Keep a Child Alive

Janet and daughter Lucy at Alive Medical Services

Meet Janet, 36 years old and her daughter, Lucy who is 12 months old, both on AIDS treatment and receive the nutritional program at Alive Medical Services.

They are both newly diagnosed with HIV and mother Janet was referred to Alive Medical Services on the 14th September 2011 and is now in care. Janet, a peasant from the eastern part of Uganda, is a 4 hour drive from Kampala where Alive Medical Services is located to receive her medication. She has 5 children and has difficulty getting food. Her daughter Lucy whom she is carrying is one year old, HIV positive and severely malnourished. Lucy is currently undergoing nutritional rehabilitation. At 11 months she was weighing 3.8 kg.

You can help to continue to feed Mother Janet and Daughter Lucy with Keep a Child Alive’s Feed a Family Campaign which will provide a food parcel for one month for $26. Can you help feed Janet & Lucy for another month?

Give $26 here today.

KCA Patient tells the 7 wonders of PUR

Dr. Greg Allwood from Proctor & Gamble’s PUR program recently visited Alive Medical Services in Kampala, Uganda.

You can read here about his visit to the clinic and some of his home-based care visits to see how P&G’s PUR water packets are helping the patients at Alive: http://bit.ly/fXrrzU

We Need You Now.

Our Alive Medical Services clinic in Uganda is fighting for the lives of every patient who comes through their doors. With anti-retroviral drug shortages in clinics throughout the country, the number of people turning to Alive for treatment grows every day. Most are already very sick and in dire need of immediate treatment and care to survive. To help Alive meet the growing need, KCA must raise an additional $10,000 by the end of October.

The situation in Uganda today has become alarming for anyone who needs AIDS medication. Lack of adequate funding has led to shortages in anti-retrovirals (ARVs), affecting the scale of treatment in HIV/AIDS centers throughout the country. Most clinics are no longer initiating any new patients onto ARVs at all. Alive Medical Services, with nearly 3,000 patients on ARVs already, is one of very few continuing to take on new patients. But we can only continue to do so with your support.

With your help, Dr. Pasquine at Alive Medical Services can keep hope alive for those desperate to live another day. “Imagine” Dr. Pasquine says, “They are standing there before you, begging for their lives, or for the lives of their children.”

What would you be willing to give up today to save one more person from dying from AIDS?

Help us now. Donate today and give life to a patient at Alive Medical Services. We want to tell Dr. Pasquine that she can continue putting people on to treatment, wash away the tears and let them know that life will be there for them tomorrow.

KCA needs your help to keep our patients alive through the end of this year, when the drug supply issue in Uganda should be resolved. Together, we need to raise $10,000 by the end of October so Dr. Pasquine can purchase the medicines she needs for the rest of the year.

On behalf of the people we serve, thank you for your support!

Remember to choose “Alive Medical Services / Uganda”

A story from Sahara about Ravi

Keep a Child Alive was thrilled to receive an update from Sahara Aalhad Care Home yesterday! We began supporting Sahara’s work in Pune, India this year, and we are proud to have already provided treatment, care and support for 560 patients and their families!

Ravi (pictured on the left) is a bright and gentle 19-year-old boy with an older sister, age 22, and a younger brother, age 18.  When Ravi was only 6 years old, his father passed away and five years later, his mother tragically passed as well.

All he understood about his parents’ deaths was that they passed from a contagious disease, but he never learned any more about what that might mean.

When his sister left home to be married, Ravi and his brother were then left in the care of their grandparents. Shortly after, his grandmother died.  Unable to care for them on his own, Ravi’s grandfather then took him and his brother to live with their uncle.

Soon after moving in with his uncle, Ravi fell ill with a high fever and a severe cough.  He was taken to a government hospital in Pune for medical treatment, where he was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and also tested HIV-positive.  From the hospital, he was referred to Sahara Aalhad and began taking TB treatment and anti-retroviral medication.  With his health renewed, he was able to return home.

In May of this year, Ravi came back to Sahara Aalhad in a very weak condition, weighing only 68 pounds, and having contracted tuberculosis again.  His relatives and neighbors feared that he might infect them, and they were reluctant to take him back.  The fierce stigma against HIV in India is having devastating effects on its population, as those infected and affected by the disease face social isolation and abandonment in their own communities.  Sahara Aalhad offers a safe haven for those most in need and welcomed Ravi’s return with open arms!

Since May, Ravi has been receiving HIV and TB treatment at the Sahara Aalhad Care Home.  He has gained 20 pounds already and is healthy and happy again! Despite his many hardships, the team at Sahara describe Ravi as passionate and full of enthusiasm, and he can always be found playing his favorite game, cricket!

Your support for KCA helped make Ravi’s recovery at Sahara possible.  DONATE NOW and continue to be a part of Keep a Child Alive’s work with Sahara in India.  

Food Day at ALIVE Medical Services, July 2010

From: Jennifer, KCA Director of Development

ARVs + FOOD = LIFE

I arrived at the clinic to the sounds of singing, the staff concluding their morning meeting with a song of celebration for the day. It is “Food Day” today, and the air is already charged with an energy that excites the senses to the fact that something special is about to happen here.

