community profile
Mwanza is the second largest city in Tanzania and it sits on the shore of Lake Victoria. Around the lake, there are many small fishing communities that are currently experiencing up to 20% infection rates for HIV. This, in combination with extreme poverty, has created a difficult environment. The CARE for AIDS center in the Kirumba community in Mwanza launched in 2020.
The CARE for AIDS center in Kirumba was the third center to launch in the Mwanza region. This center operates in partnership with the Free Pentecostal Church (pictured above).
center staff
Health Counselor: Nicholas Mwangosi
Nicholas joined the CARE for AIDS team in 2019 as the Kirumba Center’s health counselor. He is passionate about serving marginalized populations and has gained so much trust and respect from clients and community members in the Kirumba area.
Spiritual counselor: Daima Balole
Daima joined the CARE for AIDS team in 2020 as the Kirumba Center’s spiritual counselor. Daima has five children and her favorite scripture is Psalm 133.
CENTER history
year GRADUATES FAITH DECISIONS ORPHANS PREVENTED
2019-2020* 75 11 230
2020-2021 78 44 250
*The cohort in the 2019-2020 class was impacted by delays in the CARE for AIDS program caused by COVID-19 lockdowns and health precautions. To learn more about how we responded to the pandemic, visit this page.
client profiles
Victor, 2021 CLIENT
Victor is a client at Kirumba in the Mwanza region of Tanzania. He separated from his wife a few years ago. He is a father of six children but currently takes care of four children.
In the first four weeks of the program, Victor was complaining of chest pain, tightness, and tiredness while walking. He kept getting weak despite using normal antibiotics. As days passed, Victor begun fearing that he would die.
During one-on-one sessions, he was counseled and convinced to go to Region Hospital where CARE for AIDS would handle his treatment costs. At Region Hospital, he was diagnosed with Massive Unilateral Pleural Effusion (Extra Pulmonary TB). He was hospitalized for 8 days and got relief from anti-TB drugs.
After he started the medication, he had no more difficulty breathing, no more chest tightness, and his attendance stabilized. He is now one of the center’s most active clients.
According to Victor, he thought he was going to lose his life because he was going through a very difficult time in his life. He appreciates CFA and praised God for His grace through CFA.
Joseph, 2020 client
Joseph joined the CARE for AIDS program in 2019. Although he had known about his HIV status for years, he had never known how to properly take his medication. His health was fragile when he joined the program, but thanks to the hard work of the center’s health counselor, Joseph learned the importance of ARV adherence and how nutrition affects his medication and overall health.
Joseph graduated from the program in 2020 with a renewed sense of hope. He is thriving physically and spiritually and is thankful for the interventions of CARE for AIDS.