PartnersGF - 2004-04-12
GF and local needs in rural Kenya
Wairimu Kariuki
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Dear Colleagues
My name is Wairimu and my organization is Kenya Rural Women Initiative .Let me first thank everybody who came up with the idea of this Partnership Forum. It is my sincere hope that the mutual global dialogue will go along way in forging an inclusive funding process accessible to all.
I work with the rural grassroots communities in areas of HIV/AIDS and economic empowerment. My experience in these rural set ups is that of THE FORGOTTEN WORLD. Most Organization operate from the Urban centres and majority in the big cities. The harsh terrain and sometimes-unmanageable living conditions keep these Change Agents in the urban centres. Only a trickle of their activities reaches these regions. Let me be clear there are some organizations doing very good work in the rural regions and especially the churches.
Coming to HIV/AIDS work the rural communities have suffered more than anybody would imagine. They take care of the PLWA [people living with HIV/AIDS] with little knowledge if any on treatment or protection. It is common to hear the policy-makers saying that 98% of Kenyans know about HIV/AIDS but DO the Kenyans have the facts??? Most of the information the rural people are expected to have is from the electronic media especially the radio. Some of these people cannot afford the dry cell batteries for the radio leave alone the radio itself due to the level of poverty. The print media is non-existent and majority of the care givers who are women are either illiterate or semi-illiterate. The communities want forums where they can express their fears and have somebody to answer their questions. The churches do it but their style and in most cases breed stigma because HIV/AIDS is seen as a disease of the sinners. In some instances PWLA have been given false believe that they have been healed and warned on visiting a VCT [HIV voluntary counselling and testing centre] because this shows you doubt. These people then continue infecting others and also re-infecting themselves
I have been facilitating the training of women on home-based care which entails: Awareness, Prevention, Treatment, Nutrition and Palliative care. These trainings are done by community members who are previously selected by the community members to train as Trainers of Trainers(TOTs) During these trainings I have learnt that the rural communities have learnt very little about HIV/AIDS and the little is distorted. After the training, the participants feel so relieved because they only knew of a monster with no cure that kills and nobody had told them on how to live normally with the monster.
De-urbanization of HIV/AIDS has left the rural communities overwhelmed. This is the situation where those with full-blown AIDS are encouraged to go back to their rural homes from the cities to stay with their relatives awaiting their last days because even when they die their bodies will be taken to their rural homes as traditions dictates. The women have been taking care of these people who are in most cases their husband, sons, daughters or grandchildren without any external support. Lets take the case of Loise who has 10 orphans from a late brother and sister and 6 of her own .They depend on her for all their needs .Loise has to attend to 13 patients within her community because she has been trained as care provider. Four of these clients also depend on Loise for their daily provisions. Two need total care because they are bedridden. Loise sells vegetables for the upkeep of these dependants. Loise is lucky at least she is trained as a care provider there are many who have to give similar care ignorantly. These care-givers need at least the basic NURSING KITS! If we dont address this issue early enough then soon we will be dealing with a caregivers DISASTER.
This scenario is repeated in many other rural setups where I work. Unfortunately nobody supports these great women not even the government whose role they play every day.
During the ICASA conference in Nairobi I talked to a Global Fund representative who said they would like to link up with the communities and modalities were to be worked out. I was shocked to see the call for proposals which are more complicated than even the previous years. I have not even managed to go through the format and the deadline is up. That not withstanding, we are still expected to apply through the CCMs. In my case the CCM calls for proposals through the print media which most of us have no access to in the rural areas. To even write this note I have to use the commercial cyber cafés. They are expensive to use because our typing speed is slow and they are only available in the urban areas, yet we are doing noble work which we would like to upscale and also to share with other people. Lets amplify the voices of these community care givers, support them with resource and give visibility to their work
A lot of controversy surrounds the use of Global Fund in my country and I am aware there is a year that Global Fund did not fund my country at all.
My question, dear partners: Is this the CCM that is going to steer the war against the pandemic? Let us design a way of reaching the people on the ground especially women and support their efforts if we are determined to win this war!
Lessons Learned:
- Communities are more receptive when they learn from their own community members and are not suspicious.
- Many people accept their status after the training because they realize there are people who care within their communities.
- Stigma is less in areas where communities have been trained because they are aware of facts and not hearsay and also empowered on how to live with and care for the infected.
- Resources are no longer used for hospitalization because families can take care of their patients at home.
- PWLA are also living longer and taking care of their children in the case of parents and this lessens the load of taking care of orphans.
I will share more in future.
Thank you
Peace
Wairimu
Wairimu Kariuki
Email: ruralwomeninitiative@yahoo.com