The Lifespring Foundation (Africa)

A very simple idea soon turned into a community changing project when we began to operate Home Based Care in Kaloko, Zambia. Here is the recipe that we have followed so far...

First, gather local leaders, the local churches, pastors & ministers (the biggest network of people willing to get involved in community redevelopment) to discuss the needs of the local area. Encourage them to volunteer & recommend volunteers from their networks to gather information from the community. Train these volunteers to assess needs & gather information using community survey questionnaires and together make plans. Hold public meetings & spread the word about Home Based Care for people whose lives have been affected by HIV/Aids. Gather resouces. Build a resource centre...a first from a container. Appoint personnel to run the project. Offer HBC places to clients who have been assessed as most in need. Start visiting people in their own homes to assist them with their needs. Needs such as supplementary food, health care advice, water, roofing, blankets, clothing, prayer & pastoral support. Open a Drop-In Centre & encourage people to come along. Offer workshops in health care, hand out leaflets, recommend practical ways that people could begin to help themselves. Encourage the children of the HBC clients to come along to play, to receive supplementary feeding, to get support & some basic education.
Give out malaria nets. Take people to the clinic. Help with funerals when there is nothing else that can be done. Comfort those that have been left behind. Negotiate with difficult family politics, try to resolve disputes & persuade people to make decisions that are not just based on old wives tales or traditional medicine. Continue to encourage those who are doing well with their ARV medication & boost their self-esteem. Work to break down taboos within the neighbourhoods so people are not shunned or ignored. Encourage those whose lives have been turned around to become volunteers and support them to begin the process of supporting others.

The Home Based Care Programme that Lifespring offers continues to go from strength to strength but we need your help and support. Contact us to find out how.