World AIDS Day 2013
There are 34 million people around the world currently living with HIV, so this is a disease we cannot ignore.
At Find Your Feet we understand it is essential that people living with HIV and AIDS are able to grow enough food so they can eat a nutritious diet and earn enough income so they can access the medicines they need.
We support people like Enwood. He is 58 years old and lives in the Rumphi district of Malawi with his wife and seven children. Enwood is HIV positive and in 2011 he became blind. He used to have 10 acres of land and he was considered one of the best farmers in the area.
Enwood suffers from skin rashes and body pains and when he became blind he was no longer able to work on his land. He lost the ability to earn an income and grow food for his family. Now the family has no one to labour on the land as their children are still quite young which makes it hard for them to farm even two acres of land. Enwood's family struggle to feed all their children and cannot afford the uniforms and books to send them to school.
Find Your Feet help to train local volunteers to assist families like Enwood's in their village who are living with with long-term diseases and illnesses like HIV and are struggling to cope. Our project trains 'Home Based Carers' who are issued with a kit that includes basic medicines, supplies and painkillers, they learn how to look after basic symptoms such as skin rashes, bed sores, stiffness of limbs and pain.
Hospitals in the rural areas where we work are often far away and families are unable to afford the transport costs, so Home Based Carers offer a vital lifeline for people with long-term illnesses.
Home Based Carers also help families like Enwood's in their homes to cook and clean, manage the household, wash clothes and source vital things such as soap and mosquito nets by lobbying the local village for support.
Enwood has now been able to get help on his land so he can grow crops and provide for his family.
Your support has helped the most vulnerable families to change their situation for the better.
Find out more about World AIDS Day.
