WORLD HIV/AIDS DAY 2018: "Know Your Status", Hope for the Village Child Foundation Tells Rural Community Dwellers in Kaduna

Rev. Sister Rita

 "Community is Very Important And As Such, You Don't Need To Feel Alone"... Rev Sis Rita Schwarzenberger

 

HIV/AIDS which had once assumed a worrisome dimension globally and had also claimed the lives of several scores is gradually being tackled by health partners in conjunction with governments including local and international organizations.

With the world celebrating 1^st December of every year as the World HIV/AIDS Day, the Hope for the Village Child Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization based in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna state, recently organized a sensitization programme for people in the rural communities of the state to further sensitize and educate women and youths on the dangers of not knowing your HIV/AIDS status.

The event had women and youths from communities in Chikun and adjoining local government councils in attendance and was aimed at sensitizing and educating people in rural communities who do not have the means to access basic information due to their localities.

According to Mrs. Elizabeth David Hassan, Matron of the Hope for the Village Child Foundation which also runs a maternity and clinical services especially for the indigent, “the purpose of the sensitization programme, with the theme; “World HIV/AIDS Day, 2018; Know Your Status” is to create the enabling environment whereby, persons suffering from the disease and are desirous of treatment, receive attention from the clinic which also gets support from its local and international partners.

The Foundation also provides communities with Extension education services and support programmes for the women and children including teaching aids, books and volunteer staff and, has been able to impact positively in the lives of these rural dwellers.

The Foundation has also been involved in providing portable drinking water (installation of hand drilled boreholes), healthcare services, skill acquisition and trainings and empowerment programmes and schemes especially for women in the rural communities.

On why the Foundation decided to organize the HIV/AIDS “Know Your Status” workshop, Elizabeth Hassan told Naij News Alert during the event that it was just another way of supporting people in rural communities without access to quality healthcare.

  

Speaking exclusively with Naij News Alert, Elizabeth Hassan reiterated that, “there is the need to curb the spread of this scourge which is affecting the society and also, advised that there should be more room for educating and creating awareness among the people”.

“Thank God, the government has done well by making it possible for anybody to access the services and being tested to “know your status” which also, is the theme of the year 2018”.

“As much as many people that can hear this information, I am appealing that they should visit any of the Primary Healthcare Centres or, Government owned hospitals or Foundation like ours (Hope for the Village Child) so that they can access and be tested. Testing is the number one step that is needed”, Hassan said.

Tasked on ways whereby information such as these could be channeled down to communities lacking in accessing such, Elizabeth Hassan said; “Like the Hope for the Village Child Foundation, we have every technical assistance that is needed for this. However, we are sometimes handicapped by funding. If we can have support for funds that can help us to go into the communities; which has been our key activity and reaching out to the various communities where government cannot reach. We can access these communities and go in with our “testing kits” where everyone that has seen or heard the information will be tested and, if anyone is tested positive, we refer where he/she will be treated”.

On what would be the next step after referral, the matron of the HVCF Maternity said; “this Foundation is also a service centre point where we give drugs, free, to those that have tested positive and, if such victims/patients come in with conditions that we cannot manage, we have referral centres with various secondary facilities in the state”.

“We receive the drugs free of charge and we also give them out, free of charge to the patients. These drugs are given to us by the Centre for Integrated Health Partners, CIHP; an NGO residing here in the state and they have been very supportive of this programme here in Kaduna state”.

Obanewo Fibi Sandra, PMTCT Focal Person, Chikun Local Government Council which is host to the HVCF while speaking with NNA at the event, noted that, the World AIDS Day has become an annual event which is celebrated on every 1^st day of the Month of December while every organization picks its own date.

“We are from Chikun LG Council to celebrate with the Hope for the Village Child Foundation and it pleases me to know that the participants here today, already know their status which is the theme of this year’s event”.

Participants at the event commended the HVCF for its untiring efforts at providing healthcare for the rural people and enjoined other NGO’s to emulate "the Hope for the Village Child Foundation" and also reach out to people in the rural communities who cannot afford quality healthcare as the effort of the HVCF has remained unparalleled.

One of the participants who is also a victim, (names withheld) applauded the efforts of Rev. Sis Rita Schwarzenberger, the Foundation Director for her exemplary role and love exhibited towards everyone of them who have visited the Foundation.  

She disclosed that, though the HVCF, she has been delivered of two of her children at the HVCF maternity with both kids not testing positive to HIV/AIDS, a feat she attributed to the efforts and guidance of the team of staff at the maternity.