Fund A Project

Home Based Care: Empowering Families Affected by HIV & AIDS

The Location: The rural community of Bugiri, Uganda.

The People: Currently, the project benefits 205 families (approximately 1,500 people). Some beneficiaries are child-headed families caring for sick siblings. Others are widows looking after seven or eight children. Others are infected mothers and fathers trying to support their children as best they can.

The Challenge: The Ugandan HIV/AIDS prevalence rate stands at 6.4% – many times that of Canada (0.3%). An estimated one million Ugandans are living with HIV/AIDS, and more than one million children have been orphaned by the disease. In Bugiri, the project site, one in four people has HIV or AIDS. Most government-run health centres are congested and cannot keep up with demand for treatment, which is expensive and inaccessible to rural families. Sadly, the situation is worsened by extreme stigmatization in some communities. People affected by the disease – especially women and children – are often marginalized by their community, with little or no support.

The Solution: In 2006, Canadian Feed The Children established a highly successful Home Based Care (HBC) Program. Each year, the program grew. Today, 205 families receive weekly Home Based Care visits and vital support from 40 volunteers. Along with home visits, the UCOBAC Volunteers teach families critical life skills and offer sincere friendship (an often undervalued but powerful source of healing and hope). The Volunteers also help families to realize practical ways to enhance their wellbeing through micro-credit, income generation activities, improved sanitation, shelter repairs, nutritional support and much more. And on a larger scale, the program works to educate people about HIV/AIDS – ultimately helping to decrease transmission and reduce isolating stigma.

“Without the Home Care program, I would have given up. I cannot begin to imagine where we would be today. Now I have hope and a reason to carry on. My brothers and sisters have a chance for something better.”

14-year-old head of household, project beneficiary

You can help! Donate today or contact Cheryl Weldon for detailed information on this project and others.