Our Day at the Lighthouse Program

Ashley and I had an amazingly productive day. We met with the Executive Director, Sam Phiri (pictured below) of the Lighthouse Program (as mentioned in previous posts) as well as the Head Coordinator of the Home Base Care section, it is located at the Kamuzu Central Hospital. We got a wonderful tour of the facility which provides counseling, ARV's and care for people living with HIV/AIDS. It was great to learn so much about the benefits they offer. Here is their group education room: 

They discuss many topics such as how HIV is contracted, the importance about taking the ARV's, how to prevent further transmission, how to take care of yourself when living positively, and other guidance from NAPHAM and other organizations.

It was fantastic to speak with Daneck, the Head Coordinator of Home Base Care, about possible support groups we can work with as well as what the future goals of each orgnization are and how we can support each other to accomplish them. It was encouraging to see that we have similar goals we wish to achieve and I'm looking forward to working with some of their support groups. Feel free to check out their website to learn more about their organization: www.mwlighthouse.org. We also learned that the Lighthouse program was one of the first clinics to open in Malawi dedicated to helping individuals living with HIV/AIDS. They work with many international organizations (hopefully add our name to the list) such as the US CDC. I feel so reaffirmed in my committment to Knit Around the World and our goals. 

Tomorrow I'm meeting the Executive Director of NAPHAM, Master Mphande, to work out our new partnership agreement and check in with the groups' progress. 

While walking through town we also saw a sign of another HIV/AIDS organization that we will want to look into working with in the future, the Coalition of Women Living with HIV/AIDS. Maybe they will also prove to be a great organization to partner with in the future. 

Thanks for following us on this incredible journey.