community profile
Makuburi is a slum community in Dar es Salaam with approximately 57,000 residents, most of whom live in extreme poverty with very little opportunity for education or work. The community has a large sex industry, which correlates with the unusually high HIV infection rate. The CARE for AIDS center in the Makuburi community opened in September of 2017 and operates in partnership with Naioth Ministry Church under the leadership of Pastor Petro Wahyungi and center counselors Boaz Mwasota and Joan Francis.
center staff
HEALTH COUNSELOR, JOAN FRANCIS:
Joan also joined the CARE for AIDS team in 2017 and is passionate about serving those in need. She and her husband, Gideon, have two daughters, Rebecca and Cindy.
"My dream for our clients is that they would all be healthy and happy in every situation- physically and spiritually."
SPIRITUAL COUNSELOR BOAZ MWASOTA:
Boaz joined the CARE for AIDS team in 2017. He is passionate about his work with CARE for AIDS and has done an amazing job recruiting male clients to be in the program.
center history
Year graduates Faith-Decisions Orphans prevented
2017-2018 65 25 140
2018-2019 74 20 60
2019-2020* 76 5 160
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.
Graduate Profiles
Mwanahamisi, 2021 Graduate
Mwanahamisi was born in Dar es salaam and dreamed of becoming a doctor. Her parents supported her goals but without funding for her studies, she wasn’t able to finish. Soon after, she got married to her first suitor.
Her first pregnancy checkup showed that she was HIV positive. This news shocked Mwanahamisi. When she shared with her husband that she was HIV positive, things turned upside down. He was shocked, too. He chased her away and even claimed that the child she was carrying was not his.
After that tragedy, Mwanahamisi struggled in life until she enrolled in the CARE for AIDS program in Makuburi. She shared: “CARE for AIDS made me realize my worth and I started loving myself. I have become a confident woman and an independent entrepreneur.” Mwanahamisi also said that she thanks God for the work that CARE for AIDS is doing and is praying for the program to stay in the community for a long time to change more people’s lives.
Helena, 2020 Graduate
Helena got married at the age of 19 in the region of Tanga to a Muslim man. She was blessed with five children, it was a beautiful and happy marriage.
After living in Tanga region for a few years, they decided to relocate to Dar es salaam in search of better job opportunities. Shortly after the move, her husband started to change. He began having affairs with other women. When Helena tried to confront him about his behavior, he would become verbally abusive and claim that his Muslim faith allowed for multiple concurrent relationships.
Helena’s husband married another woman without informing her, and life became very hard. Her husband no longer provided anything for the family and he quickly moved in with his second wife, leaving Helena and her children to fend for themselves. As Helena became more desperate, she confronted her husband again. This time, he became physically abusive. His physical abuse escalated to sexual violence, and Helena became pregnant. Upon going to the doctor to receive prenatal care, she also found out that she had contracted HIV.
Helena heard about CARE for AIDS through a local community health worker. She joined the 2019 cohort at Likoni and her life changed completely. She is now connected to a thriving community. She no longer feels alone, she is healthy, and she has found a new group of people to call family.