community profile
Likoni is a community in Mombasa that is considered to be the poorest community in all of Mombasa County. There is a strong Muslim presence in this community, and there is a high rate of crime, intravenous drug use, prostitution, and teen pregnancy— all of which contribute to the unusually high rate of HIV (9.8%).
center staff
Health Counselor, Gladys Mati:
Gladys joined the CARE for AIDS team in August of 2017. This is her first job out of university and she feels right at home. Gladys feels called to serve the HIV+ population and has developed a great relationship with all of the clients in this class.
"This is a great cause of work and may the Lord Almighty give you the grace to continue giving as we continue to serve and change the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS.”
Spiritual Counselor, Matthew Atieno:
Matthew came on staff with CARE for AIDS in August of 2017 and loves his role at the center in Likoni.
“My goal for the clients is to allow them to have better future through the skills we teach. Also, for the ones who have no personal relationship with Christ, I work to assist them to know Christ.”
center history
Year graduates Faith-Decisions Orphans prevented
2017-2018 76 4 250
2018-2019 76 10 253
2019-2020* N/A N/A N/A
2020-2021 TBD TBD TBD
*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.
gradaute profiles
Lucy, 2021 Client
Lucy is a 48-year-old wife and mother to two children. Before she joined the program, Lucy had suffered from tuberculosis in 2013, which affected her spinal cord. She could not move for a while and after getting well, it left marks. Her spinal cord had a protruding disc which inhibited her from sitting straight, doing normal chores, and lifting heavy objects.
When she joined the program, CFA assistance enabled her to go for the first CT scan of her thoracic spine in February 2020, which showed features of TB of the spine. She was immediately placed on TB drugs. The drugs were to help prevent the spinal cord discs from being eaten up by the TB. She underwent another CT scan in October 2020 and the results showed a great improvement.
The tests would not have been possible without the intervention of CFA. We continue to pray for Lucy as she continues with her medication with the hope that she will eventually be TB-free. The program has also helped her get medication for her asthma condition, which she has had since childhood. Lucy is happy and is attending center activities with ease!
Abdallah, 2020 Client
Abdallah Omar is one of the 14 male clients who joined the program at Likoni in 2019. He joined the program immediately after an extended hospital stay. His health was failing after months of battling meningitis, a common opportunistic infection for people living with HIV.
Abdallah was separated from his wife and unable to work because of his failing health, so he was struggling to make ends meet. He had no family support system and felt extremely isolated and alone.
After joining the program, Abdallah learned how to stabilize his health through proper ARV adherence. The health counselor at the Likoni center helped him get the medication he needed to heal from extended meningitis, and his physical health drastically improved within a a few months.
Because of the pauses in the program in 2020 caused by COVID-19 lockdowns, Abdallah is still enrolled in the current class in Likoni. We are looking forward to seeing how he continues to learn and grown in the months ahead and we eagerly look forward to celebrating graduation with him and his classmates in 2021.
Nellie has been disabled since she was 14 years old. She uses crutches to help her walk and cannot get around easily. Her husband and passed away and she is now a single mother caring for two twin girls. Ever since her husband passed, she’s struggled to make ends meet since finding work that she is able to physically do is difficult. Nellie is a member at the church where CARE for AIDS opened a center in the Likoni community. The pastor announced during service that the program was open to enrollment and for anyone who was HIV positive and interested to talk to him later for more information. Unashamed of her status, Nellie went to the pastor immediately after the service to sign up.
In the CARE for AIDS program, Nellie has learned several new skills including how to make aloe vera soap, detergent, yogurt, floor mats, and beadwork. The great thing about all of these skills for Nellie is that she can do them from the comfort of her own home and the work isn’t straining on her body. She’s now able to keep herself busy creating these items at home and then either sells them at the market or has her girls sell them to others in the community. During the month when Likoni center had a seminar about how to create beadwork,
Nellie was almost kicked out of her house for not paying rent. Nellie was able to make and sell a beadwork handbag that she sold and made enough profit to pay both her rent and the power company for the month. Nellie is also grateful for the friendships she has formed in the CARE for AIDS program. A couple months ago, Nellie contracted malaria and wasn’t able to attend one of the seminars. After the seminar, Nellie’s new friends from the program brought extra supplies to her house and taught her how to make the mats they had learned about that day. Nellie says, “In CARE for AIDS, the counselors bring us together and then we all lift one another up.”