Community Support

Friends for Life - Community Outreach (FFL)

Our goal: Help the whole community of Mbuya Parish to appreciate the beauty of Life by promoting healthy lifestyles through educational activities.

Friends for Life is the prevention and sensitization arm of Reach Out. We have five broad objectives:

1. To understand the community – the nature and size of their problems.
2. To provide life skills
3. To prevent infection and re-infection
4. To reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS
5. To empower the community in developing approaches to life challenges

The Community Programme

The community programme aims at sensitizing adults in the community and has 3 Sub programmes: Good Samaritan, Operation Gideon, and Couples for Life

a) Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan programme aims at sensitizing women, including single mothers and widows, about HIV/AIDS. Here, they are called upon to stand up and fight against HIV/AIDS and stigma through avoiding risky behaviour and showing love and care to the people who have been infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Good Samaritan also aims at helping clients accept their situation and encourages them to live positively. Participants are also equipped with entrepreneurship skills to enable them to face the challenges of poverty; one of the underlying causes of HIV/AIDS.

b) Operation Gideon

Gideon is one of the Old Testament Prophets found in chapters 6 and 7 of the book of Judges. When Israel turned way from God, He let the Midianites rule over them. The Midianites mistreated the Israelites and almost sent them away from their promised land. The Lord ordered Gideon, who was hiding from the Midianites by secretly threshing wheat, to rescue the Israelites. Gideon gathered a small group to surprise the Midianite army by blowing trumpets causing the enemy to attack themselves. Just as Gideon, the Lord send us to be messengers of hope, courage, and inspiration to foster transformation for a new life.
	Men at an Operation Gideon Meeting
Operation Gideon aims to sensitize men about their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, equip them with relevant skills toward responsible parenthood, and realize the contribution of their wives in the family unit all in hopes to lead families toward healthier lifestyles. Operation Gideon has begun to focus on the man because, in the African culture, all decisions are made by the man of the household. We endeavour to reach men at convenient times and places using a participatory approach to build on existing knowledge about HIV/AIDS, families, and alcoholism. We use group discussions based on question formulation, story telling, video shows, and role plays to share and learn as a group. Many men have begun bringing their wives to meetings to share in the activities.

c) Couples for Life

Couples attending a Couples for Life Meeting

After reaching men and women separately, Friends for Life designed another programme called Couples for Life which intends to reduce the rate and risk of infection among married couples of Mbuya Parish, equip them with relationship skills, and discuss gender equality. Couples for Life also intends to call on these two parties to be faithful, generous, and gracious to each other in fulfilment of their marriage covenant leading to a happier marriage and family life. We hope to identify and train couples in this programme to act as marriage counsellors in Mbuya Parish sharing their outstanding qualities and experiences. The Discordance intervention caters to married couples where one of the partners is HIV negative. The intervention is run four times a year aiming to help discordant couples reduce the risk of the negative partner and children contracting HIV/AIDS. Seminars are run on Sundays in each of the communities of Mbuya Parish.

After reaching men and women separately, Friends for Life designed another programme called Couples for Life which intends to reduce the rate and risk of infection among married couples of Mbuya Parish, equip them with relationship skills, and discuss gender equality. Couples for Life also intends to call on these two parties to be faithful, generous, and gracious to each other in fulfilment of their marriage covenant leading to a happier marriage and family life. We hope to identify and train couples in this programme to act as marriage counsellors in Mbuya Parish sharing their outstanding qualities and experiences. The Discordance intervention caters to married couples where one of the partners is HIV negative. The intervention is run four times a year aiming to help discordant couples reduce the risk of the negative partner and children contracting HIV/AIDS. Seminars are run on Sundays in each of the communities of Mbuya Parish.

Couples dancing after a discordan couple's seminar at Terrace Park Gardens

Youth Out of Schools

The Youth are one of the most vulnerable groups as they are tempted to live a life of experimentation. Friends for Life reaches these children to sensitize them about HIV/AIDS and STIs, equipping them with life skills, while helping to appreciate the beauty of life and live a focused life by developing their talents.

Part of the Youth Out of Schools programme is the Saturday Morning Children’s Club, which just produced a booklet of stories written by members.
(more information on publications page)

Pupils presenting a creative dance at the Music, Dance, and Drama competition

Amka students after winning the Music, Dance, and Drama competition

School Programme

The school programme is specially designed to create awareness and sensitization about HIV/AIDS, fight stigma and discrimination in schools, reduce the rate of risky behaviour, and instil good morals in the students of local schools. The programme equips children with life skills and career guidance. This is done through presentations and visits using of infotainments, discussions, and testimonies.

The programme currently covers nineteen schools in the catchment area of Reach Out, fifteen Primary and four Secondary schools. This is made possible by a team of fifteen trained volunteers and teachers.

Adult Literacy

Our Adult Literacy programme is a client empowerment intervention that seeks to help clients learn how to read and write. Our goal is to equip learners with practical skills to enhance self-reliance, improving their livelihood. This will help them not only to get employment but also to ease their daily life struggles. Students are equipped with mathematical skills to promote good drug adherence and smooth running of businesses which receive small loans from Bread of Life. Learners are also taught basic hygiene, discuss family issues, love and care for people affected or infected with HIV/AIDS. Adult literacy now operates in the four zones that make up Mbuya Parish where Reach Out operates. We have about 120 learners who are taught by 14 teachers. Our teachers, some of whom are volunteers, hail from all over the world.

Community Network of Care

Reach Out volunteers comprise the Community Network of Care. The majority of volunteers are clients, but some non-client volunteers have joined our programme. We are all responsible for taking care of our clients. A group of community supporters has formed, solely dedicated to supporting clients in the community setting. The Community ARV and TB Treatment Supporters (CATTS) are volunteers who visit our clients in their homes. Our CATTS are the front line of Reach Out. They notify doctors in emergencies, suggest clients for programmes, and generally create a supporting family within their communities.

Peer support from volunteers who are also clients, motivates and provides better understanding of the social dynamics of HIV. There is a continuous effort towards adherence. The community network is the major contributing factor to Reach Out's treatment outcomes. Together, we are all given HOPE for the future.

Our Community Network of Care to date is composed of:

The community network works very closely with the Treatment Implementation Unit, Clinic, Microfinance, Food Programme and Operation School fees programme. The network meets weekly in each area and monthly for all area networks to share experiences and develop strategies.

Food Programme

The food section provides food support to our clients through World Food Program (WFP) food donations. The first medicine for many of our clients is food. Monthly we distribute food to approximately 900 clients. Our programme is set up to evaluate our client's situation and give priority to those most in need. Once a client has regained strength and their situation has improved, they are phased out to offer others the opportunity to receive support. We hope to increase the number of clients who receive monthly food, improving lives toward a sustainable situation.