Pastoral Activities and Services for People
with AIDS, Dar es Salaam Archdiocese (PASADA)
Palliative Care Program
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Background
There's a rather interesting story associated with the Foundation grant to PASADA in the archdiocese of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The Princess Diana Memorial Fund was established to disburse money to palliative care projects dealing with AIDS in Africa and beyond. Most of their grants were for three year periods. PASADA was one of them.
Unfortunately, the Diana Fund became embroiled in a lawsuit which froze its assets. As a result, in many instances, the Diana Fund has not been able to honour the second and third years of its original commitment. The PASADA project found itself in that position and appealed to the Stephen Lewis Foundation to fill the breach. We contacted the Diana Fund (we had discussed partnering with them on an earlier occasion, so we knew each other) and were satisfied that the PASADA project was excellent in every respect, and fully met our requirements for palliative care. The amount is somewhat larger than normal for our Foundation and we've committed to two years of funding, but PASADA is alive and well.
That's what we're here for. We don't want to be bound by bureaucratic strictures. What's more, the Diana Fund has said that if the law suit is resolved in their favour and their funds can be released again, they will compensate the Foundation for the expenditure. In the meantime, everyone is content.
The Project
Pastoral Activities and Services for people with AIDS Dar es Salaam Archdiocese (PASADA) is a social service agency operating under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam. PASADA tries to reach the poorest of the poor living with HIV and provide them with medical, social, psychological, material and spiritual support. Palliative care and home-based care assist over 500 patients each year, as well as training for health workers on the benefits of palliative care. Currently, over 1,000 individuals each month receive voluntary counselling and HIV testing at the PASADA centre and at six satellite/dispensary centres. Community Education and Primary School Outreach on HIV/AIDS reach over 15,000 children each week. All services provided by PASADA are available without cost or discrimination of any sort.
Following a preliminary counselling session, PASADA provides testing for HIV antibodies. Clients testing negative are given further information and support to remain negative. Those testing positive are provided with ongoing social support and counselling, basic medical treatment, pastoral care and home-based hospice care when required. Home visits provide the opportunity for basic medical care, as well as further education and prevention work with family members and neighbours. PASADA's Community Education Program provides AIDS awareness and education seminars to all areas of the city.
PASADA also works to:
- increase the number of community-based counsellors who are able to provide local, neighbourhood education and referrals.
- improve community education regarding accurate prevention, transmission and treatment.
- support the establishment of several small groups throughout the city to meet weekly activities.
- provide support for extended family members raising children whose parents or guardians have died from AIDS. Counselling and support services, home visits, as well as support for school fees or vocational training and basic food and living expenses enable over 700 children to continue their education and address the significant issues of loss and grief in their lives.
With the support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation PASADA will expand its palliative care services. The main PASADA centre will be the source of training and coordination for all palliative care services in the archdiocese. The Foundation will support the salaries and benefits of a director of palliative care, three palliative care nurse supervisors who will provide services from the PASADA main centre, supervise volunteers and provide training for additional dispensary-based nursing staff.
A three-year program will hire and train additional nurses to provide palliative care services. These nurses will be responsible for working with local dispensary staff to identify palliative care patients and provide training and sensitization to these staff members on the benefits of palliative care. They will work with existing volunteers in the area to identify patients and provide supervision to volunteers providing services.
The training of both health professionals and volunteers will increase PASADA's ability to care for the terminally ill and significantly reduce the pain and suffering of individuals by allowing them to die with dignity, comfortably and surrounded by family and loved ones. Training will involve not only the medical aspects of care for the dying, but also the psycho-social and spiritual aspects of this care.
SLF Ref#: PAS.04.01