Siyakhula: On March 8th they were able to give school uniforms to 80 OVCs in their area. On this day they held a party where the presentations were made along with speeches from government and other stakeholders from Ngqeleni. They have also been working with auditors this week to help them balance their books as March is their financial end of year. Aside from these, it is business as usual for the Siyakhula carers, doing door to door visits and running their soup kitchen with great success.
Philisa: They continue to have Imbizo awareness campaigns in the communities they are working. This week the carers from Manyosana presented Philisa to their community, to show the community members the carers who are working there. Many of the other members attended the Kwasa HIV Support Group meeting. This is the support group of which many of the Philisa members were members when they decided to start Philisa because they recognized the need n the area. Philisa has also started their own support group called Khuphukani to help those who can’t get to the Kwasa meetings. This week the caregivers also went to Nkantsini Junior Secondary School to find out how many OVCs are attending this school. They found 54 kids to add to the number they are already supporting.
For their Social Development application, they have been working on a Supplier Number application. This is a process that every NPO supported by Social development must undergo as they are supplying a service to their community. They were also able to get a support letter from the Headman, another requirement of Social Development.
Mdumbi: This week they worked very hard trying to get a system of reporting working. Lindelwa has been teaching them the TransCape reporting system and they also need a special reporting system for Social Development. They are also busy planning an awareness day in their community. They would like to invite all of the stakeholders in the area, especially the councillor, chief and social workers to help raise support for their program. We are still busy negotiating a proper site for their office. They have been given a piece of land however it is on the very edge of the ward, making it difficult to reach all of their potential clients.
As they continue to work door to door in their area, it is becoming clear that the people in this area face extreme challenges every day, even in comparison to the people living in the other wards. The caregivers have found a mama who has given birth to 7 children in her home because she was never able to make it to the hospital to give birth. Because of this, none of the children are registered and she cannot receive grants for them. The carers also found 2 orphans living alone and helped them to get grants, however after checking on them again, they have found that the older of the 2 children has been taking the money without helping the younger and the younger is suffering because of this. These challenges highlight the need for HBC in the Mankosi Area and points to the astonishing amount of work that must be done by these carers.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Group Updates
Philisa: This month Philisa finished their SANTA training and they have received their certificates. They did very well in the course and really enjoyed the training. Since they have finished they have been doing Mbizo(community meetings) awareness campaignes to let people in the communities know that they have received the training and that they are working in the communities. Their office is coming along nicely and will hopefully be finished by the end of the month.
Mdumbi: Lindelwa has been working hard with Mdumbi this month, training them in HIV treatment and how to use the patient's hospital card to better manage their care. This month 8 carers began their SANTA training and will be there for the next 6 weeks. Hopefully their training goes as well as it did for Philisa! Lately they have identified lots of OVCs in their communities who have no birth certificates and are not receiving grants. This means alot of work for the carers taking the children and their carers to Social Development to begin the process of getting the children registered. The carers feel that this job is so important that they will use their own money to take the chrildren to Social Development when the families are not willing to pay or can't afford the transport.
Siyakhula: This month they have identified 80 OVC to whom they are giving school uniforms. These uniforms will be given out at a party for the OVCs on the 8th of March and all the stakeholders in the area will be there for the presentation. Their drop in centre/soup kitchen for OVCs is operating everyday with an average of 200 kids coming everyday. Here the kids can get a well balanced meal everyday because often they don't get good food at home. The carers also help the kids with their homework at the drop in centre and counsel them about the problems they face everyday.
All of the groups have been reporting monthly to Social Development and we are working steadily to get their NPO applications processed so to bring them closer to getting funded. We are also still working at getting HBC kits from the AIDS Counsil. This week we are having our second HBC forum where we will meet with the leader of each group and collect their reports.
Mdumbi: Lindelwa has been working hard with Mdumbi this month, training them in HIV treatment and how to use the patient's hospital card to better manage their care. This month 8 carers began their SANTA training and will be there for the next 6 weeks. Hopefully their training goes as well as it did for Philisa! Lately they have identified lots of OVCs in their communities who have no birth certificates and are not receiving grants. This means alot of work for the carers taking the children and their carers to Social Development to begin the process of getting the children registered. The carers feel that this job is so important that they will use their own money to take the chrildren to Social Development when the families are not willing to pay or can't afford the transport.
