Community Profile
The CARE for AIDS center in the Airport community was the 12th center to launch in the Mombasa region. Airport is an informal urban community with high rates of economic poverty and low access to medical care. This community was a priority in the CARE for AIDS expansion in Mombasa because of the high rates of HIV infection. The first class of clients at the Airport Center launched in June of 2021.
Center Staff
HEALTH COUNSELOR: Betty Owenga
Betty joined the CARE for AIDS team in 2021 as the Health Counselor at Airport Center in the Mombasa region of Kenya. Betty is passionate about serving her community and is already impacting the lives of the 80 clients she cares for at the center.
SPIRITUAL COUNSELOR: Bernard Collins Wandera
Bernard joined the CARE for AIDS team in 2021. He has already earned the love and trust of the clients in his role as a Spiritual Counselor at the Airport Center, and we are excited to see the impact he makes in the community through his work.
Center History
YEAR GRADUATES FAITH DECISIONS ORPHANS PREVENTED
2021-2022 TBD TBD TBD
GRADUATE PROFILES
Sharon, 2021 client
Sharon is a 28-year-old mother of two boys. She was born in the Rift Valley part of Kenya. In 2014, Sharon met a long-distance truck driver at a place called "turbo" (Rift Valley) who convinced her to let him take her to Mombasa for a tour. After three weeks, she found herself a wife to the Tanzanian man, who was Muslim.
After staying with the man in Mombasa for six months, she found out that she was pregnant. And when she went for her ANC, she was diagnosed with HIV. This introduced her to a new life.
CARE for AIDS staff met her in a health facility and at that point, Sharon was isolated from people and stigmatized. She even feared coming to the center because it is near her residence (she feared meeting people she knew). During one of the seminars, she met her immediate neighbor and she decided to silently miss center activities.
Her viral load was high. Her husband was physically abusing her and forcing her to go to the Mosque. After visiting Sharon in her home and sharing the importance of disclosure, Sharon opened up to her neighbor in the program and they are now best friends. Sharon’s viral load is now much lower.
Sharon has also made a faith decision to make Jesus her personal savior. She is now a member of the partnering church. Her husband allowed her to join the church after seeing the great change in her life and also after meeting with the staff in their home. She can now share the Gospel with her children and neighbors.
Four months into the program, Sharon is a member of an active registered empowerment group where together with others, they are doing skills taught during seminars. Sharon is holistically empowered and appreciative of all the support received at the Airport CARE for AIDS center.