House of Hope Centre
Our main focus is to develop a community-based centre offering community-based programs to deliver better care and support for children affected by HIV and AIDS. People living with HIV and AIDS can live healthy lives for longer if the proper care and support is provided. Medical treatment, food, rest and exercise can strengthen the immune system. A child can cope much better if they are happy, cared for, feel productive and are relevant in society.
We aim to achieve that by building a centre which will be run by the community.
Our main aims at the centre:
(1) Identification process
Children affected by HIV/AIDS first need to be identified. The location of the centre is very important. Teachers, churches, and community members are the main source of information on children in need. Once the children are identified, their home situation will be assessed, and their legal, medical and social welfare status can be determined and addressed. A record of each child will be kept.
(2) Community involvement
The community will take ownership of the centre and support the children. Involving the community ultimately also addresses the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and lessens the isolation children affected by HIV/AIDS experience.
(3) Keeping Children in the Community
We aim to support children in ways that help them stay in the community and their families. Moving them to unfamiliar environments only compounds the stress and trauma they are already experiencing. Informal systems of support i.e. supportive neighbors, a teacher, a minister, a nurse or volunteers, need to be established. Keeping siblings together is strongly advised, especially when there is a loss of a parent.
(4) Meeting the needs of the children
To support the needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS coordination between welfare workers, health workers, volunteers and all other services and organizations needs to be established. The centre will offer a structure where these services can operate, offer support groups, counseling, education on HIV/AIDS, and projects aimed at bettering the life of a child in need.
The Centre’s goals are to offer services and aid with help from the community:
- Nutritious meals each day
- Counseling and support
- Sport facilities and sport activities
- A sustainable food garden
- Life skills offered by community members
- Information and help on living with HIV/AIDS i.e basic hygiene methods and looking after patients (ill parents)
- Opportunity to join support groups.
- An after-school media centre
- Encouragement to stay in school
- Food parcels and clothes to take home
- Help in accessing social grants
- Making sure that the children are registered at the Home Affairs office
- Identification documents
- Workshop facility, which will offer a space to develop skills and projects to generate income
- A platform to work together with other NGO’s and government aid programs.
Facilities
Developing a centre big enough to include a sports field and an area to grow a food garden is very important for the health of children living with HIV and AIDS.
Kitchen/Conference Room
The centre will offer food packages but it will also offer at least one nutritional meal each day provided by the kitchen on site. Children are then guaranteed at least one healthy meal a day.
The kitchen will lead onto a dining hall, which will also serve as a conference room for support group gatherings/meetings etc.
Sports/ Exercise benefits
Exercise is a very important part of keeping a person with HIV and AIDS healthy. Due to the effects the disease has on the body and on the immune system, keeping the body strong and healthy is key to living long.
Benefits:
- Maintaining the muscle mass and body weight increases energy
- It regulates the systems in the body lowering stress and improving appetite
- Boosts the immune system
- Brings a positive outlook for the future
- Exercising in team sport helps build a sense of belonging, confidence and leadership
- HIV and AIDS can make an individual feel isolated. Sport brings children together
- Can help break the stigma and myth attached to the disease.
Food Garden/Nutrition/Food security
The effects of poverty make it very difficult to stay healthy and strong. This weakens the body to deal with illness. Because HIV/AIDS and nutrition are so strongly linked, nutritional assistance is an important response to dealing with the disease.
For a more sustainable approach, the centre will grow its own food garden and teach children how to grow their own food too, which they can develop in their own gardens. This is a way of dealing with food security but also a way of showing that by living healthily and having access to healthy food they have a chance to live a longer life.
After School Care facilities
The centre’s goal is to encourage children to stay in schools. To do this we aim to build facilities to provide a space for homework, a library and access to computers. Volunteers from the community are encouraged to donate some of their time and skill at the centre to help assist and encourage in this area.
