The Community Care Programme (CCP) in Zimbabwe was established in 2001 by Willard and Modester Ndlovu. They were moved to respond to the increasing number of people living with or affected by AIDS in the rural communities of the Gulati district where drought, poverty, and unemployment make life especially difficult. With the support of over 200 committed volunteers, they provide holistic care to those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS which reduces suffering and AIDS-related deaths thereby reducing the number of AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe.
CCP’s current activities include:
- Schools breakfast programme: providing a daily school breakfast for children in 8 primary schools. Providing breakfast for all children ensures that attention is not focused on AIDS orphans or those with HIV, which would fuel stigma and discrimination.
- Food packs: vulnerable families identified by CCP volunteer area coordinators receive food packs as a way to bridge the gap during school holidays. Anti-retroviral treatment requires high nutrition levels to work effectively and causes severe nausea if taken on an empty stomach. CCP’s focus on providing consistent nutrition for children living with HIV ensures that they adhere to their medication and make a significant contribution to improving their overall health.
- Educational support: providing tuition fees and basic stationery supplies for children of families impacted by HIV to attend primary and elementary school.
- Home-based care: supporting people living with HIV and AIDS with medication adherence, basic medical care, and assistance with activities of daily living.
- Youth Skills Training Centre: in collaboration with Golders’ Trust, CCP built and operates a training centre to reduce levels of unemployment in the community. Local youth, some of whom are AIDS orphans, can learn skills such as dress-making, carpentry, peanut butter-making, and poultry raising.
- Early Childhood Education School: also in collaboration with Golders’ Trust, CCP built and operates this new school to improve educational access for local children in their community.
