Women Fighting AIDS In Kenya (WOFAK)
Training Counsellors in Palliative Care,
Korogocho Slum District
Nairobi, Kenya
Background
WOFAK was founded in August 1993 by a group of ten women, most of whom were HIV positive. They came together to give support to one another and to other women who were experiencing problems like rejection stigmatization and discrimination after their spouses' death as a result of HIV/AIDS.
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The unique feature of WOFAK is that it is an AIDS support organization run by women (80% of whom are HIV positive) and for women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
WOFAK's concern for women was triggered by the fact that more women are now getting infected with HIV than men. Currently over 13 million women have been infected globally and four million of these are already dead or about to die.
The bleak reality is that the sexual and economic subordination of women fuels the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Women must therefore empower themselves by networking, forming alliances and advocating for change.
Top-level political commitment is needed to reduce the social vulnerability of women to HIV infection by improving their health, education, legal and economic prospects. This will require putting in place effective HIV/AIDS prevention and care efforts along with sound policies and programs targeting women affected by HIV/AIDS.
The Project
WOFAK's 'Training Counsellors in Palliative Care, Korogocho Slum District' project aims to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS on orphans and other vulnerable children at household levels in the slums of Nairobi through vocational training.
With the help of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, WOFAK will:
- equip 60 older orphans with vocational skills in areas such as carpentry, dressmaking, mechanics, and metal work to enable them to earn a living.
- involve foster parents in sustainable development of the older orphans and make them active participants in orphan care alongside WOFAK.
- involve and sensitize community members including popular opinion leaders in the fight against child vulnerability in the face of high mortality rates of parents due to HIV/AIDS.
SLF Ref#: WOFAK.03.11