TOT volunteers mobilize community for HIV/AIDS messages

By Stanley Mpasa
The Trainer of Trainers (TOT) project volunteers have raised the alarm on the dangers of bad customs that facilitate the transmission of the HIV virus in the community through an open day function at Mbiza in Mulanje District.  The function took place on Sunday, August 17 and was spiced by drama, dances, poem recital, testimonies and speeches, all depicting the realities of HIV/AIDS and emphasizing on the importance of HIV testing.
Though the function collided with the chief’s coronation ceremony a few kilometers from the venue, over 800 people had attended.

Peterson Kamanga and other invited guests at the function

The function revealed several gaps in the fight against HIV/AIDS and they included low community compliance to the preventive messages, poor accessibility to condoms and harmful customs, among others. 
Common among harmful customs were the initiation ceremonies where boys and girls were taught sex theories and later encouraged them to put them into practice. Apart from the spread of HIV, the initiation ceremonies have also increased early pregnancies, early marriages and school drop outs especially among girls.

Mbiza support group members singing during the function

Speaking at the function South Malawi Field Health and Music Director Peterson Kamanga who was also Guest of Honor cautioned the young against engaging in risky behaviors that would encourage the spread of HIV/AIDS.   Mbiza Health Center Medical Officer, Mr Pindani commanded the work done by TOT volunteers. He disclosed that 30% of the 15000 people that have undergone HIV tests from the beginning of 2014 at the health center were referred by the TOT volunteers. Mr Pindani however bemoaned the low turn up by men for HIV tests.
A member of Mbiza Support Group Eneles Eliya testified how she lived positively with the HIV virus since 2001. She encouraged people to go for testing. Speaking earlier, Village Head Muhiya thanked the organizers for choosing his village as venue for the function and urged his subjects to take the messages seriously.
Other invited guests at the function included chiefs, pastors, teachers and medical staff.
The TOT Project is being supported by Sweden to bring about society and individual behavioral change on issues of HIV/AIDS.

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STI cases drop at Ekwaiweni HC in Mzimba

By Susan Chitaya and Elias Banda

Cases of sexually transmitted infections have dropped at Ekwaiweni Health Center in Mzimba after a mass behavior change campaign courtesy of Tafika Youth Organization.

Records at the health center reveal that STI cases have dropped from 9  to 1 per month. An official at the clinic who declined to be named said the drop is attributed to heightened awareness levels as people were now easily accessing information on STI and HIV/AIDS.

traditional Ingoma dance mobilized people

Youth used banners to convey messages

In November 2012, Tafika Youth Group launched a behavioral change  campaign with funds from ADRA Malawi  through the Action for Social Change program. According to the organization’s Executive Director Shupo Kumwenda the goal of the campaign was to educate and create community awareness on matters of stigma and discrimination with regard to HIV/AIDS. He also said the other objective was to advocate for safer sex and other acceptable behaviors among the youths in the area.

Apart from the drop in STI cases, other notable changes include the low school drop out at Ekwaiweni Primary School. 'Girls with a vision’ clubs have been formed to encourage peers to go back to school and refrain from delinquencies such as beer drinking and prostitution. According to Shupo Kumwenda the clubs are engaging women role models in their activities to encourage the girls to put education as a priority.  

the campaign attracted huge crowds

A youth network has been established to link the community and the youths and recently, the network constructed 2 teachers houses at Chipapa and Malivenji primary schools and toilet blocks at Ekwaiweni Primary School.

The network is also collaborating with Malawi Police Service to curb crime in the area. By-laws have been formulated restricting beer drinking and bars have been ordered to close at 10 o’clock pm. A community consensus has been reached that anyone found drinking beyond the closing time would be arrested. The situation has brought sanity in the area, reviving hopes for a better community and future for the young people.
Tafika Youth Organization plans to build a Youth Center where the youth would acquire life skills and other friendly services.  

