A social organization
for humanitarian
services based in Dar
es Salam’s suburb of
Mbezi Beach known s ‘Kikundi
cha Akina Mama na Watoto’
(WAMATO) has embarked on
delivering health services, particularly
to the people living
with HIV and AIDS (PLHIV)
in the area.
The group of elderly women
of Mbezi Beach organized themselves
in 1996 and now it is one
of the strongest NGOs in Dar es
Salaam that offers humanitarian
services to children, who were
orphaned by HIV and AIDS
pandemic
The group led by Mama Basila
Chuwa, her founder chairman; delivers
ARVs, food and medical
care to more than 60 PLHIV, including
children, men and women
in the area.
From its on the spot visit at the
centre, AIDS WEEK is reliably
informed that children are being
offered school uniforms, food,
text books and learning materials
to pursue their education at
different school levels in Dar es
Salaam.
These efforts are commendable
and should be complimented by
good Samaritans living in Dar es
Salaam and all over the country.
According to Mama Chuwa
WAMATO also started a nursery
and primary school in 2000 and
at the moment the school has enrolled
300 children.
She says the group also offers
meals at the school. This helps
most of the children from poor
families to get food. It also his enables
the children to stay at school
and concentrate with studies.
Mama Chuwa says, the school
called Bajeviro Nursery and Primary
school has educated more
than 1,200 children for the last ten
years and most of them are pursuing
secondary school education.
Few of them have are already in
universities.
Currently, WAMATO is being
funded by a Canadian NGO.
However, the funder has indicated
signs to pull out helping the group,
by March next year. This is putting
the group in dilemma.
“Because of that reason, WAMATO
is now facing a dilemma,
it does not know how it would
continue helping women and children
living with HIV and AIDS
as well as offering humanitarian
assistance such as food, medical
care and school uniforms to the
hundreds of orphan students,”
she says.
She adds by saying that the
people she helps are very poor
indeed living below poverty line
and if the aid is cut off, definitely
her group will suffer a lot.
She urges NGOs and other
humanitarian groups to come to
her rescue to help these children,
men and women who are destitute
and need to be helped.
Speaking to this reporter,
one of the beneficiaries Maria
Magdalena (65) says she started
living positive three years ago
and from the day she joined the
centre, her living has been reasonably
good.
She says she gets humanitarian
assistance such as medical care,
food and ARVs from WAMATO.
“My health has improved considerably
over the last three years,”
says Magdalena, vividly seems
healthier.
Talking about her ordeal
and how she got the pandemic,
Magdalena revels that she got the
disease from her daughter who
had acquired the virus before
“She was pregnant, and during
delivery, I helped her in delivering
a baby girl at home and without
using protective gears, I got infected
with the disease unknowingly,”
she recalls.
She says her daughter, who
later died left with her six grandchildren
to care the smallest being
the three years old. All of them
get humanitarian assistance from
WAMATO.
This has increased a burden of
rearing them. Although they are
getting humanitarian assistance
from WAMATO, it is still worse
and they have to work themselves
in order to survive.
A site visit to the home of
Magdalena has revealed that she
is living in a very bad condition
and her grandchildren re indulged
in child labour by doing meager
jobs in order to survive.
Without being helped, they
would suffer immensely.
• SOURCE: AIDS
WEEK, NASSER KIGWANGALLAH