Medical Outreach & HIV/AIDS Awareness Detail
Medical Outreach & HIV/AIDS Awareness
Pricing 2012
2 weeks GBP745 / US$1340 / EUR970
4 weeks GBP1195 / US$2150 / EUR1555
6 weeks GBP1595 / US$2870 / EUR2075
8 weeks GBP1995 / US$3595 / EUR2595
Surrounding the beautiful area of St Lucia are rural villages which have little resources for health care for the thousands of people that live there. Through working with care givers in the community we aim to increase the support available and make a difference to peoples’ lives and health. This is through the direct assistance given on home based care visits and by educating and supporting people to live healthier, in a sustainable way.
RURAL HOME BASED CARE
As a volunteer you will predominantly spend your mornings with a locally trained care giver out in the surrounding villages, helping sick people in their homes. Volunteers help provide basic medical care and attention to those that are too sick or poor to get to a clinic for much needed treatment. This is a unique opportunity to gain hands on medical care experience, make an impact on the lives of disadvantaged families and an insight into Zulu village life.
As a volunteer you will visit homes with the care giver to meet new patients or visit patients we already support. You will be involved in enquiring about their health and making a plan with the caregiver on how we can help the patient. This can include assisting with medical treatment, giving health advice, providing items to make the patient more comfortable (blankets, mattress, hot water bottle etc.), ensuring they are taking medication correctly and helping around their home. You will also give out much need food parcels and donations to these patients to encourage positive living and better nutrition. Your visit on its own is something that patients look forward to as it is the only help they may be getting. For some patients on Home Based Care visiting a clinic or hospital is a critical step. With minimal transport available or people not having the money for transport this is an area we also help with.
After your daily visits you will update records on each patient so we can keep a history on the health and care we have given.
HIV/AIDS AWARENESS EDUCATION
In St. Lucia’s local community, many myths about HIV/AIDS still prevail. A large percentage of local South Africans believe that the virus is a result of witchcraft, and people infected with it are often rejected from their own communities and families. As a result, many people who are infected do not admit to having the virus. Not many people know how to prevent infection, and even fewer people know how to deal with the virus once they have it.
Working together with our Volunteer Coordinator with experience in teaching this subject you will be involved in teaching adults and children about the virus. During your placement, you will visit both schools and community centres, and do the following:
Once a week volunteer will be given the opportunity to become involved in a community HIV Support Group to help people affected by the virus. In this community upliftment programme, volunteers help deliver health and nutrition information and provide healthy foods to a group of HIV positive adults. This is an incredibly rewarding project which makes a difference to their lives as well as providing weekly support from each other.
10 FAMILIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMME
The Ten Families Project was established in May 2009 and aims to improve the quality of life in a sustainable way for 10 families urgently in need of assistance. Help can take many forms including food provision, education, property repairs, farming, finding access to medical attention and income generation. This amazing community outreach programme is only made possible through the help of volunteers and is a unique insight into how traditional Zulu families live and a chance to make strong bonds with each family
AFTERNOON COMMUNITY PROJECTS
Besides providing much needed medical assistance to the wider communities and raising awareness about the HIV/AIDS virus, you will be involved in the following community projects:
EZWENALISHA ORPHANGE PROJECT
African Impact volunteers are currently assisting in serving lunch and after school playtime activity for approximately 40 orphans in Ezwenalisha community. You will be involved in playing educational games and sports with these energetic children. Volunteers are also helping in the conversion of 2 old buildings into bedrooms for 9 of the children that have been identified as those with the most pressing issues.
BUILDING AND REFURBISHMENT
Community buildings in the local villages tend to be run down, particularly in the more rural and remote areas. As a volunteer, you will visit these building which may be a school, day care centre, a church, orphanage, community centre or the house of someone in need, by helping to fix roofs and windows, paint walls, and help build new rooms. You will find that the community greatly appreciate your presence and support, and your work will be highly rewarding.
FARMING
To help encourage positive and healthy living, volunteers will help local people create and maintain vegetable gardens. These will supply people with much needed healthy food and encourage them to be more self sufficient for them and their family. The farming activities may include digging, weeding, fencing, planting and watering. Watching the vegetables grow and be used by more and more people is a great way to make a difference.
FIRST AID CARE IN COMMUNITY CRECHES
Volunteers will also have the opportunity to help at one of the community crèches in which the St Lucia Orphan Day Care volunteers work, to administer first aid and help care for young children.