Siyakhula: This month they have identified 80 OVC to whom they are giving school uniforms. These uniforms will be given out at a party for the OVCs on the 8th of March and all the stakeholders in the area will be there for the presentation. Their drop in centre/soup kitchen for OVCs is operating everyday with an average of 200 kids coming everyday. Here the kids can get a well balanced meal everyday because often they don't get good food at home. The carers also help the kids with their homework at the drop in centre and counsel them about the problems they face everyday.
All of the groups have been reporting monthly to Social Development and we are working steadily to get their NPO applications processed so to bring them closer to getting funded. We are also still working at getting HBC kits from the AIDS Counsil. This week we are having our second HBC forum where we will meet with the leader of each group and collect their reports.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Progress
January has been a month full of new starts in the Home Based Care Program!
Firstly, TransCape has a new HBC Coordinator! Lindelwa, the leader of Siyakhula HBC has agreed to work with TransCape now, to be the coordinator of our whole HBC program. TransCape couldn't have wished for anyone better for the job, as Lindelwa has been a pioneer of Home Based Caring in Nqgeleni.
This year we are starting up a forum for our HBC leaders. At the end of each month all of the HBC leaders will meet together with the HBC coordinator to hand in their monthly reports and discuss problems, successes and any new announcements for the month.
Our first forum meeting took place at the end of January with Lindelwa, Lindiwe (Siyakhula's new leader), Nontandazo (Philisa), and myself. Nonkululeko (Mdumbi) was unable to attend. At this meeting we were able to explain clearly how we expected the reports to be filled in and also how the New HIV program would work and how the HBCs would be involved. It was also raised that there is another HBC in Ward 14, and while we are unable to support them financially at this time, we will invite them to join our forum so that they can be learning from the other groups. Hopefully at the end of this month all of our HBC leaders will be able to attend so we can learn more about what is happening in their groups.
Jutta, an amazing donor with an extraordinarily large heart, will begin providing our groups with matress covers, linen protectors, and disposable nappies for their bedridden patients. At this meeting we discovered that Siyakhula has 11, and Philisa and Mdumbi both have 10 bedridden patients so this is a huge blessing for the carers.
Construction has begun on Philisa's new office building! Dave and his team of bricklayers began working on the lot last week and now Philisa anxiously awaits their new 2 roomed, flat-top office building.
Another positive note, if not a new start is that Philisa's carers are now about half way through their SANTA training and are doing very well. In a competition this weekend against the other training groups, they came in first place. Well done ladies!!
January has been a month full of new starts in the Home Based Care Program!
Firstly, TransCape has a new HBC Coordinator! Lindelwa, the leader of Siyakhula HBC has agreed to work with TransCape now, to be the coordinator of our whole HBC program. TransCape couldn't have wished for anyone better for the job, as Lindelwa has been a pioneer of Home Based Caring in Nqgeleni.
This year we are starting up a forum for our HBC leaders. At the end of each month all of the HBC leaders will meet together with the HBC coordinator to hand in their monthly reports and discuss problems, successes and any new announcements for the month.
Our first forum meeting took place at the end of January with Lindelwa, Lindiwe (Siyakhula's new leader), Nontandazo (Philisa), and myself. Nonkululeko (Mdumbi) was unable to attend. At this meeting we were able to explain clearly how we expected the reports to be filled in and also how the New HIV program would work and how the HBCs would be involved. It was also raised that there is another HBC in Ward 14, and while we are unable to support them financially at this time, we will invite them to join our forum so that they can be learning from the other groups. Hopefully at the end of this month all of our HBC leaders will be able to attend so we can learn more about what is happening in their groups.
Jutta, an amazing donor with an extraordinarily large heart, will begin providing our groups with matress covers, linen protectors, and disposable nappies for their bedridden patients. At this meeting we discovered that Siyakhula has 11, and Philisa and Mdumbi both have 10 bedridden patients so this is a huge blessing for the carers.
Construction has begun on Philisa's new office building! Dave and his team of bricklayers began working on the lot last week and now Philisa anxiously awaits their new 2 roomed, flat-top office building.
Another positive note, if not a new start is that Philisa's carers are now about half way through their SANTA training and are doing very well. In a competition this weekend against the other training groups, they came in first place. Well done ladies!!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
2010: A Year for Training and Awareness
Happy New Year!
2010 is starting off with SANTA trainings for Philisa HBC. SANTA trainings are 6 weeks long and are a practical and theoretical course in Home Based Caring. The carers are trained in a hospital in Mthatha and at the end receive their certification as a Home Based Carer.
