Community Profile
Mwanza is the second largest city in Tanzania and it sits on the northwest 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 Mahina community in Mwanza launched in 2019 in partnership with the Free Pentecostal Church (pictured).
center staff
Health Counselor: Elizabeth Chunyi
Elizabeth joined CARE for AIDS in 2019 as the Health Counselor for the Mahina center in Mwanza, Tanzania. Lizzy (as she prefers to be called) grew up in Tanzania living in a one-bedroom house with her family, including her grandparents. Life at home was hard, but they were happy despite its challenges.
“My dream for our clients is to see them in a higher position, free from being dependent.”
Spiritual Counselor: Briton D Leonard
Briton joined the CARE for AIDS team in 2020 as the Spiritual Counselor at the Mahina Center in Mwanza. He is passionate about sharing the good news of the Gospel with clients and has already made an incredible impact in the lives of so many families in the program.
center history
Year graduates faith decisions orphans prevented
2019-2020* 75 24 295
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.
CLIENT PROFILES
Angela, 2021 CLIENT
Angela is a client at Mahina Center in the Mwanza region of Tanzania. She is a widow who takes care of her sister’s two children. When she came into the program, she was very weak and pale. Everyone in the community believed Angela was pregnant because she had a large stomach.
When Angela was recruited, she was struggling with a health problem that was threatening her life, recurrent severe anemia. She received a blood transfusion at the hospital but after recovery, she had to escape because she could not afford the hospital bills.
Angela had lost hope, which led to less concentration on program activities. The center staff intervened by taking her to the hospital for further and proper investigation.
By the second month in the program, Angela had a proper checkup with specialized doctors. The result showed that she had a huge uterine myoma (big swelling inside her uterus) that was resulting in massive bleeding. The decision was a surgical intervention.
In the third month of the program, Angela was admitted for three days and had a successful surgery. A huge swelling was removed from her uterus and she was later discharged safely to her home.
After this, Angela shared about her experience with CARE for AIDS, saying: “The CFA program has taught me more than life skills because it saved my life. Regardless of how I refused to join the program for the previous years.” Now, Angela is healthy and ready to move on strongly.