We have been working in Zambia since 2007 where we are currently working alongside seven partners – Kara Counselling, Women for Change, Integrated Health Programme (IHP), Friends of the Street Children (FSC), HODI, the Good Samaritan Centre and HEAL.

Kara Counselling is working to assist people affected by HIV/AIDS. It is involved from first diagnosis of the disease, through counselling and treatment in the home or at its clinics, to the retraining that is necessary to get people working again and earning a living. Kara believes in avoiding the feeling of dependency that is often created by handing out medicines and food by giving the chance for people to get back on their feet and become productive members of society.

Kara’s Hope House Skills Training Centre opened in November 2006 and has become a haven for people living with HIV/AIDS. By providing practical and employable skills the training programme enhances self-esteem and helps individuals overcome the poverty that is often a symptom of the disease.

Trainees learn a range of vocational skills including bike repair, bricklaying and tiling, carpentry and joinery, and business skills. When they leave they are encouraged to form small businesses, to work together and to reinvest in the business. To help them get started groups each get a toolkit and start-up capital.

Women as well as men are benefiting from the project, and taking full advantage – mixed groups are often able to attract more work. By providing equal opportunities Kara Counselling is successfully fighting the stigma and discrimination that is traditionally associated with HIV/AIDS. Godfrey Chafwa takes up the story.

Kara is making a real difference, and with your help this can continue.

Do you want to help?

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