The Action for Social Change Program is being supported by Denmark to bring about individual and society change in Mzimba, Lilongwe, Mulanje and Machinga distritcs.

LL Man nearly died after dumping HIV medicine for faith healing

By James Masauko
A Lilongwe man knocked on the doors of death after dumping Anti-retroviral drugs ARVs when he opted for faith healing. Manjalera Thutambala Banda of Kaole Village Traditional Authority Tsabango in Lilongwe tested HIV positive in 2006 and has since been on life –prolonging drugs.
 Banda joined a new church on April 28 this year and a pastor advised him to stop medication as church rules required that those on prayer list were not allowed to take any medicine.  
He then went into prayer sessions and after a night long of prayers at Area 23 in the city,  the pastor assured Banda that he was healed. Overwhelmed by excitement Banda went on rampage breaking the news and threw away all the medicines before dropping as a member of Tiyanjane Support Group where he had been an affiliate for more than six years.
Attempts by support group members failed to convince Banda to revert to medication or seek verification of his blood status at Kan’goma Health Center. But a few months later things began to change as Banda started developing health complications that included sores all over the body, recurrent fever and bouts of diarrhea. His pastor insisted that the ailments would vanish if he continued praying hard which Banda did but instead his condition worsened.

Banda pose for a photograph in front of his house

Banda’s condition became unbearable and was temporarily admitted at Kango’ma Health Center before being referred to the Light House in the City where he resumed taking ARVs. Speaking in an interview, Banda admitted that his health was improving and has since dropped membership at his church and joined another one because he could no longer satisfy conditions at the church.
Banda has now been reintegrated at the Tiyanjane Support Group and his testimony sends serous warnings about how community members especially those on ARV should treat HIV medication. Banda is now actively involved sensitizing people about the dangers of abandoning medication.
ADRA Malawi through the Action for Social Change Program is strengthening 3 support groups in Traditional Authority Tsabango to advocate for better services and the reduction of stigma and discrimination on matters of HIV/AIDS.  The increased number of support groups and membership has created an enabling environment for people to openly declare their HIV/AIDS status and community acceptance. The Action for Social Change Program is being supported by Denmark to bring about individual and society change in Lilongwe, Machinga, Mzimba and Mulanje.

Swedish partners impressed with TOT Project

By Stanley Mpasa

The visit by ADRA Sweden Programs Director Per Boling and Hans Sandberg, formerly of Atlas Copco to Malawi highly inspired the community at Group village Tambala, one of the targeted village communities by the ADRA Malawi Trainer of Trainers Project (TOT) in Mulanje District.

 The visitors expressed excitement   by testimonies and successes of community volunteers who are reaching out to the community with HIV/AIDS messages and linking the affected to service providing centers for counseling, testing, anti-retroviral therapy and psychosocial support.

Per interacting with one of the TOT volunteers

The volunteers narrated that some customs in the area still pose a threat to the fight against HIV/AIDS because they are deeply rooted. Common among the harmful cultural practices was sexual cleansing, were by a widow is forced to have sex with a man in the village to chase bad sprits that might haunt the household in the event of death of the husband.  Many people who practice this custom are at risk of contracting HIV.  The volunteers are however sensitizing community members on the dangers of this custom and are breaking the silence. Recently a man who could not be named revealed how he was secretly hired and sexually cleansed 20 widowed women in the village.  Strangely, when he went for HIV test, he came out positive. He stopped the practice after being counseled by TOT volunteers and he is now helping them to advocate for change.

Fallace Kachingwe, TOT supervisor addressing the gathering 

The visitors were also impressed how the volunteers were coping with transport challenges to visit their clients by forming a village bank to help them meet operational needs.  The bank that started in 2012 has raised over K40, 000 about ($95) through chicken rearing and the money would be used to support volunteers to easily reach their clients.


The visitors were accompanied by ADRA Malawi TOT Project Manager Stanley Mpasa and ADRA Malawi Country Director Claudio Sandoval.

