Helena Gets Counseling

Dear Kyley, Michelle, Meghan, Corina, Katie, Samantha, Aram, Linda, Sterling and Melinda, Soph, Bill, David, Pooja, Megan, Charlie, James and Julie, Jeffrey, Kandace, Lee, Luke and Ani, Marc, Michael, Pradeep, Ray and Lael, and Sarah,

At our Rota dispensary, we take care of 35 HIV positive women and 2 people with tuberculosis. Counseling is extremely important in these situations for many reasons. These people need to take medications daily for a long time (for life in the case of HIV and for 9 months in the case of TB). When patients do not understand the importance of consistent dosages, they can become immune to the medications, which not only affects their lives, but often leads to drug resistance within the community as well. This can be devastating in an area with few drug options.

Our clinical officer, Kespa, is the first line of information for these patients. She takes time to explain their diagnosis and treatment plan, as well as the importance of sticking with it. We also have 3 other people who are specifically trained in counseling, who take over afterward. These three continue the work that Kespa started, but also deal with the psychological ramifications of these diagnoses. Their illnesses often lead to social marginalization and family difficulties. Due to these consequences, we take their privacy very seriously and though this is an important part of Kespa’s work, we cannot post their picture or names on the internet. The woman pictured was nice enough to sit with Kespa to be photographed for this story, but is NOT one of our HIV/TB patients.

Your donation makes it possible to keep treating these patients with respect and dignity, and allows them to receive valuable counseling. Thank you–especially to Sterling and Melinda (3 days!), Linda (2 days!), and Charlie (3 days!) for providing multiple days of medical care.