.
Of the remarkable achievements that the committee has brought to the people of Phuduhudu, Mosolomane said they have raised hope where there was none and that they have also brought faith to the families of the sick because the way they handle the sick and attitudes towards their sick have improved.
They have also built two houses for the destitute in the settlement. Another outstanding project is the flourishing vegetable garden, which benefits all members of the settlement, especially the sick.
One of the beneficiaries, Bakgatla Thase, now boasts of a one-roomed thatched roundavel. Before the generous efforts of the committee the old and disabled used to stay in a makeshift house.
Mosomolane said that it took three months to construct the house and that with the support the villagers, it was easy to complete it on schedule. Though it was difficult to comprehend what the old man was trying to tell reporters who visited his place, he was all smiles. Ke ne ke sitwa, ke bolawa ke serame mme jaanong ke na le fa ke robalang teng, was all he could say.
Boemo Segwagwa hailed the good deeds the home-based care members have done in Phuduhudu. He said without their efforts many people would have lost their lives through lack of support by their family members.
Source: Daily News Online, http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20051104&i=Home_Based_Care_an_effective_response_to_HIVAIDS
PHUDUHUDU - Residents of Phuduhudu settlement in Kgalagadi North are proud of the home based care programme, which they started some years ago.
Cynics had doubted whether it would succeed, but to their surprise and everybodys the committtee has not only survived, but is going strong. One of the longest serving members of the committee treasurer Kebonyemang Mosolomane said that it has not been been smooth sailing for the 10-member committee.
She said they managed because of their resilience and love for fellow human beings. Mosolomane said they make home visits to check on and assist the sick. As members of the committee we had to lend a hand to the terminally sick and those not able to do anything for themselves such as the elderly and the disabled.
The countrys home based care programme is regarded as one of the most effective intervention measures in its response to HIV/AIDS scourge. It was hatched when the countrys hospitals and health facilities could not cope with demand due to the rapid rate at which HIV/AIDS cases were increasing.
Home-based care programme is an important step towards improving the spirit of care-giving, it also harnesses community contributions and reduces premature deaths. Mosomolane explained their efforts have made a difference in the lives of HIVAIDS patients.
Also, the ARVs that are given to the patients have decreased mortality in Phuduhudu. Mosomolane said they are also doing their best to promote public awareness of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
Phuduhudu home-based care programme is under the auspices of the Hukuntsi Sub-district health team. In adition to providing community-based care support, the committee is involved in a number of community projects.
Mosomolane, however, lamented lack of support from some residents who neglected their sick and are in the hands of the home-based care members. Other families have joined the crusade to help the home-based care members.
Some committee members and other care-givers feel overwhelmed by the magnitude and multiplicity of the tasks they have to perform. Some members are exhausted and depressed because of seeing the terminally ill who are neglected by their families. Problems they encounter include lack of money for projects, a plot for agricultural purposes, and protective clothing.
Apart from the funds from the district home-based care coordinator, the home-based committee members raise funds for their projects. According to Mosolomane they raise funds through several activities to augment the little they get from the council.
We usually organise concerts to raise funds and we do not wait for the money from the council, she says, adding that they were able to build two houses for some destitute persons through the money raised from concerts and sengaparile sales.
She also cited inadequate support from the village development committee (VDC) as something that inhibits progress. If they had full backing Phuduhudu home-based care would be flourishing.
VDC ke yone palamente ya motse ka jalo, e tshwanetse go tsenya letsogo mo tirong e ya boithaopo, she argued.
Of the remarkable achievements that the committee has brought to the people of Phuduhudu, Mosolomane said they have raised hope where there was none and that they have also brought faith to the families of the sick because the way they handle the sick and attitudes towards their sick have improved.
They have also built two houses for the destitute in the settlement. Another outstanding project is the flourishing vegetable garden, which benefits all members of the settlement, especially the sick.
One of the beneficiaries, Bakgatla Thase, now boasts of a one-roomed thatched roundavel. Before the generous efforts of the committee the old and disabled used to stay in a makeshift house.
Mosomolane said that it took three months to construct the house and that with the support the villagers, it was easy to complete it on schedule. Though it was difficult to comprehend what the old man was trying to tell reporters who visited his place, he was all smiles. Ke ne ke sitwa, ke bolawa ke serame mme jaanong ke na le fa ke robalang teng, was all he could say.
Boemo Segwagwa hailed the good deeds the home-based care members have done in Phuduhudu. He said without their efforts many people would have lost their lives through lack of support by their family members.
Source: Daily News Online, http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20051104&i=Home_Based_Care_an_effective_response_to_HIVAIDS
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 8:04 am
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