Ten carers from Philisa are starting this training today and we had hoped that ten from Mdumbi HBC would also be able to start today, however because of some disorganization we will have to make a new booking for them later. Lindelwa and I will be spending time with them next week to help them get back on track with their work after the Christmas break.
We are hoping to be able to train the carers in many different areas over the next few months. PMTCT, VCT,POTTA, peer councelling, and wellness trainings are just a few of the trainings we are hoping to organize. Along with training them ourselves in monitoring and evaluation and business and management.
With the TransCape HIV program kicking off in Ward 22 this month, Siyakhula HBC will be feeling the impacts of more awareness in that area. 5 of their carers were trained in VCT and will be helping in the clinic and all of the carers are excited about attending the awareness days and being able to do more peer councelling.
Happy New Year!
2010 is starting off with SANTA trainings for Philisa HBC. SANTA trainings are 6 weeks long and are a practical and theoretical course in Home Based Caring. The carers are trained in a hospital in Mthatha and at the end receive their certification as a Home Based Carer.
Ten carers from Philisa are starting this training today and we had hoped that ten from Mdumbi HBC would also be able to start today, however because of some disorganization we will have to make a new booking for them later. Lindelwa and I will be spending time with them next week to help them get back on track with their work after the Christmas break.
We are hoping to be able to train the carers in many different areas over the next few months. PMTCT, VCT,POTTA, peer councelling, and wellness trainings are just a few of the trainings we are hoping to organize. Along with training them ourselves in monitoring and evaluation and business and management.
With the TransCape HIV program kicking off in Ward 22 this month, Siyakhula HBC will be feeling the impacts of more awareness in that area. 5 of their carers were trained in VCT and will be helping in the clinic and all of the carers are excited about attending the awareness days and being able to do more peer councelling.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Siyakhula OVC Christmas Party
Today was Siyakhula's last day of operation before Christmas. It was also the day of their OVC Christmas Party. It was such a wonderful event, filled with speakers and dancing and the giving away of duvet sets to 20 of their children.Representatives from Social Development and Small Projects Foundation spoke, along with the OVC Coordinators for both Philisa and Mdumbi HBCs and myself.
It was very good for Philisa and Mdumbi to be there. Events like these will soon be part of their programs and it is a very good learning experience for them to be able to see how these events are put on and participate in them.
Siyakhula has estimated that there are about 557 Orphans and Vulnerable Children, in their area who have been receiving services from Siyakhula since 2008. These services include blankets, winter clothes, uniforms, and food parcels, among other thing. They also have 50 foster parents participating in the support group they set up specifically for foster parents in their ward.
Siyakhula and especially Lindelwa received much deserved praises for the hard work they have been doing in their community. Here Lindelwa is dancing with a choir from one of the local schools.
Ntomfikile the OVC Coordinator for Mdumbi and Nontandazo, the Project Leader of Philisa speaking about their work and the importance of supporting OVCs.
This event was the last for Home Based Care for this year as all of the offices are now closed for Christmas. In January Lindelwa will begin working full time with Transcape as the HBC Coordinator and we will begin intensively training all of the HBCs together.
Happy Holidays!
Today was Siyakhula's last day of operation before Christmas. It was also the day of their OVC Christmas Party. It was such a wonderful event, filled with speakers and dancing and the giving away of duvet sets to 20 of their children.Representatives from Social Development and Small Projects Foundation spoke, along with the OVC Coordinators for both Philisa and Mdumbi HBCs and myself.
It was very good for Philisa and Mdumbi to be there. Events like these will soon be part of their programs and it is a very good learning experience for them to be able to see how these events are put on and participate in them.
Siyakhula has estimated that there are about 557 Orphans and Vulnerable Children, in their area who have been receiving services from Siyakhula since 2008. These services include blankets, winter clothes, uniforms, and food parcels, among other thing. They also have 50 foster parents participating in the support group they set up specifically for foster parents in their ward.
Siyakhula and especially Lindelwa received much deserved praises for the hard work they have been doing in their community. Here Lindelwa is dancing with a choir from one of the local schools.
Ntomfikile the OVC Coordinator for Mdumbi and Nontandazo, the Project Leader of Philisa speaking about their work and the importance of supporting OVCs.This event was the last for Home Based Care for this year as all of the offices are now closed for Christmas. In January Lindelwa will begin working full time with Transcape as the HBC Coordinator and we will begin intensively training all of the HBCs together.
