What we do
The
HIV Hope Project is formally registered as a Non‑Profit Organisation (NPO) with the Department of Social Development
and Welfare. Its basic aim is to improve the lives of those living with
HIV/AIDS in the Hogsback-Tyume Valley area of the Eastern Cape Province
of South Africa.
The HIV Hope Project does the following:
HIV testing and counselling
HIV Hope Project provides free and confidential HIV testing and counselling for anybody requesting it.
Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART)
HIV Hope Project provides free Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) for those living with AIDS. We follow the National Guidelines for ARV treatment.
Continuous monitoring to ensure adherence
A full-time Adherence Monitor ensures that the AIDS status of beneficiaries is regularly re-assessed and that medication is taken as prescribed. Patients are visited at their homes at the first indication that adherence may not be optimal.
Counselling: nutrition and lifestyle
Those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS are counselled and guided about the importance of good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.
Free supplementary food parcels
HIV Hope Project provides free supplementary food parcels for HIV/AIDS sufferers who cannot afford adequate nutrition.
Free basic disposables
HIV Hope Project provides free basic disposables required in the daily treatment of HIV/AIDS patients.
Medical consultations and treatment
HIV Hope Project provides free medical consultations and treatment of opportunistic infections.
Cost of transport
HIV Hope Project bears the cost of transporting HIV/AIDS patients to and from the surgery, and to and from hospitals and specialist care facilities further afield.
Community education
HIV Hope Project trains and supervises the activities of “Peer Educators” – these are members of the community who learn how to live with those infected by HIV/AIDS and how to promote HIV/AIDS awareness generally.
Addressing the nutritional needs of our patients
We help our patients to grow vegetables in home or community gardens.
The idea behind this initiative is mainly that patients would have greens for (a) themselves, (b) their neighbours, and (c) selling any surplus and earning something to help alleviate poverty.
Voluntary workers (people affected or infected by HIV/AIDS) are responsible for preparation of the soil, planting, and tending to the vegetable gardens. The HIV Hope project provides the seedlings, as well as guidance where necessary.