HIV/AIDS

 

Kenya has many voluntary Counseling testing centers (VCT) which are distributed throughout the country. In these centers everyone can receive a free HIV test and counseling. A large number of patients are arriving to receive free testing and counseling services, yet there isn’t enough staff to accommodate these residents. Missioners with skills can be placed here to help staff do testing and create awareness of HIV/AIDS. The missioners will work alongside other volunteers and health care professionals aiding in all aspects of education, awareness, and testing of diseases and HIV/AIDS. You will aid in all aspects of education and awareness of HIV and AIDS through testing, counseling, administrative duties, and lectures for the period that you will be at the center.The HIV epidemic is currently the leading cause of death in Africa. It has put families, communities and the government under great pressure to provide care and treatment to the infected resulting in enormous sacrifice of material and financial resources by both families and communities. Most of the persons living with HIV/AIDS receive care from the relatives mostly children of the patients at their own homes.This creates a need to improve and support this existing care through voluntary community health workers. The workers provide friendship and moral support and teach home-nursing skills to patients, relatives and friends.The community health workers do counseling and refer the suspected cases/conditions needing doctor's attention to the relevant hospitals.Where necessary and when possible, workers provide food during their visit either a cooked meal or raw food to be cooked by the family members.Due to poverty syndrome that has escalated in most of the areas, people often avoid attending health facilities because they don't have something to pay from their own pockets and because of this reason, most of the people encounter premature death as a result of depression and inability to take care of themselves.The trained volunteers assist very sick parents prepare memory books for their children. It is like a will to the child with the photos for both parents. The last word of Mum and Dad is a treasure to the child.  It always reminds us that we all as human beings have responsibilities for one another.