Living Hope assists patients and their families with physical, emotional and spiritual support. We treat chronic and terminal illnesses, including HIV and TB, we provide recuperation following hospitalization and respite care in our 22-bed Health Care Centre. We also provide assistance to patients who remain in their homes as part of our Home Based Care in 6 different communities
Adherence Support
Community Health Workers (CHW’s) assist people who have recently found out they are HIV+ or infected with TB by meeting one on one to help them understand the disease, monitor treatment adherence, and encourage them to disclose their status to build a community of support. Another task is to trace and find defaulters in order to re-start them on treatment. Staff also participate in community awareness and education initiatives aimed at breaking the stigma of HIV in our communities
Home Based Care
Our out-patient service operates in five communities with over 10 000 in-home visits annually. Carers nurse the sick, dress wounds, monitor patient health and medication adherence, offer spiritual support to families and give medical and social referrals when needed. In addition, Carers engage in door to door health campaigns to educate the community on a variety of issues
Support Groups
Support Groups meet monthly in homes and community venues to provide assistance and support to those living with chronic diseases. Support is offered by means of education about chronic diseases, exercises, Bible study, prayer and distribution of chronic medication so that the clients do not need to wait in long lines at the clinics and hospitals.
Health Care Centre
Our 20-bed intermediate care facility provides physical rehabilitation, palliative care, recuperation following hospitalisation and respite care for the community. Holistic treatment is provided in the form of occupational therapy, physical therapy, nutritional support, side effect management, symptom control, and spiritual counselling. We seek to positively influence our patients’ quality of life, helping them lead healthy Christ-serving lives, no matter their illness.
Health Counselling
Our health counsellors work in local facilities educating and counselling people on health issues. We also have one Drug Resistant TB Counsellor who serves all areas and runs monthly support groups. All our counsellors are trained to offer pre and post counselling for anyone having an HIV test, screen and educate about TB and STIs, promote risk reduction strategies including medical male circumcision, educate about mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and provide general health education talks
First 1000 Days
Recent research has shown that the First 1000 Days of a child’s life – from the start of pregnancy through to a child’s 2nd birthday—as a critical window of time that sets the stage for a person’s intellectual development and lifelong health. It is a period of enormous potential, but also of enormous vulnerability.
The Living Hope First 1000 days curricula was developed in conjunction with individuals from the communities of Ocean View and Masiphumelele, a baby clinic nurse, a counselling psychologist, a Biology teacher and a Pre-school teacher, to meet the particular needs of expectant mothers and mothers with babies aged 0-2years of age, in line with all Government policies and protocols.
After careful consideration, eight essential topics per curricula, were decided upon that every expectant mother must know in order to have a healthy baby develop and grow.
This course is designed for a support group setting. In these support groups, mothers and the facilitator can discuss pertinent issues and the mothers are welcome to ask questions and seek guidance about their particular situation. Each topic contains a Christian devotion, the lesson information for the facilitator, a pre and post-lesson evaluation to assess what the expectant mother has learnt and a handout for the mothers to take home with them.
The Living Hope First 1000 Days curricula includes an Antenatal programme: the Moms and Tots course for mothers of newborn babies (0-6months) and Moms and Tots (6-24 months). After this they are referred to the Book-sharing course and the Parenting Course for mothers and fathers of older babies, toddlers and children.