Happy Holidays!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Planning
Lately my work with the homebased care groups has been alot more office based than work with the groups themselves. I have been working closely with Lindelwa, the project leader of Siyakhula and soon to be Home Based Care Coordinator for TransCape. Together we have been making a plan for how we would like to add quality to the care provided by the groups throughout the next 2 years and more specifically for me over the next 6 months.
One of our biggest goals for the groups for over the next coming months is that they will all be using a system of reporting with which we will be able to gather information about each client and the type of care they are receiving from the carers. We would like this information to be both outcome based, showing what services are being provided and who exactly is receiving those services, and also personal enough to be able to easily monitor that each individual patient is receiving the proper care from their carer.
We also plan to provide more trainings for the carers, most importantly getting all of the carers certified for home based caring. Some of this training has already begun, with 5 members of Siyakhula and one member each from Philisa and Mdumbi being trained along side the prevention teams in Voluntary Counselling and Testing.
The Home Based Care groups are all getting ready to wrap up their years and take a break for christmas which means that a lot of work must be done in the next 2 weeks in terms of planning for the start of next year.
Lately my work with the homebased care groups has been alot more office based than work with the groups themselves. I have been working closely with Lindelwa, the project leader of Siyakhula and soon to be Home Based Care Coordinator for TransCape. Together we have been making a plan for how we would like to add quality to the care provided by the groups throughout the next 2 years and more specifically for me over the next 6 months.
One of our biggest goals for the groups for over the next coming months is that they will all be using a system of reporting with which we will be able to gather information about each client and the type of care they are receiving from the carers. We would like this information to be both outcome based, showing what services are being provided and who exactly is receiving those services, and also personal enough to be able to easily monitor that each individual patient is receiving the proper care from their carer.
We also plan to provide more trainings for the carers, most importantly getting all of the carers certified for home based caring. Some of this training has already begun, with 5 members of Siyakhula and one member each from Philisa and Mdumbi being trained along side the prevention teams in Voluntary Counselling and Testing.
The Home Based Care groups are all getting ready to wrap up their years and take a break for christmas which means that a lot of work must be done in the next 2 weeks in terms of planning for the start of next year.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Door to Door with Mdumbi HBC
I was given the opportunity to spend the day going door to door with the caregivers of Mdumbi Home Based Care this past week. What an eye opening experience that was! It was amazing and eye openning for me to be able to see into the lives of the people of the community in which we are working.
From this experience I was able to see first hand the work that the caregivers are doing everyday. This gives me a better idea of how to add quality to their program. One thing I noticed about the Mdumbi group is that they seem to be working more as social workers, than healthcare workers. Many of the homes that we visited were those of orhpans or vulnerable children (OVCs) and we talked to the guardians about how to get foster care grants and how best to care for the children. While we did see some patients with medical problems, such as TB or chronic pain, I saw more counselling being done than hands on patient care.
The ability to counsel clients and direct them to the appropriate services are definate strengths, however these strengths need to be built upon with other forms of care, such as bathing patients and treating minor medical issues as there is a high need of these forms of care in their community.
A couple of images from the day:
Nosiseko has been counselling this tata in how to care for his 2 orphaned grandchildren who have come to live with him. She is helping him to get a Foster Care grant and teaching him important things about caring for children.
This Mama lives alone and had no one to care for her when she was released from the hospital after being treated for TB so Ntombifikile visits her every day and cooks and cleans for her and gives her a bath.
I was given the opportunity to spend the day going door to door with the caregivers of Mdumbi Home Based Care this past week. What an eye opening experience that was! It was amazing and eye openning for me to be able to see into the lives of the people of the community in which we are working.
From this experience I was able to see first hand the work that the caregivers are doing everyday. This gives me a better idea of how to add quality to their program. One thing I noticed about the Mdumbi group is that they seem to be working more as social workers, than healthcare workers. Many of the homes that we visited were those of orhpans or vulnerable children (OVCs) and we talked to the guardians about how to get foster care grants and how best to care for the children. While we did see some patients with medical problems, such as TB or chronic pain, I saw more counselling being done than hands on patient care.
The ability to counsel clients and direct them to the appropriate services are definate strengths, however these strengths need to be built upon with other forms of care, such as bathing patients and treating minor medical issues as there is a high need of these forms of care in their community.
