Soroptimist International Pretoria

HIV/AIDS PROJECT: TATENI^*

Information sent by Felicitas Hubert, Club Programme Action Chair:

SI Pretoria selected TATENI which we have now been supporting for the past two years. We have raised over R 50,000 for this Project since its initiation, most money came from Clubs Eisenach, Ingeborg's Club, and Taunus, my Club.  For next year, my Club has collected another 430 Euro from their Christmas Dinner and the immediate past President has given another 250 Euro. So we start next year on good footing. A friend of mine contributed over R 30,000 toward this Project for the last two years. That is how we could afford Christmas Hampers for R 10,000 for this year. To get more details on Tateni and to know how it started, I send you its history :

^* Origin of the name TATENI:
TATENI, as explained to us are the first words a baby says when it starts learning how to speak, ta te ta te etc. and because that is how the initiator of this project felt, like a baby finding its first words, she called it so.

HISTORY and BACKGROUND TO TATENI

SI Pretoria: Visit to Mamelodi & Proposed Club Project

Founder: Veronica Khoza, herself a Mamelodi resident who decided to start this project after visiting an HIV/Aids victim who, after testing positive, was forbidden from sharing in the family life. She found out that testing was being done but no help was forthcoming afterwards.

• The project was started sometime in 1995 by getting a group of young people together (most of them young prostitutes and HIV/AIDS positive). These she won over and with them started a self help group. She started training then but the work was not effective at the beginning. They then moved to work directly in the Township

• She realised that it was hopeless to test if no follow up was done for those affected.

• They had no funds, so her friends came to assist her and most of the work, up to today is done by volunteers.

• They were helped by medical students who had to do practical work. They were not only dealing with HIV/AIDS Patients but with other terminally and chronically ill Patients as well.

• Presently they are housed in the old university campus in Mamelodi, which is isolated and peaceful. The group hopes to get permanent premises which they can secure as expensive equipment the project had, has been stolen. The Tshwane Metro has promised them Land and as soon as this is settled, they will start building. Instead of brick constructions, they plan to use containers, some of which they can let to others to raise funds.

• The project trains "Home Carers" who take care of the affected in their own homes. Extreme cases are referred to the Hospices with whom they work together – a good case of networking.

• The department of health has taken them over as a pilot project and help in the training of the home carers.

• They have 240 Patients for the 23 Home carers in this group.

• Working in partnership with the hospices: Food kitchens here provide the meals which the home carers distribute to the patients during their visits.

• They co-ordinate their work with other similar groups and exchange experience and ideas. There are three groups working together. This way, they avoid duplication of services.

• Hot Beat (Curtainville): Take on AIDS Orphans and care for them. HCs are trained in awareness and skills on how to care for the orphans. There were 842 orphans visited in Goldenville, where available statistics show that the youngest is 4 years old and living alone. (Orphans are encouraged to stay and live in their own environment from where they are helped).

• Training in hygiene and community Health is the groups' next project. There is too much litter around. The group intends on identifying spots for installing containers which will be painted and decorated with slogans with cleanliness messages. Litter collecting and training residents and pupils about litter control will be organised. Litter sorting will be on top of their Agenda.

The Ford Foundation was to sponsor this group but so far no progress has been forthcoming. The groups that are networking together want to join forces in order to raise funds.

• All the Students are Volunteers.

• They undergo a 6 months training in Hygiene, Care of the Sick, taking care of patients with communicable diseases and especially caring for HIV/AIDS patients.

• They have 3 months of theory and 3 months of practical work. At the end of their training, they sit for their exams. Some stay on as home carers with the group while others find jobs outside, eg. As municipal works. At the moment, they have 23 Students, all female and the next group will be just as large and for the first time, there will be males as well.

• Students go for practical work in the pre-school Centres.

• Neighbouring Schools approach the project for help in HIV/AIDS awareness lectures and training.

• Teachers get information and help from the group.

• Eventually, home carers become trainers for those living with HIV/AIDS sick relatives.

• Transport for the Home carers, as they have to walk very long distances to see different patients.

• General medicines, eg. Analgesic and other pain killers, Wound salves and dressings, nutritional supplement and multivitamins, cough mixtures, antiseptics, ointments, syringes and hydrogen peroxide for cleaning ears, thick plastic sheeting for the beds as Linen savers are expensive, adult napkins, catheters, catheter bags, condom catheters, overalls and plastic aprons for the home carers, astronaut feeds, betatine, ensile, saline, multivitamin Syrup for Kids, Glycerine and Borax for Mouth Sores, mucostatic, vitamin B Complex, molasses.

• Stress related psychological illnesses among the home carers
• Counselling possibilities for the workers. Pastor Mailula gives the group much needed balancing counselling and the group has started a help Programme for the home carers.

The home carers meet on Tuesdays. On this day they write their Reports and discuss their work, their problems as well as exchanging of experiences and ideas. Improvement suggestions are tabled at these meetings.

Some of the Group Members who met us:
Mafusi: Director
Sophie: Administration and Book keeping
Veronica: Co-ordinator and founding Member
Tshite and
Euphotie: Training
Rita: Fund Raising

SISA 2002 AIDS ORPHAN PROJECT

SOS CHILDREN'S VILLAGE (proposed by SI Pretoria)