"Chembe Aids Project" Cape Maclear Travelogue by frockland

The Chembe Aids Project (CAP) was established by Irit Rabinvich and Yogi Wasserman, two Israeli women in June 2002. CAP runs an HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention program, broad education, orphan and single parent family support and medical assistance. It has also started a feeding program for malnourished children.

Rose & Sofi while Aids Awareness Education

CAP sees implementation of the village's population awareness towards HIV/AIDS as a major aim. Education for the prevention of the epidemic is divided into several different activities.
Study groups are held for different age levels. The different topics are being taught in a way that encourages the students to become instructors themselves. Topics of study are: Human rights, The body, the nature of the disease, causes, symptoms, prevention of the disease, hygiene, immune system (Tcells), transfer of the disease, contraceptives, clinical manifestations of HIV/AIDS, care of the sick, positive living with HIV/AIDS, protecting infants against HIV/AIDS, teenagers and AIDS, early age pregnancy, pregnancy and HIV/AIDS, love and sexual relationships, family planning etc.
The project is the only organisation distributing condoms in the village. Every week 5,000 condoms donated by the district hospital are being distributed directly to the community as well as in bars and entertainment facilities.
Since HIV/AIDS carriers often find it hard to help themselves, the project supports them by:
Funding medical treatment and transportation to the clinic and back to the village and supplying food like maize flour, beans and vitamins.

Kids druming during After School Activities

CAP organizes afternoon activities for the children in the village. These activities include :
HIV awareness lessons.
Mathematics, English, geography, history lessons.
Time for free play and organised play
Hygiene activities.
Nature expeditions in co-ordination with the Malawian National Park Authority.
Day trips to Liwonde National Park.
Malawian Drama and culture
Malawian folk tales.

Receiving a cup of tea and 4 cookies

Since the Famine of December 2002 CAP feeds twice a week, according to the changing needs up to 1500 children with porridge. For most of the children it is the only source of food available.

After School Program

One of the project's most successful activities is the food for work program. The principle of the program is to encourage the population to work for the community in return for food. The program has operated since December 2001. CAP performed a survey that resulted in a list of the neediest families in the village. These families were selected to participate in the program.

Dancing to escape the daily life for a moment

secondary school construction
road renovation
latrines set up
lakefront cleaning.
Missionary graveyard maintenance
English teaching
fence erection for the sick and elderly.

The program participants take pride in their work and they are being valued by the community. Sometimes they initiate new community work by themselves.

After School Program

The clinic is operated by a qualified paramedic at this time. There are plans to recruit a doctor in the near future.
The clinic opens Mon-Fri 10.00-17.00 Free of charge.
Since there are no other health facilities in the area, 100 people a day come to seek medical treatment. The clinic is treating a variety of problems:
Malnutrition supervision and support
chronic diseases management
Maternity care
Chinese treatment (Acupuncture)
Mainstream diseases such as Malaria, Bilharzia are also treated daily. Some patients that cannot be assisted are being referred and transported to Monkey Bay clinic, Mangochi hospital or Blantyre hospital where possible and appropriate.

Dorothy and her youngest daughter

On the day when I arrived in Chembe Irit left the village. There were plenty of rumours that not all donations had arrived in Malawi but had disappeared somewhere else. Anyway the project was in a very difficult situation. There were no account books to find, the owner of the lodge told the project people to move out of the lodge, there was no money and no food left. The clinic was closed! The only activities were the HIV-Education and the After School Activities. None of the staff could tell me how long they could continue working there because they needed to earn money to feed their own families. They all had their own children and adopted some orphans. (i.e. Dorothy: 2 own kids she adopted 2! (Her husband has no job); Sofi: 4 own kids she adopted 7!)