A couple of images from the day:
Nosiseko has been counselling this tata in how to care for his 2 orphaned grandchildren who have come to live with him. She is helping him to get a Foster Care grant and teaching him important things about caring for children.
This Mama lives alone and had no one to care for her when she was released from the hospital after being treated for TB so Ntombifikile visits her every day and cooks and cleans for her and gives her a bath.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Introduction
As part of Transcape's HIV/AIDS program we are currently supporting 3 home based care groups. Home based care is an important part of the HIV program, giving support to those people in the community who are bedridden or elderly. The caregivers go door to door to see patients and assist them with their basic needs, going to the clinic or hospital and accessing governments services.
Siyakhula Home Community Based Care was the first group to be established. Lindelwa Portia has worked as their project leader since the beginning, and with her help the group has been able to become an independant Non Profit Organization and receive funding from the Department of Social Development.
Mdumbi HBC and Philisa HBC are our newer groups, both groups came together in 2008. Lindelwa has also helped these groups to start up and given them some training in homebased caring. They are still both in the development stages however, with alot of organizational work still to be done. Philisa has completed an NPO application and has submitted a funding proposal to Social Development and is now just waiting to hear back for their answer. Mdumbi is still working on preparing their constitution and business plan to submit to Social Development with their application and proposal.
In October participatory workshops were held with all three groups to discuss the work they are doing in their communities and their goals and needs for the future. These workshops were all very successful and the information gathered from them will be transfered into the HIV strategy that is being put in place by Transcape.
Some of the needs raised by the groups:
-Home based Care Kits, with the supplies needed to treat their patients when they do home visits. Supplies such as gloves, masks, disposable nappies, pain killers, etc.
- Philisa and Mdumbi need offices. Philisa has now been given a plot of land from the ward counsilor and Mdumbi is still in discussions with thier ward about their plot.
-Gardens. All three groups would like to have gardens where they could grow vegetables to give to their patients who have no food and sell to make money for other projects they would like to begin.
Also in October, all three groups were given 50 laying hens. The eggs were meant to be given to the OVCs and then sold as a source of income for the group. The groups have had some trouble with getting the chickens to start laying eggs, however as the chickens settle down into their new homes we should begin to see more eggs than we know what to do with.
These groups are all extremely energetic and passionate about the work that they are doing in their communities. I am excited to see how these groups develop in the next few months.
As part of Transcape's HIV/AIDS program we are currently supporting 3 home based care groups. Home based care is an important part of the HIV program, giving support to those people in the community who are bedridden or elderly. The caregivers go door to door to see patients and assist them with their basic needs, going to the clinic or hospital and accessing governments services.
Siyakhula Home Community Based Care was the first group to be established. Lindelwa Portia has worked as their project leader since the beginning, and with her help the group has been able to become an independant Non Profit Organization and receive funding from the Department of Social Development.
Mdumbi HBC and Philisa HBC are our newer groups, both groups came together in 2008. Lindelwa has also helped these groups to start up and given them some training in homebased caring. They are still both in the development stages however, with alot of organizational work still to be done. Philisa has completed an NPO application and has submitted a funding proposal to Social Development and is now just waiting to hear back for their answer. Mdumbi is still working on preparing their constitution and business plan to submit to Social Development with their application and proposal.
In October participatory workshops were held with all three groups to discuss the work they are doing in their communities and their goals and needs for the future. These workshops were all very successful and the information gathered from them will be transfered into the HIV strategy that is being put in place by Transcape.
Some of the needs raised by the groups:
-Home based Care Kits, with the supplies needed to treat their patients when they do home visits. Supplies such as gloves, masks, disposable nappies, pain killers, etc.
- Philisa and Mdumbi need offices. Philisa has now been given a plot of land from the ward counsilor and Mdumbi is still in discussions with thier ward about their plot.
-Gardens. All three groups would like to have gardens where they could grow vegetables to give to their patients who have no food and sell to make money for other projects they would like to begin.
Also in October, all three groups were given 50 laying hens. The eggs were meant to be given to the OVCs and then sold as a source of income for the group. The groups have had some trouble with getting the chickens to start laying eggs, however as the chickens settle down into their new homes we should begin to see more eggs than we know what to do with.
These groups are all extremely energetic and passionate about the work that they are doing in their communities. I am excited to see how these groups develop in the next few months.
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