Thanks to WOW partners, the community of Chilabula has recently been able to increase their food supplement packs to 60 families in need as well as the 13 volunteers who give of their time to visit these patients on a regular basis. 

Each family received 25 kgs of mealie meal (a grain product made of corn and is a food staple in Zambia), beans, sugar, cooking oil, salt and soap.  This food package is an immense help to patients on ARVs, the medication prescribed to help prolong the life of HIV/AIDS patients.  Since this medication is required to be taken with food, if patients do not have food, the medicine can cause serious side effects and make patients very ill.

WOW partners have also set up a drug program dedicated solely to the Chilabula community.  Two nurses are able to distribute from the basic medicines and medical supplies purchased by WOW to help relieve various symptoms found in the community such as diarrhea, fever, infection, etc.  The nurses receive reports of patient’s symptoms from the volunteer home based care workers each week, and then in turn issues the necessary drugs and possibly referrals to clinics and hospitals.  The home based care workers then deliver the needed medicines and food parcels to patients as well as help with transport of critically ill patients to clinics and hospitals where necessary.  As you can see this incredible system allows two nurses to tend to hundreds of patients each week.

Over the next couple months, new training sessions will be held to teach home based care workers basic nursing care and record keeping skills.  Once the training is complete, each home based care worker will receive a new uniform and a certificate.  Session one has taken place on January 30, 2008 with the next two sessions to be held over the next few months.

Praise God for all that is happening in Chilabula!  Thank you!

The Chilabula project started in May 2007. It started with a total membership of ten volunteers and two nurses. After two months four of the volunteers had to stop. And in November 2007 we recruited five more volunteers; two females, and three males. Currently the project has two nurses, a coordinator, and nine volunteers, which comes to twelve.

I hereby wish to welcome and appreciate the coming of WOW into the Chilabula area because of the support and care they are offering to our clients/patients in the community. The support offered is supplementing a lot  more especially to people living with HIV/AIDS, TB patients, the chronically ill, and widow headed house holds who are HIV+ and are looking after orphans.  Previously we had cases where our clients had to take ARV’s and TB drugs without food; which is harmful to one’s health.

In addition I would like to appreciate WOW for providing us with two bicycles and phone which the coordinator is using at the moment. The phone and bicycles are helping in the following:

1) Transport/communication between the coordinator, team leaders, and volunteers.

2) Ferrying patients to and from the hospital.

3) Easy communication between the main project, Mutende H.B.C, and Chilabula H.B.C.

4) Team field work supervision etc.,

I am therefore looking forward to the expansion of the project to include, OVC care, a feeding program, a preschool, and widow care. In conclusion I wish to thank you for the coming of WOW to Chilabula community and for partnering with us.