From the Field: HIV/AIDS and Nutrition Programs in Eldoret, Kenya

As we take off from Eldoret, Kenya, our focus shifts to the excitement of being here in Kenya to witness the inauguration of President Barack Obama back home in the U.S. I can't help but smile at all the joy we saw everywhere we went today: joy throughout Eldoret about the inauguration itself; joy and gratitude expressed for the vital help WFP provides to the 20,000 HIV/AIDS patients who participate in the AMPATH (Academic Model Providing Access To Healthcare) program here; joy and hope in the faces of the women at the Imani Workshop – women who have prevailed over their circumstances and not only graduated from the food assistance program, but who are building entirely new lives for themselves – as they learn new skills and create the beautiful items that are for sale in their retail shop (pottery, clothing, ceramics, jewelry, handbags, greeting cards on papyrus) to provide a livable income for them and their families. 

From an overall perspective, to see what’s happened here is inspiring. The simple act of providing prescriptions for food to HIV/AIDS patients is giving them a whole new lease on life because of the food regimen they receive with their antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. Those who receive regular, consistent nutritious food find that the drugs work properly, and they don’t suffer the adverse effects of the ARV drugs that would have resulted from taking them on an empty stomach. 

AMPATH provides food for approximately 6 months – discontinuing it once nutrition and health has improved. Most of the patients either return to their prior livelihoods or enter AMPATH’s specialized training programs. WFP has now expanded its program to support orphans of AMPATH patients who unfortunately have passed away. WFP desires to expand support of these activities, subject to the availability of resources.

Needs:  The Imani Workshop project was designed solely to teach women who are HIV-positive life skills and trade skills that could help them achieve and live self-directed, sustainable lives, while they are on their medication and their health improves because of the combination of the medication and adequate food and nutrition. Each of these women spoke eloquently about the improvements this food assistance made in their lives. A gift of $100 per year ensures that an HIV/AIDS patient participating in the Imani Workshop project will move from hunger to hope.

Karen Sendelback
President and CEO
Friends of WFP

 

From the Field: Karen Sendelback Visits a Refugee Camp in Kenya

I spent today in Dadaab, Kenya visiting one of WFP’s largest refugee projects. 

Overall, there are 250,000 refugees (the majority being from Somalia) who are “housed” in three local camps:  Ifo, Hagadera and Dagahaley. The population in these camps is nearly 100% over capacity, making the need for food, water and other humanitarian services very serious. WFP expects an additional 50,000 refugees arriving to the camps and seeking haven this year.

It’s over 100 degrees today and WFP’s work doesn’t even slow down. This refugee project in Dadaab is a “Stage 3 Operation,” located about 50km from the Somalia border. Because of this, WFP staff here live in a double-fenced (with razor-wire) compound, they cannot have their families residing here with them, they are only permitted outside the compound between 6am and 6pm daily, and when they are outside the compound it is only with armed local escort.

We had the privilege of speaking with a long-time resident of Dagahaley Camp who told us how she fled from Mogadishu when her husband was targeted for assassination. She and her husband now live in a 1-room self-made hut with partial cover (made of sticks and mud) with their three daughters – having lost two of their children back in Somalia in the violence.

We also had the chance to visit one of the six primary schools in the refugee camp where WFP operates a school meals program. At the school, we served a meal – a plastic cup consisting of heated, nutrient fortified corn-soy blend – to a few hundred boys and girls at mid-day. The children all spoke of being able to stay alert and concentrate in school thanks to the daily food from WFP.

Needs:  These school meal programs are currently only funded through this spring. Funding to support this life-saving program is as simple as 25 cents a day or $50 per year to ensure a child receives a nutritious meal every day of the entire school year.

Karen Sendelback
President and CEO
Friends of WFP