ADRA Sweden is supporting 2000 households in Group Village Tambala alone to bring about individual and society change through the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Village Bank, a ray of hope for Nkhumba village community

By Stanley Mpasa

The Nkhumba Village Banking Group In Phalombe District has a humble history as it started in January 2012  by ADRA Malawi Trainer of Trainers (TOT) Project counselors . The main objective of setting up a bank was to improve the financial status of members who mostly challenged by the impact of HIV/AIDS.   Today, the group membership has grown to 22, of which 19 of them are women while 3 are men.

Members contribute K500 ($1.5) each week and by November 2012, the Group had accumulated K144, 000 ($1028.57) and members get small loans which are repaid at 20% interest.

In an interview, Nkhumba Village Bank Spokes person who declined to be named said bank members were using the loans to carry out small scale businesses that help them generate income to meet their daily needs.

The spokesperson also said that his group was visited regularly by the District Social Welfare Office staff who gave them directions how to run the bank effectively.  He said the DSW office recently contributed a cash box for the group to keep the money safe.
           

 Village Bank members with Claudio and Stanley

The spokesperson however said the main challenge facing the group is lack of capacity to manage the banking system. He said the group has never been trained in any skills associated with village banking.

Meanwhile the wife of the Lomwe Paramount Chief Nkhumba has joined the group and has been elected as the Treasurer. Group members described the presence of the Paramount Chiefs wife  as big inspiration and that their group had a brighter future.

The TOT project is targeting 19 sites in Southern Malawi and is being supported by Sweden to increase counseling skills and support services that lead to the improved quality of life of those infected and affected with HIV/AIDS.   

POOR BUT BLESSED, Peke Mafuli fights HIV with hope.

By Stanley Mpasa

Peke Mafuli is a young mother who was born 30 years ago to poor parents in the district of Phalombe, south east of Malawi. She never went far with education due to lack of support and by the time she turned 19, she became pregnant and had her first child, Mwaiwawo. As a consequence, her dream for education was shattered. 

Peke and her twins

Five years ago Peke’s health started deteriorating and she started having frequent illnesses. The ADRA Malawi  Trainer of Trainer Project (TOT) Counselor for the area, Herbert Kusamale noticed Peke’s situation and visited her several times to advise her to go to the hospital for treatment and HIV testing. After testing positive, she was put on anti retro-viral treatment (ART) and the counselor continued to visit her to monitor her progress and offer his support. The constant counseling helped Peke so much that her health improved tremendously.
In 2010 she became pregnant again and because she was able to access prevention of mother to child transmission ( PMTCT)  services, she gave birth to twins, Chisomo and Edith, who are HIV negative.
 Life continues to be a struggle for Peke due to her poverty and she needs the material and psychological support for her and the children.

Machinga CBGs on a flight of hope

By Justine Kumadzulo

It is not easy in some places for people to openly discuss matters of sexuality in public due to cultural taboos which define sex issues as sacred and shameful such that those who brave the situation and talk about them, the society would brand them as being associated with prostitution.   Nevertheless, Community Based Groups (CBGs) in Machinga are on the right path to break the silence and recently, ADRA Malawi through the Action for Social Program mobilized 40 CBG representatives from Traditional Authority Kawinga in the district into HIV and AID training to promote behavior change.
The four –day training, among other objectives aimed at promoting open discussion on matters of sexuality and HIV/AIDS. The expected change of the training, facilitated by Save the Children and Ntaja Clinic was that the trained members would initiate dialogue at household and community levels and provoke them to discuss matters of sex and HIV and AIDS.
Cases of HIV and AIDS are reportedly high in the district, affecting individuals and communities through severe opportunistic infections and death of bread winners. The situation has increased the number of destitute children who are exposed to child labor, abuse and prostitution.