“Food Days” are serious business at Alive Medical Services, where we know ARVs + Food = Life. Held twice a month to accommodate 1,000 patients on ARVs most critically in need of support for nutrition, Food Days are an all hands-on-deck, an all day affair at Alive. It takes staff and volunteers two full days to prepare the food parcels, meting out each portion of beans, rice and sugar with loving care and precision, stacking them gently in the store room so the polthene bags don’t tear.

I greet the patients who arrive, even earlier than their usual early, to jockey for a spot at the head of the line, hoping to be among the first to be seen at the clinic, pick-up their medication from the pharmacy window, and then receive their precious monthly food allocation. For most, it is the only food security they know —without it, they would go hungry. And for many, it is as important as the drugs themselves. Hunger is incredibly painful, and for the very poor who rely on Alive Medical Services for treatment and surrounding care for HIV/AIDS, it is reality that they endure every day. One mother I spoke with told me about her struggles to keep her children alive on ARVs while living in conditions that expose them to sickness and disease every day. Before she came to Alive and was able to get nutritional support, her children used to cry in agony because of hunger. She, too, was hungry and forced to beg for whatever food she could get to care for her family. “Our life was too hard” she said, “Many times I wanted food for my children more than the medicine. To fill their stomachs and cease their suffering now, so that they may sleep in peace.” She is thankful for Alive Medical Services because the food, not the drugs alone, have saved them all from dying. Today, she and her children are getting stronger and they do not get sick as easily now, because they also have clean water to drink.

Before the food distribution begins, patients get a 15-minute demonstration/refresher course and Q&A on how to use PUR packets to purify their drinking water. We take for granted in the Western world, just being able to turn on the tap to quench our thirst, but having safe drinking water is another daily hurdle our patients at Alive must overcome in their battle to get well. In addition to accessing a water source, patients must have fuel to burn to boil the water so it is safe to drink. Those who lack the funds to purchase fuel end up drinking from contaminated water sources, increasing their risk of gastrointestinal diseases and other sicknesses particularly dangerous to those with HIV/AIDS.

Through the support of PUR and our fantastic friends at P&G, who have provided enough PUR for 1,000 patients for the year, the gift of safe drinking water is changing the lives of those in our care at Alive Medical Services. They are learning about the benefits of drinking water to their health, and it shows – they are glowing!

It takes two days for the staff and volunteers at Alive to prepare for a distribution of 500 parcels, and the entire food day is consumed by the highly organized, methodical flow of patients from intake, to consultation, to receive their medication, and then to pick-up their food parcels. The process includes an ongoing assessment of individual need for nutritional support based on the patient’s health and family circumstances. It’s very strict! Staff on hand act as security to ensure that no pilfering of food parcels occurs, and every patient must present a food entitlement card, stamped for the day, before receiving their allotment. Those who loose their food entitlement card must present a letter from the local police authority verifying that a report has been filed for the lost or stolen card before it can be replaced.

The patients waiting patiently all day are grateful under the shade of a canopy provided on Food Days to shelter them from the burning sun. While they wait, the staff of Alive Medical Services gives talks on a number of subjects, among them: the PMCTC, child immunizations, the use of condoms to prevent infection, the importance of diet and drinking water to overall health on ARVs, etc.
The link between nutrition and good health is an obvious one and, for people taking
ARVs, appropriate nutrition is critical to their success on AIDS treatment. But many of the poor with HIV/AIDS in our care at Alive are too sick to work and need emergency support for nutrition until they return to good health on ARVs. Keep a Child Alive and its visionary partner, The Stephen Lewis Foundation, together provide the resources that allow Alive Medical Services to continue its innovative patient food program, the only one of its kind in Uganda.
It is evening when I watch the last of the patients here for Food Day drive away on boda-boda’s and bicycles, weighed down with food parcels and containers for PUR for the month, and I am overjoyed.

Our Day with RNP+

It’s been a busy week for us in India and we are excited to share with you more about our journey. We are glad to finally have the Internet access to update you now!

The second organization we visited in Jaipur was RNP+, the Rajasthan Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS. RNP+ is an organization that aims to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS in Rajasthan, to provide a sense of belongingness among them and their families for full and active participation in society, as well as reduce further HIV transmission. Their HIV work in India is a model of excellence, at the core of which is driven by passion, dedication and love.

[caption id=”attachment_2258” align=”alignleft” width=”300” caption=”Brijesh welcomes Leigh to RNP+”][/caption]Leading this incredible team of people is Brijesh. There is a beautiful depth to the RNP+ team, whom, very much like KCA, operate as a family connected by the urgency of our work and the love for the people we serve.

KCA is going to begin working with RNP+ to support an orphan care home for HIV+ children in Jalore, and a care home for abandoned women living with HIV in Jaipur. The orphan care home in Jalore is already home to 30 HIV+ children, and with KCA’s support, RNP+ is going to expand the care home to provide for many more children in need in the area.

