2015 Volunteer Trip: Amani Group

www.theonepersonproject.org

We always check in with the Amani children and host a party.

Brenda Lowe in the Amani meeting area, which is adjacent to the clubhouse. 

The Kahama District Hospital has a children's Care and Treatment Clinic that provides AIDS treatment services, an HIV prevention program, and counselling and testing. In 2009 Dr Subi provided a clubhouse and some funding to set up a much-need social support group and asked if we would add our support.

The children chose the name Amani, which means peace in Kiswahili, and we became a part of their lives. The group quickly grew from under 20 children to over 200! Melinda, one of our committee members ensures that the children receive letters; she writes many of them herself and has solicited friends to write the rest. We provided funds to purchase tables and chairs for the clubhouse and have shipped educational resources, a TV/VCR, sewing machines and other resources.

A volunteer in our home-base in Summerland, B.C has donated around a thousand home-made cloth bags over the years and each child received one, filled with small gifts donated by members of our B.C. community.

Led by Nurse Flora the children sing a few songs as a thank you

We aim to provide up to $200 a month to provide food for the clinic. In their treatment the children receive antiretroviral drugs, which are are highly toxic; patients risk malnutrition and harmful side effects unless they can increase their overall caloric intake by as much as 40 percent. In addition, people with HIV/AIDS are more likely to be malnourished in the first place and extreme hunger is a cruel side-effect of the drugs. 

Thanks to the Okanagan Gleaners we were able to ship 74 boxes of dehydrated food (soup and fruit) to Kahama this year, and delivered a large portion of it to the clinic. 

Do contact me if you would like to donate to the Amani clinic or make a regular donation towards the food. 

You can donate on line www.theonepersonproject.org or at the Summerland Credit Union or mail to The One Person Project 10108 Julia Street, Summerland, V0H 1Z5 

Asante Sana!

Thank you!

Like us on facebook to see all the latest pictures