A role play depicting the danger of girls falling in love with elderly men

In her opening remarks HIV and AIDS Program Technical Officer Judith Kumwenda said that ADRA Malawi organized the training to ensure that the CBGs got knowledge on HIV and AIDS prevention and equip their communities with the right information.
The Program District Coordinator for Machinga, Justin Kumadzulo urged participants to take the training seriously considering that they would be expected to relay the information to other people.

fleet of hope with card characters. Participants were given pictures and asked to place them in the boat of their choice according to the character or profession of  a person. The idea is that at the end of it, each one should be in the safe boat.

 The participants were drawn from youth groups, faith groups, home based care and support groups. On the final day of the training,  one of the participants, John khanene said the skills acquired during the training would go a long way changing the face of their communities especially on matters of stigma and discrimination.

The Action for Social Change Program with support from Denmark is collaborating with community based groups and district partners to bring about change in the targeted communities in Machinga, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Mulanje.

ADRA Malawi, partners break barriers of discrimination in Lilongwe

By James Masauko and Elias Banda

Five hundred people have undergone HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) procedures in Traditional Authority Tsabango in Lilongwe after a series of meetings organized by ADRA Malawi aimed at breaking barriers of stigma and discrimination. The campaign was conducted ahead of the World AIDS Day that fell on December 1.

ADRA Malawi through the Action for Social Change Program earlier conducted the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in the area which revealed gruesome forms of discrimination for those living with HIV.

The PRA exposed facts that people living with HIV could not be allowed to share their kitchen utensils and food. HIV positive people were also excluded on list of people legible for government fertilizer subsidy program fear that they might die soon.

TA Tsabango addressing  people

condom demonstration during one of the meetings

In some cases, hand shaking with those suspected to be HIV positive was avoided as people feared they might contract the virus. The community notion on HIV positive people made it difficult for people to disclose their status for fear that they might not be easily accepted by the society.

The high level of discrimination in the area forced Lilongwe District Council to chose Traditional Authority Tsabango as venue for 2011 World AIDS Day commemoration.

ADRA Malawi conducted a series of meetings in 25 group village communities emphasizing on the need to end discrimination and stigma. ADRA worked in collaboration with the Lilongwe District AIDS coordinators and other partners to lobby for the establishment of 7 HCT centers where 500 people were voluntarily tested.

Already, the campaign is bearing fruits and apart from the increased number of people going for HCT in the area, the number of support groups for people living with HIV has risen from 1 to 5.  A local chief testified that membership in the support groups has increased to 30 members from 10 in Chimutu Thapasa village community. 

Fighting HIV/AIDS stigma

Reported by: James Masauko
Written by: Krystle Praestiin

Speaking out against stigma & discrimination

HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination viciously attaches itself to People Living with HIV/AIDS causing added grief and pain. Stigma and discrimination are rooted in misunderstanding and a lack of knowledge and it manifests itself in many ways including: being denied care during sickness, social exclusion, people being afraid to shake hands or share kitchen utensils, and even being denied employment.

ADRA Malawi through advocacy initiatives and strong partnerships is continuing the fight against HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination- an issue that became vastly apparent to ADRA staff during numerous community dialogue sessions held in July.

A crowd gathers to watch a Drama protraying HIV/AIDs issues

We are partnering with key community leaders such as: the District Health Office, the District Assembly, Area Development Committees, Village Development Committees, and health experts to raise awareness on issues like stigma, to address knowledge gaps and to promote the rights of People Living with HIV/AIDS.


Currently, we are working in 25 Group Village Heads (GVHs) divided into 7 zones  and have been conducting community meetings, traditional dances, dramas, talks and video screenings. Our messages are about HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS prevention, the importance of testing, and disclosing a person’s status, as well as, the effects of stigma and human rights. We also have brought mobile HIV testing “clinics” to the communities far from local health facilities.

Mobile HIV testing Clinic

With these messages, ADRA Malawi wants people to no longer fear getting HIV tests or fear telling people they are HIV positive because fearing these two things is preventing people from getting help and it is also fuelling the spread of HIV.

