Overview
Community Health Care is at the heart of Woza Moya´s activities. Through a team of well-trained Community Care Givers (CCGs), the most vulnerable families are identified. The first step is to identify a primary care giver in the home, who the CCG works closely with, transferring skills and information and providing ongoing support and advice. The CCGs receive training in Primary Health Care, Palliative Care, First Aid, HIV and AIDS, including TB and ARV treatment, General Counselling and VCT, basic home care nursing, and Early Childhood Development, with a particular focus on children 0-5years.Monthly Wellness Daysfor PLWAs, Guardians, Primary Care Givers, are held in 5 outlying hubs of the Ufafa Valley Community.
Woza Moya works in partnership with the local government clinic and hospital in Ixopo, 20kms away, being a dedicated Pick up Point (PUP) or Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing & Distribution Committee (CCMDD). Once a month a Mobile Clinic is held at Woza Moya attended by about 150 local patients, receiving direct services from health professionals, such as testing, counselling, monitoring, education. Various health campaigns are run by our local DoH at Woza Moya, in particular child health and immunization campaigns. This partnership has grearly improved access and patient compliance. Clients no longer need to find the finds to travel to town. They simply walk to Woza Moya to receive these services.
HOME VISITS
Woza Moya's 10 CCGs support the family or the primary caregivers in households to care for themselves at home. They monitor and support patients on medications, in particular ARVs and TB, making referrals if side effects or defaulting is found. They teach basic skills such as infection control, improved hygiene, in relation to water, sanitation and waste disposal. They educate families on how to access government services. They refer to the relevant authorities or to the Woza Moya Programme Managers when necessary.
CCGs are local villagers who are trained by Woza Moya. They are supplied with shoes, uniforms, basic medical supplies and taxi fares, and receive a stipend which enables them to visit approximately 30 families each - in total some 1 140 families - a month. They are monitored to ensure services are professional and standards maintained. Jane Nxasane, Community Health Care Programme Manager supports the care workers and is responsible for distributing supplies such as condoms, rubber gloves, and basic medicines. Jane collates all the CCGs monthly Home Visit Sheets and submits Woza Moya's home-based care statistics to the local clinic in town. Woza Moya data capturers capture the data from the Home Visit Sheets into the database. From that information accurate reports can be drawn. This is useful for reporting to donors as well as for managing the programme.
Community Wellness & Support Group
Woza Moya facilitates ongoing chronic disease and wellness support programmes for adults, children and families across the Ufafa Valley. As community health needs have changed over time, the programme has broadened its focus from HIV-specific support towards the wider prevention and management of chronic illnesses and the promotion of overall health and wellbeing. Regular wellness groups provide safe and supportive spaces where community members can receive health information, share experiences, discuss challenges and encourage one another in managing their health. Topics include treatment adherence, healthy eating and nutrition, physical and emotional wellbeing, prevention and management of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, medication access, human rights, gender-based violence and other social issues that affect health. Community Care Givers and Woza Moya staff also promote early identification of health concerns and appropriate referral to local health services. Through education, peer support, community engagement and practical wellness activities, Woza Moya aims to help individuals and families take greater responsibility for their health, prevent avoidable illness and improve their overall quality of life.
TRAINING
Training is on-going and vitally important to empower and enable our CCGs and Staff and also to keep them up to date with current information and trends. Refresher courses in home-based care are run periodically for the CCG team, by a range of partners, friends and professionals. Over the years, donors such as, AFSA, OXFAM, HPCSA, ELMA, have funded extensive capacity building for the Woza Moya team which has resulted in the well-equipped team that we currently have.
Topics covered include:
Early Childhood Survival and Development, (C-IMCI), First Aid, Primary Health Care, Home-based Care, HIV and AIDS, Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT), ARV Treatment Literacy Training, TB, Palliative Care.
Other alternative trainings have covered topics such as:
Non-Violent Communication, MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction), Karuna Psychotherapy, Retreat on Death & Dying, Counselling techniques - non-verbal, Bereavement Counselling, Cranio sacral workshop, Reflexology, Aromatherapy, Reiki and use of traditional herbs.
COMMUNITY-INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES (C-IMCI)
This programme is at the heart of Woza Moya Early Childhood Survival and Development work with children aged 0-5years.
The CCGs focus on improving family and community practices with regard to pregnant mums, babies and young children. They work closely with all the crèches around Ufafa Valley doing regular weighing, monthly for 0-2 years, checking on Road to Health (RtH) cards, ensuring that children are immunized. They teach Primary Care Givers in the homes how to interact and stimulate children to encourage appropriate development. They urge attendance at local crèches.
The CCGs received trainings on Disability, raising awareness in both the crèches and in the homes, for early signs and detection, so that children can be quickly referred. Woza Moya partners with a specialist Disability NGO clinic in Creighton, where children are transported monthly for professional assessments and interventions.
The CCGs advise ECD practitioners in the crèches and primary care givers in the homes on the importance of good nutrition for young babies and children, encouraging food gardens, where possible.