Community Profile
Kilifi North is one of the newest CARE for AIDS centers located in the Rural Mombasa region in Kenya. Kilifi is a rural community a few hours NorthEast of Mombasa. While the coastal region of Kilifi boasts beautiful tourist-filled beaches, the inland community is suffering from extreme poverty and HIV infection rates hovering around 5%.
Stigma against HIV/AIDS is strong in this region of the country, and many community members refuse to be tested because of the stigma surrounding diagnosis. Access to medical care is low in rural Kilifi, and mental health services are nearly nonexistent.
The CARE for AIDS center in Kilifi North operates in partnership with Christ Formation Church Mtwandia. This center launched in the summer of 2019 as part of our rural pilot project. You can learn more about this pilot project in the video below.
Center Staff
Health Counselor: Joyce Dhahabu
Joyce joined the CARE for AIDS team in 2019 as the Health Counselor for the Rural Kilifi North center. She was raised in the Kilifi region, and today is a wife and mother as well as our Health Counselor. Joyce is compassionate for the people in her community, and wants to do whatever she can to impact their lives in a positive way.
“I pray for all clients to live healthy - both physically and spiritually.”
Spiritual Counselor: Justus Njiru
Justus grew up in a village called Langobaya. The thing he enjoys most about working with CARE for AIDS is having conversations with clients who have overcome the stigma of their diagnosis and are enjoying life again. He is passionate about his work at CARE for AIDS and cares deeply for marginalized members of his community.
Center history
YEAR GRADUATES FAITH DECISIONS ORPHANS PREVENTED
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.
client profiles
Agnes, 2021 Client
Agnes is 28 years old and living in a small village called Mtondia with her mother and two children (aged 7 and 4 years old). She has been on anti-retroviral treatment for the past seven years. Stigma has been a big issue in the village, however, the facilities and community workers have been in a war to fight stigma.
Before she joined the CARE for AIDS program, Agnes was underweight and so sick that she couldn't walk by herself. With financial support through the program, she was treated at a hospital and diagnosed with severe anemia. Now, Agnes is at a healthy weight and her overall health is improving. She benefits from the program's weekly food package and one-on-one counseling sessions.
Agnes share: “I extend my gratitude to CARE for AIDS for their support. The staff has been so close to me during the difficult period I was passing through. When I found out about my HIV status, it was not easy for me and my family. I cried for one year but recollected myself and moved on. Today, I can say THERE IS LIFE AFTER AIDS. I have accepted my status and engage myself with different activities within the community to keep myself busy and take care of my two lovely children.”
Dama Rodgers, 2020 Graduate
Dama and her five young children live in a small town in rural Kilifi County called Mdzongoloni. Dama's life changed drastically a few years ago when her husband unexpectedly died. Not long after his death, Dama's health began to decline. She initially thought her late husband's family had cursed her with the help of a local witch doctor because they blamed her for his death. She got progressively weaker, and when she finally made it to a local clinic, she was devastated to find that she was HIV+. News of her diagnosis spread throughout the village, and she was socially and physically ostracized. Her family forced her out of her home into a small house outside of the community. Her children and extended family kept their distance and everyone seemed to fear her. Dama was sick, alone, and unable to work or walk the long distance to the clinic to receive her medication. She had resigned herself to death. Thankfully, in the summer of 2019, Dama was recruited into the CARE for AIDS program in Kilifi North. The CARE for AIDS center became home for Dama. She met more than a hundred other community members who were also HIV+ in the program, and her physical and mental health rapidly improved. Dama is adhering well to her ARV medication and is back at home with her children. She is no longer ashamed of her status and takes every opportunity she can to educate other community members about HIV/AIDS. She has taken the skills she learned through the economic empowerment seminars and has started a small business selling soap, detergent, and tie-dye fabrics.
“CARE for AIDS has changed my life eternally. I’m thankful that there was a program like this to help people with HIV stay with their families. I have benefited so much."
mishi, 2020 graduate
Mishi was bedridden, unable to talk, and had lost hope. Her 10-month-old baby was so malnourished she was barely able to lift her head. Mishi was desperate to find help—there was nobody in her family who was willing to care for them because of the extreme stigma throughout the community related to HIV. Mishi’s condition was bleak and was, unfortunately, the story of so many living in the rural areas of Kenya.
In July, Mishi joined one of the CARE for AIDS rural pilot programs in Kilifi, just a few hours outside of Mombasa. Center counselors immediately recognized that she needed specialized care and used the Medical Endowment Fund to change the trajectory of her life. Through the MEF, center counselors purchased emergency food supplements for Mishi and her baby. She also received medication to cure the bacterial infection around her mouth that had previously prevented her from speaking. After a few home-based care visits, the physician’s assistant on staff at the rural center diagnosed her with severe anemia and used MEF funds to purchase special medication to help ease her symptoms. Mishi is beginning to walk again without any assistance and has regained nearly all of her strength. Thanks to the therapeutic food supplements, her baby is now growing and becoming more responsive. She laughs and sits up on her own—in a matter of months, she will be caught up to a healthy weight and growth percentile.
We are excited to follow Mishi’s continued progress in the coming months. The Medical Endowment Fund has made it possible for her to survive this far, and we know that she will stand on her own two legs and get to a point in her life where she and her family will thrive.