Community profile
The CARE for AIDS center in the Ngando community launched in July of 2014. Ngando is a slum community in the Ngong Hills about five miles from the city center of Nairobi. Most community members in the area are living in extreme poverty. The CARE for AIDS center in Ngando operates in partnership with Ngong Road Deliverance Church under the leadership of Pastor Bill Githinji and center counselors Nicholas Wafula and Janepher Omollo.
Center Staff
Health Counselor: JANEPHER OMOLLO
Jannepher joined the CARE for AIDS team in 2014. She has faithfully served clients in Ngando over the past four years and loves seeing the transformation in their lives.
"I have seen many clients who at first want to die [because of their HIV status] but then they accept themselves and start doing business and can support themselves.”
Spiritual Counselor: NICHOLAS WAFULA
Nicholas is passionate about his work with CARE for AIDS and has done an amazing job recruiting male clients to be in the program over the years.
“I love helping create positive change in a client's life!”
Center History
Year graduates Faith-Decisions Orphans prevented
2014-2015 77 15 304
2015-2016 60 19 231
2016-2017 58 22 149
2017-2018 62 9 228
2019-2020* 67 18 294
2020-2021 65 27 230
2021-2022 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
Mary, 2021 Client
Mary is 32 years old and a mother of 4 children. She is married to David, who is also a client in our program. Mary has been taking her medication for eight years and has an undetectable viral load.
When we recruited her, she was totally bedridden and her husband told us they suspected she got an injury during childbirth twenty years ago that resulted from her condition. She had pelvic joint and limb weakness and she could not move completely. We enrolled her and then did a home visit, giving her a Home Based Care Kit that was very helpful to her family.
We took her to the hospital and bought medication for her. After that medication, she went back to the hospital for review and the doctor recommended an MRI. Our program paid for the MRI and bought medication.
Mary’s family is very grateful because, thanks to the MRI, they now know Mary’s condition. Her hip joint osteoarthritis and more are being taken care of. Our center staff was impressed when we took her to the hospital for an MRI and she was walking on her own using crutches. This shows how much being in the CARE for AIDS program has impacted her.
VICTOR’S STORY
Victor found out his HIV status in 2012. A recently married father of one, Victor went with his wife to a health center in their community to be tested. When the results came back, Victor was HIV-positive but his wife was confirmed to be negative. Just to be sure, Victor was tested again. But his second result only confirmed the first - Victor had HIV.
Victor was tested on a Friday. The following Monday he was told to return to the doctor to begin his antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. When he didn’t show, the doctor called Victor to find out where he was.
“Why bother?” replied Victor, “My destiny is to live life alone. I might as well die.”
In the year that followed, Victor didn’t seek medical attention. He grew lonely and depressed, choosing to keep to himself while his health deteriorated rather than face the shame and stigma that came with a positive HIV diagnosis. Eventually, Victor’s wife convinced him to return to the hospital, where he was given a short supply of ARVs and encouraged to take them every day without fail to manage his disease. Unfortunately, the stigma that Victor had internalized kept him from taking his medicine consistently, and his health did not improve.
One day, a chance encounter with a community health volunteer introduced Victor to the CARE for AIDS program, and he was interested in learning more. He was taken to the center at Ngando where Health Counselor Janepher and Spiritual Counselor Nicholas were ready to help Victor turn his life around. During the nine-month program, Victor learned the vital importance of consistent ARV adherence and nutrition. He learned that his HIV status was nothing to be ashamed of and that he should not let the fear of shame dictate his life. He enrolled in a savings group with fourteen other classmates and together they built a financial nest egg that has enabled seven of them, Victor included, to start their own businesses.
Most importantly, his experience at Ngando has taught Victor to be proud. Far from the despair Victor felt in 2012, he now sees God’s hand in his status. Victor serves as the male champion for the Ngando center and has already recruited twenty men for the center’s next class. Victor now sees purpose in helping men in his community see past their fear and stigma so they can build full lives beyond AIDS.
“Being a male champion is a role and a calling...Now I can serve people like Jesus did.”
Beatrice was diagnosed with HIV while in her 30s. After finding out her status, Beatrice’s husband left her. She’s been adhering to her ARV medication since finding out her status and her health has improved. Beatrice currently lives with her 5 siblings. After the passing of their parents, life was difficult for many of her siblings, so they are living together to support and encourage one another.
Beatrice is a self-employed seamstress. She’s been doing this work since her son was born 18 years ago. She now has her own shop where she works and sells the clothes that she makes. Business goes up and down in different seasons, and she’s grateful for what she’s been able to learn from the CARE for AIDS seminars that she can use to improve her business, even in the slow times. She’s learned creative ways to market herself through the Business Creativity seminar and she’s also learned smart new ways to save money through the Budgeting and Saving seminar. She knows that from what she’s learned she’ll be able to attract more clients, expand her business and save more money so that she can continue to support herself and her siblings.
During her time in the CARE for AIDS program,Beatrice crafted a dress for Jennifer, the health counselor at Ngando as well as a suit for Nicholas, the spiritual counselor.
Beatrice has a renewed hope and joy for life because of the CARE for AIDS program.