In addition, our main aim is to reverse stories like the one about a woman from Group Village Head Chambala, who after 2 months of Anti-Retroviral Treatments was forced to stop because she was too sick to collect them herself, and no family member or friend was willing to collect them for her. Their misconceptions, stigma and fears prevented them from caring for their own family.

Group Counselling session

Sadly, this is just one story of many. Through awareness raising, knowledge gap bridging and human rights promotion ADRA Malawi wants to encourage people to fight stigma by respecting the rights and needs of people living with HIV/AIDS.

The good news is that since the commencement of these activities many people are now aware of HIV/AIDS issues including stigma and discrimination. We hope an impact will be realised as we go on working with different CBGs and stakeholders.

MISCONCEPTIONS STILL RAMPANT DESPITE HIGH HIV/AIDS MESSAGES

Reported by Hetherwick Manda, HIV/AIDS and Media Facilitator, Mzuzu

This story is about Christina Kaluwa one of the founding members of Nkhorongo PLHIV (People Living with HIV) Support group, from GVH Mdilira Tembo. It is a story that emphasizes the continued need for the support of PLHIV through education, training and access to ARV (Anti-Retro Viral) treatments. 
Ms. Kaluwa had heard from one of her daughters living in South Africa, that with the Global Financial Meltdown ARVs will be very scarce and Malawi will not be spared from this problem. Upon hearing this she decided to stop taking ARVs on a daily basis, as advised by the hospital, and instead started taking them at two week intervals so that, in her reasoning, her body could build “resistance” before the drugs became scarce. Christina also felt that because she had been taking the ARVs consistently since the year 2000 that her body had enough ARVs to make her well again, and therefore she could soon stop taking them.

During one of her Group’s Therapy meetings she shared her decision with the other members. Her fellow members were worried for her and together with the Chairperson of the group Mr. Stuart Mhango, told her she was risking her life and that she should follow the advice of the hospital and continue taking the ARVs regularly.

The advice had been given too late and on the 23rd of July 2011, Christina Kaluwa tragically passed away.
Although HIV/AIDS messages have been promoted since 1985 when the first HIV Cases were diagnosed in Malawi, misconceptions of this kind are rampant throughout the country. ADRA Malawi is working with PLHIV support groups like Nkhorongo PLHIV support group, to address these misconceptions and to provide education and trainings. Through the new project Action for Social Change ADRA Malawi will scale up their support and will also train these groups in communication for social change approaches, so that they can advocate to the responsible bodies/groups for the provision of their needs - such as accessibility to ARV treatments at local clinics.

ADRA Malawi therefore hopes to prevent and reduce the amount of deaths like that of Ms. Kaluwa through the development of greater knowledge on the issues of HIV/AIDS and the empowerment of groups to support each other through successful advocacy for their rights and needs.

 

Partnerships for a successful program

By Elias Banda

The ADRA Action for Social Change Program (ASC) roll out got an overwhelming reception by the District Executive Committees (DECs) of the four selected districts that the program is being implemented in.

DEC meetings were organized in the three districts to sensitize governmental and non- governmental stakeholders on the program approach.

District officials in Machinga, Mulanje and Mzimba echoed the same view that the ASC program was the right approach to bring change in the targeted communities and pledged to support the planned activities. The Lilongwe DEC meeting has been scheduled to take place in April.

During presentations in Machinga and Mulanje, ADRA Malawi Programs Director Michael Usi said the program would use the ADRA media programs to advocate for positive change. These programs known as Zatonse and Tikuferanji will include both radio and television and will be broadcasted with the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. He challenged DEC members to use the media platforms whenever they have pertinent developmental issues to be advocated for.

Before proceeding with DEC meeting in Mzimba, program staff sought audience with chief Ntwalo Jere III at his Headquarters to brief him about the program. The chief commended ADRA for the program and asked ADRA to scale up its activities in the rural areas.

