Nutrition and peer support for HIV+ patients

Our conditions are not ideal: the only space for the cooking activities is in the crowded courtyard of our Hope Center Clinic, between the maternity ward and the consultation rooms. Our patients however, are eager to make do with whatever they have. Rain or shine, they cook the weekly meal for all the HIV patients and their children. 

These women have overcome so much living in a society that is still learning to treat HIV+ people with dignity. As Socrates, our peer educator explained,  

Stigma is real. I can tell you that today things are a tiny bit better, but it's not eliminated. Before, when someone tested postitve, they were automatically abandoned by their family, fired from their jobs, and rejected by the community because of their positive status. The stress of that will kill a person. It's not the disease that will kill them.

The women at our clinic had have access to epathetic caregivers and as much pychosocial support as we could provide. It is clear from their testimonies that they have broken through many boundaries imposed by stigma, even if they lost husbands or children along the way. As "Mama"  explains using that particular gift of diction that Malians possess,

With my close family I don't have any problems; my father, my mother, my brothers and sisters; they all support me with my HIV status. People around me, however, talk about me behind my back. I don't care though, because this isn't something that I took my money and bought at the market place, this is part of God's plan for me.

Our HIV+ patients are strong and self-reliant, and they have goals for their own lives and big dreams for their children, yet their every day lives are full the of immediate challenges of trying to care for their families with the little that they have.

With only $200, GAIA Vaccine Foundation purchased new cooking supplies for the group; shiny pots and pans and new plates to accomodate the group's increasing numbers. We set up a tin roof to protect the cooks and their children from the sun and the rain. 

With a mere $75 per week, we have now increased the cooking activity from once weekly to twice weekly: Wednesdays and Fridays.

These are small improvements that can be accomoplished with very small funds. There is so much more that we need to do, but as a small foundation, we are doing the best we can with the little that we have.

With your support, our patients are now happily cooking with their new pots. Please consider giving a donation that would futher increase our capacity to provide nutritional support.

Many thanks from everyone at the Hope Center Clinic!

Links:

• Our website