Why a community center?

We wanted to give you some background and detailed information about the Community Center that we hope to start in Maphiveni and why there is such a great need for it.

Our Chips supervisor, Daran Rehmeyer, had put together a report to share with supporters back home and we have taken excerpts from it (with permission) to share with you at this time.

At first he shares the history of how Chips was started in 2008:

Caregivers and by default their children living in rural Swaziland do not have the resources to access HIV/AIDS related interventions. These resources include transportation, the knowledge to know when, where, and why to go for testing and treatment, symptoms that require immediate interventions, importance of drug adherence, nutritional requirements, and even drug storage.

CHIPS was organized to begin a program to identify children who are in need of testing and begin the process of counseling with their caregivers to bring them to testing. To make transport available to and from facilities for testing, counseling, treatment, and care as well managing the schedule of the child to ensure adherence.

And he shares the need for immediate intervention:
Without successful, comprehensive intervention and support, the morbidity and mortality rates of children who are HIV+ will only increase. Current statistics# indicate that 66% of children will not receive the anti-retroviral medications and support they need. As a result they will die. The mortality rate of children born with HIV and remaining untreated is:

32.5% by 1 year of age

52.5% by 2 years of age

66%-75% by 5 years of age

85% by 10 years of age

Initially focused solely on HIV+ children, the program was expanded within the first six months to accommodate caregivers to children who were also HIV+.

 

Daran, and his wife Teresa, soon realized that patients' health care needs changed as they started anti-retro treatments for HIV, ART. Patients now need long term care to address the other health issues that are there, TB, hypertenison, diabetes, various cancers, and STD's. With the increasing amount of patients needing various treatments and transport (which Chips has provided) to/from Good Shepherd Hospital, the quality of care decreases and the need for a local clinic has shown to be a great necessity. They chose Maphiveni for the site of the clinic because the of the close proximity of the homesteads in the area as compared to other settlements.

 

A stand alone clinic to cater to the ongoing health needs of the HIV+ population in Maphiveni would better serve the long term needs of this community. CHIPS transport could continue servicing the surrounding communities but bringing them to this clinic versus the 50 or more kilometers to GSH. The clinic would provide holistic health care to the HIV+ population. The clinic would serve as a dispensary for ARV’s as well as TB meds (a major opportunistic disease that co-infects many HIV+ patients). CHIPS would continue its proactive role in engaging people in the community to be and remain adherent to the drug regimens they are on (for HIV, TB, etc.).

As an ancillary function, the clinic would also house a community outreach building. The community outreach building would serve as a focal point for individual empowerment: adult literacy, support groups, training for income generation projects, etc. This is critical for two reasons. First, for the people of these communities to effectively take control of their lives, the underlying issues that maintain endemic poverty must be addressed. Secondly, long term health is also related to nutrition and nutrition is related to a person’s ability to purchase (or grow) sufficient and proper food for a balanced diet. Opportunity here would help these communities improve their baseline nutrition status and help move towards self sufficiency.

As you can imagine, there is quite a cost involved to purchase the land and build the clinic. Our estimated need initially for the clinic is about $50,000 and then there will be operating costs to maintain the clinic. Hopefully this will have answered many of your questions. If you would like more information, please don't hesitate to let us know and we willl do our best to answer your questions.

 

If you would like to help fund the clinic, the fastest way is an Online Donation via www.worldoutreach.org. Go to Donate and select our name, Stephens, Ian and Jenn- Swaziland. The system can process USA and International cards.

Or simply mail your check to World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate the check for Ian and Jenn, Fund Code #97

All italicized material quoted with permisision from CHIPS Children HIV Intervention Programme in Swaziland, Kudvumisa Trust, by Daran Rehmeyer 11.30.10