With funds from Denmark, the nine-year program aims at strengthening a vibrant locally rooted civil society in Malawi which can be a dynamic actor in social, political and economical development process in areas of HIV /AIDS, food security and livelihood. The program will also focus on communication for social change processes, networking and partnership strengthening to bring about social change.

Throughout the program, it is hoped that targeted communities will be empowered through strengthened capacity, to advocate for change within their communities.

Each programmatic theme has its own targets. Under the HIV /AIDS domain, the program seeks to ensure that community based groups (CBGs) are ably engaged in HIV /AIDS activities and have improved ability to represent and express group interest with community, state and private market actors, at least by the end of the program period.

In its’ livelihood activities, the program will engage targeted community groups in sustainable livelihood and food security in order for them to have improved ability to represent group interests and interaction with community, state and private market actors.

Advocacy issues will be presented by targeted communities to relevant stakeholders that they identify, through the use of both local and national media platforms that will include more citizen voices, diverse views and perspectives of the most vulnerable and marginalized.

ADRA Malawi will work to strengthen its ability to effectively play its’ role as a civil society actor both nationally and internationally in order to advocate for the needs and rights of marginalized groups.

Through this program Action for Social Change, ADRA Malawi intends to facilitate the growth of vibrant and active communities who are empowered to pursue development for their community.

The Start of a New Decade

By Sangwani Mwafulirwa

With the support of ADRA Malawi under its Women Empowerment project, the women group of Village Headwoman Chilingulo in T/A Chikumbu in Mulanje conducted a double celebration. It was a celebration of Mother’s Day and International Rural Women’s Day which has coincided with the launch of the African Women’s Decade in Kenya. Led by T/A Chikumbu, the women outlined what they wanted to achieve in their area of environmental conservation, education, gender equality and women empowerment.

According to the Group Village Headwoman Chilingulo, some children have been facing challenges to attain secondary education let alone tertiary training because their parents or guardians were too poor to afford school fees and their upkeep.

She said this has contributed to early marriages amongst girls who find nothing to do after completion of primary school education which is free. As for boys, they go and work in tea plantations in an attempt to make ends meet.

To avert this, the village head said they have set up a special fund that will help all needy children who have been selected to government secondary school so that they do not fail to pursue their studies because of the two usual challenges; school fees, examination fees and uniform.

“Even those that will go to tertiary schools will be supported. We are very much interested in having nurses from our areas and we will make sure that by 2020 there are five nurses from this area working at the hospital,” she explained.

To achieve all this, each family will be contributing money or harvest, to be sold and the money will be administered by a committee. According to the village head, so far the households have already contributed a gallon of pigeon peas for selling.

The Chilungulo head has also taken a stern stance against early marriages by imposing a ban. Any parent who will consent to early marriage will be summoned to her court where if guilty, will be fined a goat and the child be sent back to school.

On women empowerment, they plan to engage in income generating activities whose proceeds will be saved in a village savings group.

“We want to have easy access to capital other than rely on micro-lending institutions whose conditions sometimes leave us poorer than before. We will borrow amongst ourselves at flexible conditions and low interest,” she explained during the launch.

To conserve the environment, the women will have already planted a nursery of natural tree seedlings which they will plant in uncultivated areas and also a village managed forest so that they get firewood easily.

The village head said women will also be encouraged to attend adult literacy classes so that by 2020 no one will need to use a thumb when voting or signing after receiving a subsidised fertiliser coupon.

Supporting her junior’s initiatives, T/A Chikumbu urged men in the area to support the women by providing them space to work and participate. She said she will see to it that some traditional practices that perpetuate gender inequality and hinder women participation in development work are abolished.

Under its WEP project, ADRA Malawi is working with women in the area to empower them to be economically independent through engaging them in income generating activities and by teaching them about their rights and how best to claim them.

