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In 1989, Sister Gill Horsfield of Medical Mission Sisters (MMS) began training health workers in Nairobi, Kenya, to provide home-based care to individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS-related illnesses. Her program offered medical and pastoral counseling, and social services in the Korogocho slums, one of Nairobi’s poorest areas.
The Partnership with Sister Gill Grows
Johnson & Johnson supports Sister Gill’s continued involvement in caring for people with HIV/AIDS. Today, MMS has joined with the Comboni Missionary Sisters to provide more extensive holistic care for those affected by HIV/AIDS. The partnership includes programs in home-based care and tuberculosis treatment, programs for deaf and handicapped youth, and a voluntary HIV/AIDS counseling and testing program. It also includes distribution of antiretroviral therapy, other medicines, and prepared meals and dry goods to families with sick parents.
Impact in the Community
More than 1,800 people affected by HIV/AIDS are benefiting from this work. School dropout rates among children receiving nutrition and social support have decreased significantly. Young women are being given another chance at life, much like Lydia, a 23-year-old new mother.
Lydia was found in her house by a nurse three weeks after giving birth; she was dehydrated, could not walk and was suffering from oral candidiasis. Lydia and her baby were brought to the home-based care clinic and cared for until she was able to return home, where she received follow-up care.
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