HIV/AIDS Community & Self-Help Grants
U.S. Ambassador’s HIV/AIDS Community Grants Program
Success Stories from the Embassy and Consulates 2009
Cape Town
Ibuyambo HIV & AIDS Forum works to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STIs in Dunoon, Western Cape. Xoliswa Bentswana started the organization in 2002, going door-to-door in efforts to recruit other women to build awareness and life skills in the community. Out of this humble beginning, the Ibuyambo HIV & AIDS Forum (IHAF) has grown to provide quality care and prevention services in this disadvantaged community.
Currently, IHAF provides afterschool care for 70 youth, most from families affected by HIV/AIDS. Twenty-five of these kids have received training and now work as peer educators, organizing prevention workshops and community events (such as World AIDS Day which drew over 300 attendees this year). IHAF also provides a monthly support group and skill training forum for 35 women who now have the responsibility of caring for their grandchildren. The organization operates both a safe house for 11 babies whose parents are hospitalized or have passed away and an orphanage which currently has nine residents.
Durban
Clouds of Hope is an NPO located in Underberg, a rural community at the base of the Drakensberg mountain range in KwaZulu Natal. Clouds of Hope, the only HIV/AIDS organization in the entire Underberg area, has a number of dedicated volunteers ( including retired professionals from the area) who serve hundreds of HIV infected and affected individuals in their community.
Community Grants funding was awarded to the organization in FY 2008 to provide accredited child and youth care training for all its volunteers and staff working with orphans and vulnerable children in both their registered residential care facility (currently with 80 resident children) and their community based care program. This training was completed earlier in the year, and funding for further training has been requested. The organization is currently assisting another HIV/AIDS organization which has begun activities further into the mountain areas (near the border of Lesotho) to develop its OVC program which helps children in a rural area which is difficult to access.
The founder of Clouds of Hope is a woman named Abigail Ntleko, a 74 year old retired nurse who many years ago opened her own home to abandoned children. The number of children grew and grew and eventually others who appreciated her work came to help her. Although she never married or had children of her own, Abigail has personally adopted 22 children over her lifetime (most of them are now adults). Considered to be the “rock” of Clouds of Hope and the major source of the children’s nurturing, Abigail recently returned from the U.S. where she received a prestigious “Unsung Heroes of Compassion 2009” award which was presented to her by the Dalai Lama at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in San Francisco on April 26, 2009.
Johannesburg
Usizo Thuso is a center for OVCs, in Lawley, Gauteng, that focus on more than just their physical health. Usizo Thuso (which means “help” in Tswana and Zulu) strives to look after children holistically, ensuring that their mental, physical and emotional health is sound. Usizo Thuso does this through various programs including: a drop-in center, drama group, after-school mentoring, support groups and more.
Recently two young people who were rehabilitated at the NGO were featured on an episode of Leihlo Lasechaba on SABC 2. The first young man, Mandla, is a member of a youth headed household. When Mandla came to Usizo Thurso he was using drugs and associated with the wrong people. Grace Mohapi, director of Usizo Thuso and her OVC coordinator, Freddy Pudi mentored Mandla and got him involved in the various programs offered at their centre. Eventually, Mandla entered Usizo Thuso’s Youth Care Giving programme. As a Youth Care Giver, Mandela is responsible for mentoring and caring for younger OVCs at the Centre. This responsibility pulled Mandela away from the bad influences, drugs and life he was headed to. Now he mentors a support group, where he teaches young people about life skills and reaches other youth headed down the wrong path.
The second youth featured in this story is Lerato. She came to Usizo Thuso as an orphan. Still young, Lerato fell pregnant and was on the verge of dropping out of school. Through the counsel and support of Usizo Thuso, Lerato stayed in school and worked with her foster family to find a balance between her academic responsibilities and motherhood. She also works with the younger OVCs at the centre, through their mentorship program.
SABC used these beneficiaries of Usizo Thuso to compare the youth of Lawley to the youth of Orangeville. The OVCs of Orangeville do not have access to Centres and NGOs, like Usizo Thuso. Without a support center, the youth of Orangeville are falling through the cracks. Thanks to Grace, Freddi and all of their volunteers, children like Mandla and Lerato are given the opportunities they deserve. The Ambassador’s Community Grants Program funded by PEPFAR has provided Usizo Thuso with two grants, allowing them to expand their programs, vegetable garden and income generation efforts
Pretoria
Sediba Hope AIDS Programme, located on Bosman St., conducted an outreach activity in the middle of the Paul Kruger square in downtown Pretoria. Two qualified nurses conducted the VCT campaign drive and a minimum of 10 trained counselors were in attendance to provide pre and post test counseling. Within two hours, approximately 80 people voluntarily went for testing and counseling – this was a very positive and productive engagement with the community. Sediba Hope AIDS Programme continues to foster partnerships with other PEPFAR partners/providers such as Foundation for Professional Support in conducting VCT services.