HBC

Last week we held another Home Based Care (HBC) & Counselling training, and 7 more church members (five women and two men) were successfully trained! Once again our friends at AIDS Care Trust did the training, assisted by Jogbeth (our HBC Coordinator), Naf (another EBCAIDS member) and myself.

This brings the total number of church members trained to 17. We don’t have a HBC Program operating yet, but Jogbeth has started attended support group meetings for people living with HIV/AIDS (these are run by AIDS Care Trust). AIDS Care Trust has also started a regular meeting between organizations interested in HBC, with the aim of networking (knowing what each organization is doing, discussing common problems, etc). Jogbeth attended the first of these last month and the next will be held in June.

Most of the new trainees expressed interest in attending the support group meetings, and one, Edler, wants to start providing care to some Bushmen people living near her husband’s farm. It was agreed that the group would help her to start visiting these people to give information about HIV/AIDS, as well as any necessary basic health care and counselling.

The course participants will receive their HBC kits (provided by AIDS Care Trust, with basic medical and health supplies) and their certificates on 16 May.