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Rosie Mwitelela, manager, and care-giver for the home based care pro-
gramme in the township of Matero. Picture: Amy Colley
Rosie: ‘We
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are trained
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them love’
ROSIE MWITELELA is a
grandmother who now cares
The numbers have reduced so much
because of ARVs and the workload has
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for her four orphan grandchil- lightened. We used to have over 300
dren. patients, but the ARVs have minim-
ised deaths,” she added.
A mother-of-five, two of whom died, The volunteers bathe, feed and clean
Rosie manages a group of home-based the sick and fetch water for them.
care volunteers in the Matero area of The home-based care scheme star-
Lusaka. ted in 1997 and many of the 33 volun-
The home-based care programme teers have lost their own children to
sees volunteers looking after patients HIV/Aids.
in their own homes after they’ve been Erica Kangwa lost her second
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discharged from hospital. daughter to HIV and had seen the dif- ������ �������� ������� �������� ����
Rosie said: “Home-based care used ference a caregiver made to her life
to focus on HIV but, with ARVs, before she died.
people are much stronger and don’t “Before my daughter’s death, I
need as much care. We also help didn’t have the money to take her to
orphans and those they are dependent
on.”
hospital, but a caregiver helped me,”
she said.
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The volunteers currently have 251 Her daughter was just 19 when she ������ �� �� ������� ���� �� ���� ���� ����� ������ ���������� ���
orphans or vulnerable children that died, but now Erica devotes her time
they look after. to helping others. ��� ������� ���� �����
“Some orphans are double orphans “I was attracted to the job and
and they are looked after by their rel- wanted to help,” she says.
atives who help with education. Some All of the volunteers are double job-
stay with their older grandparents. bing. They have to take care of their
“We’ve started a feeding programme own family and then look after
because children were not getting two orphans and the sick in the parish.
or three meals a day. A typical day sees the volunteers
“There are some that don’t need ma- visiting their clients between 8am and ���� �� ��� ��� ���� �� ���� ����� ������ �����
terial help, but are lacking in love and 10am to bathe them, give them food ����� �� ������������������� �� ���� ���� �� �� ���
we are trained to talk and counsel and they follow up with another visit
them and give them love.” around 2pm.
The volunteers also care for 155 pa- Refugees who have travelled alone
tients with HIV or Aids. from as far away as Sierra Leone, ������� ��������� ����� ��� ���������� ������ ��� �������� ��������� ���� �������� � �������� �� ������ �� ��� ��� ����� ���� ��
Rosie said: “We go into homes, see Liberia, Rwanda, Burundi and the ������ ���� ����������� ������ ����� ������ ������ �� ��������� �� ��� ������� ���� �� ��������
how the patients are doing, what we Democratic Republic of Congo also
can do to help and check their diets. rely on the volunteers.