It is through the training and support provided by ADRA Malawi in the WEP 2 project (Funded by ADRA Sweden), that women’s groups like this one have been able to mobilise themselves to initiate development initiatives within their own communities. It is inspiring to see women taking actions that will have a positive and lasting impact for women, girls, men and boys, for today and into the future.

Tsogolo Labwino (Towards a Brighter Future)

Author: Krystle Praestiin

A cool breeze caresses my face as I sit under a clump of mature mango trees, listening to the rhythmic beating of African drums and women’s feet as they dance around the drummers, chanting songs that reflect the joy that comes from the lessons and activities that ADRA Malawi has been involving them in. Even the babies can’t escape the celebrations, strapped firmly to their mother’s backs their heads bop to the sway of their mother’s dancing. I laugh as the tiniest of babies sleeps soundly on its mothers back as she bounces up and down, seemingly unaware of the significance of today’s event, yet inadvertently, actively involved. It is truly a community event; even the chickens have come to the open day of the Tsogolo Labwino project (funded by AusAid through ADRA Australia), in the small village of Mndola in the Salima District.

The purpose of the open day is for the community to show case the project's community driven activities to the members of the community, village leaders, government officials and other interested NGOs, through songs, dramas, speeches and demonstrations under the theme “Extension that Works with Partnerships can Make a Difference”.

By far the most interesting part of this open day has been walking around the village to see the demonstrations of various activities, that ADRA trained leaders from groups called Kumanga Umodzi (Building Togetherness) have been involved in. Activities displayed included: homestead gardening, manure making, water point management, and food preservation, food processing techniques (e.g. alternative uses of Soya beans), Saving & Loans groups (S&L), Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) mobile clinic for HIV and Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) classes. At each station one of the Kumanga Umodzi leaders would explain what they had been taught and the process they had been trained in to, for example, make their garden or their manure, this was followed by a question and answer time for spectators who wished for more information about various aspects of the activities.

Even though I could not understand what was being said as they were all speaking Chichewa (seriously need to start learning this language), I could understand the smiles and the gleam of pride in their eyes. For these Kumanga Umodzi leaders each activity represents an opportunity for a better more empowered life, not just for them but for their families and their community as a whole. The gardens represent a more sustainable source of food, the food processing techniques represent a chance to improve their diets and to start a small business to support their family, and the Functional Adult Literacy classes represent greater choices and opportunities in a life that once offered only one.

When I spoke with the VCT mobile clinic volunteer (34 year old Mr Amon Chimphepo, father of four children and also an ADRA community facilitator for the village) he said that because of the readily available tests and information being presented to them people have learnt the importance of knowing their HIV/AIDS status. It is in the knowing that they can start receiving Anti Retroviral (ARV) treatments; treatments that help them live longer and healthier lives, lives that can save their children from being orphaned. However, he laments that despite people coming for voluntary testing and counseling they have a problem in accessing Anti Retroviral drugs which are found at the government hospital 30 km from the village. This impedes many people who do not have the energy to travel the distance every month to acquire the much sought after medication. Mr Chimphepo was trained by a government run project called Management Science for Health together with a lady assistant and was provided with a testing kit for the community. ADRA's role has been to encouraged him to reach out to as many house holds in the community through the provision of a push bike and diverse skills in leadership and group management. Since the project began in July 2009, he has tested more than 300 people for HIV/AIDS and today he tested 4 more people. He is very proud of the role he plays in the development of his community and so grateful for the encouragement that ADRA has given him to provide this much needed service.

Today, I saw what hope looks like and I saw how important it is to empower communities with knowledge and opportunities to create for themselves a better future. Seeing the activities and speaking with the people was so uplifting and encouraging. It is great to know what I am a part of and if I had not been too shy, I would have joined the dancing circle and celebrated with them.

Note the ff:

FAL- Functional Adult Literacy

S&L- Savings and Loans

KU- Kumanga Umodzi (Building Togetherness)

VCT – Voluntary Counseling and Testing