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Zambia Community OVC Program Links to HIV/AIDS Clinical Services and Food
Aid
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Senefa
Chinga, 43, who is on antiretroviral drugs shares her story with
Dr. Ben Chirwa (center), Director-General of Zambia’s National
AIDS Council and Ambassador Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator,
during their visit to Chazanga Compound, Lusaka, in October 2006.
(PHOTO: USAID/Renuka Naj)
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Senefa Chinga’s bright smile hides
memories of her life slipping away, when she was on the edge of becoming
another AIDS death statistic in Zambia. But thanks to the strong support
she got from community caregivers from Bwafwano Community Home-based Care
Program in Chazanga compound in Lusaka, she turned adversity to her advantage.
After losing her husband to AIDS nearly
eight years ago, 43-year-old Senefa, a mother of four children, faced
the bleak prospect of raising her children alone as the sole breadwinner.
In 2002, she joined Bwafwano as a volunteer caregiver, but could not keep
up with the demands as she fell sick all too often. She remained in denial
when nudged by fellow caretakers to get tested for HIV infection –
the fear of being driven from her community and facing starvation with
her children due to the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS prevented her
from seeking her HIV status. So Senefa waited. After three years of chronic
illness, Senefa finally decided to get tested for HIV. In 2006 Senefa
began taking anti-retroviral drugs and has regained her health and is
doing well.
“It was because of the encouraging words, care and support during
my trying moments at Bwafwano that I finally decided to know my HIV status,”
she says. “Today, I am on anti-retroviral therapy and my children
are at Bwafwano Community School.”
Through support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR) and a partnership with Project Concern International and
the BELONG Project, Bwafwano has been one of the first projects to successfully
integrate a range of orphan and vulnerable children services into its
home-based care program. The program has leveraged food aid from the World
Food Program, and has created a strong link to local government health
services for anti-retroviral drugs.
In the past few months, Senefa has learned to run a second-hand clothing
business to meet household needs. With a bounce in her voice, she exclaims:
“It’s amazing, Bwafwano has managed to keep me alive and as
for my children, I can’t imagine what they would have been without
this organization.”
Bwafwano currently serves 650 orphans and vulnerable children and supports
565 adults and children on anti-retroviral drugs.
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