For the women’s care home, RNP+ intends to begin renting a building across the street from their offices in Jaipur, so the RNP+ team can help manage the facility in its early stages. The building will soon become home to 25 vulnerable women, who have been abandoned by their families because they are HIV positive. The safe-house will foster an environment where they will be safe and supported, have access to the medical treatment and care that they need, as well as educational opportunities and programs that will help them build skills they can use to sustain their daily lives.

[caption id=”attachment_2259” align=”alignright” width=”300” caption=”KCA & RNP+”][/caption]Our friends from the American India Foundation joined us at the RNP+ office to meet the team and learn more about their work. What followed were discussions on the plethora of issues surrounding HIV/AIDS in India, and informative PowerPoint presentations on how RNP+ was addressing them. We ended the day fully inspired by RNP+’s efforts, and looking forward to visiting the children in the Jalore care home.

You can help KCA support RNP+ right now. Give $5 Text “ALIVE” to 90999.

A one-time $5 donation is charged to your wireless bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Donations collected by the MGF. 4 info call 866-810-1203 or goto hMGF.org/t. Standard rates may apply. Text STOP to 90999 to cancel ; HELP to 90999 for help.

A Glimpse at FAITH

You can help keep the FAITH children alive. Give $5 Text “ALIVE” to 90999.

A one-time $5 donation is charged to your wireless bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Donations collected by the MGF. 4 info call 866-810-1203 or goto hMGF.org/t. Standard rates may apply. Text STOP to 90999 to cancel ; HELP to 90999 for help.

Our Visit to FAITH

Yesterday was our first full day in India, and what an exciting day it was! We spent our day at the FAITH Care Home in Jaipur, which currently cares for 17 HIV+ children who have been orphaned by AIDS. Many of these children have remaining extended family, but for various reasons, are unable to live with them. Some of their families are just too poor to care for another child, and others have no interest in caring for them because they are HIV+. Stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS remains to be one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome in India, and consequently, thousands of vulnerable women and children fall victim to discrimination, abandonment and destitution.

The amazing Smriti Singh has taken it upon herself to care for some of the most vulnerable children in Jaipur. She provides shelter and food for these kids, and ensures that they are able to attend school. For those who still have families, her hope is to work with those families until they are willing and ready to take an HIV+ child into their home with open arms. Love is the core of the FAITH Care Home, and the children who stay there now are thriving and happy because of it.

We arrived at FAITH and were warmly greeted by all the FAITH children with gorgeous happy smiles. When you first arrive at FAITH, the first thing you see is a beautiful vegetable garden. Smriti told us that the kids help plant the vegetables, and once the vegetables are grown they will be used for the children’s meals. You enter the home into a large downstairs living space with a dining room table for the children to eat and couches to sit, rest on and watch TV. Towards the rear of the home is the kitchen and one bedroom for the older boys.

Up one flight of stairs you’ll find the bedroom for the younger boys and across the hall is the room for the girls. Next to the girls bedroom is the study terrace, where all their school backpacks are lined up neatly on a bench. The children were eager to show us their school papers and the high marks they are receiving. The FAITH Care Home is smartly located around the corner from the school that all the children attend. The younger children were home from school today because they did not have to write exams, and the older children were finishing school at half a day. Around lunchtime, we walked with Smriti and the younger children to pick the older children up from school.

Our friends from the American India Foundation came to visit us at the FAITH Care Home shortly after. KCA had the pleasure of meeting the American India Foundation at the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative Meeting, where we presented our Commitment to expand our work further into India. We intend to collaborate knowledge and resources with AIF to begin supporting safe-house projects for women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in India, so it was very exciting that they were able to visit FAITH and see the important work that Smriti and her team are doing to help these beautiful children.

The afternoon was spent playing with the FAITH children, eating lunch and dancing. Smriti has organized volunteers who come to the FAITH Care Home every day to teach the children Indian dance, which is instilling great self-confidence. In another week or so, the children will perform the dances they’ve learned at a local community New Year’s celebration. We will no longer be in Jaipur for this performance, and were lucky enough to see the children perform it for us during our visit. Even the shyest children came out of their shells to show us what they had learned. The dance was amazing, and it was wonderful to see how proud all the children were to perform for us!

We are thrilled to begin working with Smriti, who takes such wonderful care of the children at FAITH. And with your continued support for Keep a Child Alive, we will be able to help the FAITH Care Home grow to support many more children in need. You can begin helping right now by texting the word “ALIVE” to 90999. For our friends in the U.K., text “ALIVE” to 82540. And for all of our supporters around the world, click here to donate to KCA now: http://bit.ly/xLLCW

On our return from FAITH, we rode a tuk-tuk through the Pink City of Jaipur. Bikes, buses and rickshaws drive in every direction on the roads here, alongside camels, cows and elephants. We passed everything from beautifully built government offices to stunning temples, to modern clothing shops and posh hotels, to hole-in-the-wall bars and shanty-towns. After such an exciting first day, we can’t wait to see what these next two weeks have in store! Stay tuned for more updates!

Namaste from Leigh

En route to India!

We’ve just boarded the plane! For the next 20 hours, we’ll be in the air en route to India. Our first stop is Jaipur, and we can’t wait to fill you in on all that we experience!