community profile
Kibondemaji is an informal settlement in Dar es Salaam. There is a high rate of poverty and HIV infection in the community, which comes with high rates of stigma and discrimination toward people openly living with HIV/AIDS.
The CARE for AIDS center in the Kibondemaji community operates in partnership with Full Gospel Victory Church.
Center Staff
HEALTH COUNSELOR: Leticiah Ayoub Mwakangata
Leticiah joined the CARE for AIDS team in early 2021 as the Health Counselor at the Kibondemaji Center. She has a degree in law and a diploma in community work.
SPIRITUAL COUNSELOR: Eleckson Elia Sedeck
Eleckson joined the CARE for AIDS team in 2021 as the Spiritual Counselor at the Kibondemaji Center in Dar es Salaam. He is passionate about sharing the good news of the Gospel with clients and community members.
Center History
YEAR GRADUATES FAITH DECISIONS ORPHANS PREVENTED
2021 TBD TBD TBD
Client Profiles
Ally, 2021 graduate
Ally was born into an economically poor family that wasn’t able to afford his education. In the early 1990s, he joined a gang and eventually became the leader. In 1994, he led the armed robbery of a bank, which drew national attention and resulted in his arrest and imprisonment for seven years.
Ally continued to commit home and business robberies and spent at least 26 years in various prisons. He said that the more he committed crimes and went to prison, the more knowledge he gained on how to be more effective in his criminal offenses. He said, “I promised myself that I would not hold a gun anymore, but I ended up doing the same thing, especially when I did not have money.”
Ally eventually realized that his health was deteriorating. He and his wife, Raya, tested positive for HIV. He was confused and didn’t know what to do. From his prison experience, he learned how to grow vegetables and keep rabbits, so he started doing such work as a business and to get vegetables for his family.
He was wanted by law enforcement and decided to surrender to the police. He signed a special letter of commitment before the Inspector General of Police that he would no longer be involved in crimes.
In April 2021, his wife met the CARE for AIDS team at a hospital. They shared about the program and she shared it with Ally, who considered it good news. They both decided to register for the CARE for AIDS program at Kibondemaji.
After joining the program, Ally was encouraged by the counseling and devotions shared before training. In his words: “Nobody cared for me after all I have done, and I didn’t know if there is this life again. I was lost.”
Within three months, the center’s team noticed that Ally is proactive, innovative, and hardworking at whatever he commits himself to. The team reported that he never misses counseling appointments or training sessions. And he has already started a new home workshop for making shoes, clothes, and keeping and selling cockroaches to Chinese customers.
According to Ally, the CARE for AIDS workshop revived his interaction with the community and now people come to him for the service he offers. Now, people believe that he has changed. His dream is to train youth at his workshop. He said, “Pastor, I have never seen people who love and care like Christians, unlike what I was taught to believe.”
Ally has a passion for making shoes and keeping livestock. His wife has started attending church midweek services in secret and she is healed of a stomach issue that lasted for years.