WUNRN
Rwanda - Home-Based Care Brings Hope to People Living with HIV - YWCA
18 Feb 2009
World YWCA
YWCA of
Almandine Bertain* (name changed to protect
identity) lay in bed in
But hope and a new beginning soon came for Almandine in the form of Violete*
(name changed to protect identity), a volunteer with the YWCA of
The YWCA of Rwanda runs a successful
home-based care project to respond to situations like Almandine’s and change
the reality of people living with HIV in their communities. The organisation
has equipped 30 volunteers with knowledge and materials to care for people
living with HIV through home visits in the region of Abisunganye. The training
not only empowers volunteers to address the issue of HIV in
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Stigma and discrimination are just some of
the challenges women living with HIV in
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Almandine’s family deserted her after she
disclosed her HIV status. When her husband discovered she was HIV-positive, he
refused to go for testing and threw her out of their home. With her four
children she decided to go back to her parents who also refused to take her in.
|
Through the Abisunganye group, Almandine
was identified as a person in need of home-based care and Violete was assigned
to her. Violete visits weekly, despite a 6km walk. “ We discuss my health and
the challenges I face living with HIV,” says Almandine about the weekly visits.
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Violete, along with the volunteer team,
participated in a four-day training, addressing issues such as the situation of
HIV and AIDS in
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During weekly meetings, people in need of
home care are identified. Volunteers then visit with a kit of sorghum flour,
sugar and hygienic material provided by the YWCA of Rwanda. Every visit is
recorded and signed by the client in a notebook kept by the volunteers.
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Volunteers share experiences of their
home-based visits during weekly meetings discussing the needs and improvements
of their clients. Participants to the home-based care program testify how
neighbours started visiting them again and accepting them back into the
community because they had seen volunteers visiting their house. “When
neighbours saw Violete coming to my place, they knew that I was still alive!
This project has brought me a sister and given me hope that there are people
who care for me,” says Almandine. Almandine can now rely on her neighbours when
she is sick and says it is because of Violete’s visits that neighbours have
become sensitised to her condition.
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The home-based care project has added value
to the YWCA’s work in the Abisunganye community and the YWCA of Rwanda will
continue working on HIV prevention and care issues. The positive impact of the
programme has been felt throughout the local community and women living with
HIV have gained hope for a better future.
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