One of our African Leadership staff members, Michele Maynard, recently spent time with some of the HIV-positive folks that Mocha Club serves through the Grace AIDS Project in Sunyani, Ghana. Through Mocha Club and African Leadership donations, patients receive anti-retroviral drugs (ARV’s) from the Sunyani Regional Clinic in Sunyani, Ghana.
We wanted to share their feedback with you so you can better understand the lives of those we seek to serve. We have kept their answers anonymous to protect the identities of the patients.
Michele conducting a focus group with some of the patients
1. How long does it take to get here to the clinic?
5-6 hours – 50%
less than 1 hour – 30%
more than 6 hours – 10%
2-4 hours – 10%
2. How do you get here? Walk? Mini-Bus? Other?
Answers were mixed, but mostly public transportation was used
3. What services do you receive from the clinic?
Counseling/health talks
Free anti-retroviral drugs
Word of God
4. Are you happy with the services at the HIV/AIDS clinic? What can be improved or done better?
85% stated that the clinic was very slow and that the staff should be more time conscious. Some also mentioned that the drugs were not always available.
5. How long do you spend at the clinic on each visit every month?
6-7 hours was the most reported – i.e. the whole day
6. How often do visit the clinic? When was your last visit?
Either once or twice a month – many reported every week
7. Which person in your life/community is the most helpful to you? Who offers you the best quality of help in your life?
Many reported no one – 40%
Some reported a spouse, child or direct relative – 50% (the quality of support was not always good)
Some reported a nurse or church leader – 5%
Other – 5%
8. Do you have any physical problems at the moment?
The most common was vomiting, waist pains, loss of weight and a few TB cases
9. How are you feeling emotionally today?
50% – good
50% – very poorly (many mentioned thinking a lot about things)
It only costs $5 a month in Ghana for the ARV’s necessary to keep a person with HIV alive – but some of the poorest people cannot even afford these inexpensive and life-giving treatments.
Thank you for helping improve the lives of our friends in Ghana. Your support makes a huge difference!
We wanted to share some recent stories from the Grace AIDS Project that Mocha Club helps support in Sunyani, Ghana…
Meet Vida Yeboah…
“I am from Sunyani. I am 36-years-old with three children ages 19, 13 and 8 years-old respectively. My husband died four years ago from AIDS. I was admitted at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital and was confirmed HIV-positive. I have the virus and have received [anti-retroviral] drugs I need for free since then. I am jobless. Had it not been for the help of African Leadership/Mocha Club, I would have been dead by now because I cannot afford the drugs. Thank you for the additional financial support which has helped me a lot.”
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Meet Martha Nketiah…
“I am from Drobo-Bibianiha. I am 35-years-old and a peasant farmer. My husband died four years ago as a result of HIV/AIDS. He left behind three children 20, 15, and 10 years-old respectively. The firstborn is learning dressmaking after junior high school because I couldn’t afford for her to continue with her education. The rest of the two are in school. My husband was responsible for my infection with the virus. But I was relieved as soon as I met African leadership with the regular free provision of drugs and financial support. Now I can continue to do my farming activities. My children are also looking healthy all the time though I have not yet tested to see whether they are free from the virus or not.”
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We hope for the continued funds to help people like these. Says Sam Oppong, our African Leadership National Director in Ghana, “More requests for additional support for adults keep on coming in. We may have to increase that number to help more single women who have lost their husbands.”
Thank you for doing your part to help improve lives of those infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS in Ghana.
See what happened on Char & Skiff’s last 10 days in Africa…living in rural Zimbabwe and Ghana, eating local food, and hanging with folks at several Mocha Club projects – the Zimbabwe orphans in Bulawayo, the Grace Orphans and the Grace AIDS project in Sunyani, Ghana…
The Mocha Club Experience: Starting November 1, 2009, Seattle Pacific University recent graduates Daniel “Skiff” Skiffington and Charlie “Char” Beck visit all of Mocha Club’s current projects in 7 countries and take Mocha Club supporters and friends on a three-month virtual adventure to experience real life in Africa. Stay tuned for regular updates!
We wanted to share some recent stories from the Grace AIDS Project that Mocha Club supports in Sunyani, Ghana.
Charity
Charity Anaba, 18-years-old, and Ebenezer Anaba, 15-years-old, lost both of their parents to AIDS about 7 years ago. Charity and Ebenezer are staying with their Uncle Amurugu in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. Both children attend school at High Street Primary and Junior High School. Charity is in JHS one and Ebenezer is in Primary six.
Ebenezer
The uncle already has six children of his own, and his annual income as a farmer and security guard is less than $400. The uncle therefore finds it very difficult, if not impossible, to supply the needs of the two children,including food. Charity and Ebenezer had to stop going to school because the uncle couldn’t provide them with basic needs like books or uniforms. African Leadership/Mocha Club has decided to help these children, providing them with books and food, and they are now back in school! We have also helped provide for their health premium.
“We are very grateful to African Leadership for making it possible for us to go back to school and taking care of us.” – Charity Anaba
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And here’s another testimonial from someone helped by Grace AIDS Project…
“Thank you for the medications I have been receiving from the Sunyani Regional Hospital, they have given me hope and prolonged life. My husband died of the same disease two years ago, leaving me with four children.” - Regina Kumi
Thank you for doing your part to help improve lives of those infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS in Ghana.
World AIDS Day is held on the 1st of December each year as an international day to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS around the world. The day was initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1988 as a key day to mobilize resources to combat HIV and AIDS, increase awareness of the disease, fight stigma and prejudice, and improve education. World AIDS Day is an opportunity to remember and express solidarity with those living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.
Also, one of our Emergency Needsone-time gifts is to give life to those living with AIDS. Just $5 can provide the life-sustaining Anti-Retroviral medication (ARV’s).
So put on a red ribbon and use today to stand with us, raise awareness, and fight this deadly disease.
