The HIV/Aids crisis has created unusual family dynamics and circumstances. MCDC has recognised the need to create teams that address the needs of entire households and not just segments of the household. Most families are not living in a stable environment. Dynamic changes such as who is dwelling in the home, who is the head of the house, who is responsible for the household, who secures income, who is in school, teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, physical abuse, rape, violence and child headed households all create stress and tension for those living in these circumstances.
The Home-Based Care and Development program currently covers 35 villages which have been grouped into nine zones. Each zone has a population of around 20 000 people.
Careworkers refer households to various services in the community such as clinics, schools, police, social services, MCDC OVC Care Centers, Nakekela (our palliative care facility), our Foster Care or Sponsor-a-Family program.
The Home-Based Care Program was created with the objective to assist OVC Households in the context of their home environment in the following way:
Identification
• Identification of OVCs and their households in desperate need
CareGiver Support: (Includes foster mothers, older siblings, bedridden parents, grandmothers/aunts, etc.)
• Caregiver workshops – hygiene, nutrition, love and care, etc.
• HIV/Aids workshops
• Support Groups
• Weekly meetings/Bible studies with caregivers of OVCs
• Counselling of caregivers
• Encourage family meetings to improve communication in the homes
• Home visits with caregivers and their families
• Training in pallliative care
Physical Needs:
• Food
• Provision of matresses/beds
• Provision of blankets
• Provision paraffin/coal to cook food
• Additional nutritional needs
Social Services
• Identifying OVCs and PLWHA within the households
• Assistance with obtaining birth certificates, death certificates and IDs
• Referral letters to social workers for grant applications attaching all documents secured for the OVCs
• Assistance in follow-up with social services on behalf of OVCs
Housing and Sanitation
• Building of pit toilets for OVCs where there are no sanitation facilites at their homes
• Fixing homes that are unstable, leaking etc. If the home cannot be fixed one room structures are erected.
Emotional and spiritual counselling
• Loving environment
• Life skills
• Bible studies
Legal
• Training/facilitating the drafting of wills
Sustainability
• Developing of income-generated projects
Recreational
• Youth programs
• Sports and games
• Arts & culture
Sponsor-a-Family Program
The Sponsor-a-Family program started in 2005 when MCDC saw a need to connect interested donors with specific families in crisis. We currently have 23 families being sponsored. Sponsors are connected with families who need temporary assistance to get them through a particular crisis. The families are screened and those who qualify are introduced to potential donors with photos and a brief description of the family and their particular need.
We attempt to make the sponsorship beneficial to the family in long-term. We often find families living in unsafe shacks or mud houses that are ready to collapse. In such cases we attempt to repair existing structures or build new ones. Sometimes we find families who are unable to get assistance from the government in a timely manner and we assist them with food until they are able to obtain government assistance.
At times we find families who need help in getting a small business started that will help sustain them in the long term. We want to assist the entire family and not just individuals. We work with the family on a development plan that will enable them to become self-sustainable.
Foster Mother Program
Foster mothers have been trained in the community and orphans have been placed in their care. Currently we have:
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13 foster mothers. |
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36 foster children. |
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Six grants have been issued by the government as of June 2007. |
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We are currently assisting with grants for 26 of the foster children. |
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One foster child is now in his second year of college. |
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Four groups of visitors have joined the meeting and heard the stories of the foster mothers and their children. |
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We were able to help many of the foster children with school clothes and shoes, as well as dictionaries and calculators for those attending high school. |
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Ten foster mothers regularly attend the support group meetings. When the schools are open, two of the foster mothers have jobs selling snacks to the children. |
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