| Dilonde Aids Awareness and Home Based Care |
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In the North West corner of South Africa in the Limpopo province, about 40 km outside Tohoyandou, lies a small village called Khakhu which is the operating site for Dilonde Aids Awareness and Home Based Care Organisation. Dilonde was established in July 2000 by a group of unemployed youth, men and women from disadvantaged communities, after realising the high rate of HIV/AIDS infection and its impact on these communities. Dilonde is receiving government funding from the Department of Health in the province. The organisation has 14 full time volunteers and provides home based care to 454 patients in 13 villages. They also partners with a local Faith Based Organisation in assisting and supporting orphans and vulnerable children with food and school uniforms and at present 75 children are benefitting from their services.The Khakhu village is situated in the mountains far from the main tar road and the villages served by Dilonde are vastly spread out. Even if the organisation uses local carers based in the different villages, the volunteers often have to walk 5-7 km to reach their patients. Mr Khakhu states that even if the organisation gets financial support from the government it is not enough to respond to the need of the community. The carers receive a stipend of R 500/month for a full time job that is both physically and psychologically challenging. The lack of transport and stationary such as fax or a land line also makes it hard to monitor the work of the organisation and keep regular contact with other organisations or department officials. In order to support its community members and also as a means to raise money for the organisation Dilonde has started a food garden next to one of the local clinics. The food they produce is given away free to the vulnerable children and is sold at a low price to the rest of the community.
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