Biking To Patients Of Sapaao
By:Penny Eccelstone
The old Public Health Nurse in me was very excited today to be sent on a home visit with a home based care volunteer to visit three HIV positive women. These home based care workers are given 10 days of training and they go out to small clusters of homes to visit patients with HIV/AIDS, occasionally Malaria and also T.B. The purpose of their visit is to ensure that patients are taking their medications and to give them support, also to assess their general well being. If they feel they need more care, they refer them to the hospital. They travel by bicycle (very few people in Malawi own cars). The average annual income being about C$300.00.
We visited three women, two HIV positive women with babies and a granny (she didn’t know how old she was, but thought she was about 70 years old) and had bilateral Breast Cancer which has never had treatment plus HIV. She is also caring for three grandchildren. The two young were breast feeding their babies. In the west HIV women are encouraged not to breast feed but here they are encouraged to breast feed for six months so they are not tempted to bottle feed and dilute the formula to save money. The government pay for all drugs people take in Malawi and the ARV’s. These drugs are now cheap and plentiful. Dignitas originally supported these programs however it has now been taken over by the Ministry of Health. This program is sustainable and allows Dignitas to support other programs in other areas in the country. Three of us, Maureen, Diane and I rode bikes with Emmy, the home based care volunteer and Victor, an interpreter and we enjoyed the experience immensely.
By:Penny Eccelstone
The old Public Health Nurse in me was very excited today to be sent on a home visit with a home based care volunteer to visit three HIV positive women. These home based care workers are given 10 days of training and they go out to small clusters of homes to visit patients with HIV/AIDS, occasionally Malaria and also T.B. The purpose of their visit is to ensure that patients are taking their medications and to give them support, also to assess their general well being. If they feel they need more care, they refer them to the hospital. They travel by bicycle (very few people in Malawi own cars). The average annual income being about C$300.00.
We visited three women, two HIV positive women with babies and a granny (she didn’t know how old she was, but thought she was about 70 years old) and had bilateral Breast Cancer which has never had treatment plus HIV. She is also caring for three grandchildren. The two young were breast feeding their babies. In the west HIV women are encouraged not to breast feed but here they are encouraged to breast feed for six months so they are not tempted to bottle feed and dilute the formula to save money. The government pay for all drugs people take in Malawi and the ARV’s. These drugs are now cheap and plentiful. Dignitas originally supported these programs however it has now been taken over by the Ministry of Health. This program is sustainable and allows Dignitas to support other programs in other areas in the country. Three of us, Maureen, Diane and I rode bikes with Emmy, the home based care volunteer and Victor, an interpreter and we enjoyed the experience immensely.
2 comments:
A stylish way to travel, and an awsome photo. Please pass on a Happy Birthday to Patti from her family.
Scott
Gramma,
We love to bike ride too. We are so proud of you, helping the people in Malawi.Keep up the good work.
We miss you and look forward to seeing you.
Love.
Maura and Cameron
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