CALWHA in few words
We are 8 medical and nursing students from Lausanne. We are part of the CALWHA - Children and Adolescent With HIV/AIDS project, of the M.E.T.I.S. association.
Our crowdfunding is used to raise funds to finance the activity days. These are special welcome days in two Tanzanian hospitals (Ukerewe and Shirati) for children and adolescents with HIV. These hospitals are located in a region where the rate of infected population is higher than in the rest of the country, there is also a big problem in this region about the lack of adherence to treatment and the stigmatisation of people suffering from AIDS.
Where the funds are going
These welcome days take place once a month. They include a complete medical check-up and access to retroviral therapy. We provide the necessary financial resources and direct on-site support to ensure :
- Easier access to the hospital by reimbursing transport for children who come from far away, as many families give up going to the hospital because of the cost of transport.
- A midday meal for all project beneficiaries.
- An educational course that can cover a variety of topics, such as the importance of taking medication, sexual prevention of HIV, stigma, etc.
- A privileged contact with the hospital’s nursing staff, in order to encourage a dialogue of trust.
- The possibility for the children to meet and play together, in order to fight against the social isolation they often suffer from because of their infection.
Since the beginning of the project, we have seen an increase in participation of 215%. This evolution is still increasing for the same budget as at the beginning. What is the funding used for? The organisation operates solely on a voluntary basis: there is no remuneration for participants and no administrative costs (students themselves cover travel and accommodation costs). The two Tanzanian centres need about CHF 3’500 each (total CHF 7’000) to operate for one year. The funding will be used to maintain what has been undertaken (transport, courses, meals, etc.). One of the tasks of the team visiting the centres this year will be to optimise this investment. These project costs are currently distributed as follows:
- 50% transport
- 25% meals
- 13% educational material
- 10 % compensation of the local staff
We need you
During this crisis it is difficult for us to raise funds physically through bake sales, events,… that is why we use this site. We hope to raise as much money as possible. But we are setting the first bar at CHF3500 so that at least one of the hospitals will receive the necessary funding. If we receive 200% of what we expect here, we will be able to finance both fully.
Thank you for your interest in our project and thank you for your donation.