Stories of Change...
SURVIVAL AND WELLNESS-THANKS TO CFHI
Bolanle Adani (Not real name) is an enrolled beneficiary of the OVC program. Her family was struggling financially, both parents are unemployed and this led to difficulty in affording food, medical care, and transportation to appointments. As a result, Bolanle suffered from repeated illnesses and malnutrition. CFHI provided financial support for her medical treatment and transportation, connected her caregiver to a livelihood opportunity (frying akara) to improve their financial situation and provided Bolanle with nutritional treatment.
As a result, Bolanle’s health improved significantly, with normal weight gain. The family’s financial situation stabilized, providing greater security and reducing stress.
“ I am grateful to CFHI, my child is alive and we fairing well”. – Caregiver
A STORY OF A REACTIVE WIDOW WHOSE HOPE WAS RESTORED
This is a heartwarming story of how Felicia David (not her real name), through the support of the OVC program and her own hard work, overcame significant challenges and improved her quality of life. Felicia is an enrolled beneficiary of the OVC Program. She is a dedicated mother of three children, with one of the children being reactive. At the time of enrollment, Felicia faced difficulties in providing food and education for her children.
She received a N10,000 grant from the OVC program and invested it in a pure water business. Additionally, she joined a savings group. Her business grew significantly, earning N1500 daily. Presently, she is able to comfortably support her children’s needs, and they are virally suppressed.
The hero of our story is a beneficiary named Precious. She is a 6-month-old HEI borne to a HIV positive concordant couple. Precious is a child of so many charms, despite her health conditions.
She had fever and some bacterial infection, and was frequently stooling. She was also pale-looking, weak, and lean due to anorexia, which the clinicians attributed to marasmic malnutrition.
Due to lack of funds, her parents were unable to take her to the hospital for medical treatment, till CFHI staff visited their household and interviewed.
Caritas Nigeria from the point of presentation at the Imo State Specialist Hospital, Umuguma, took care of the child’s bills for both the K75 special feeding as prescribed, and other medical expenses, all through her period of admission at the facility. Caritas Nigeria in the usual emergency health and nutrition intervention for OVC households in dire need, further provided the household with food support, as the mother was required to stay with her at the hospital, without the chance of doing any business until she was discharged from the hospital.
Precious is fully recovered, at home with her parents, and back to the cheerful, charmy little girl that she is.
Patience had battled with high viral load results for some time. She has failed first and second line and was on third line regimen. She was malnourished, always missed her appointment with very poor adherence. She was always sick which made her missed school. She was at the mercy of her adolescent sister who had the sole responsibility to care for her. The sister received several adherences counseling but as usual all effort seems fruitless.
Murijanatu Abdullahi is a sixteen year old out of school adolescent who was supported by CFHI to acquire skills in fashion design. Upon graduation, she was provided with a sewing machine. One year down the line, she now has many customers who patronises her.
Mrs Joy now has a business and a house
Mrs Joy Okoh in 2017 had nothing doing. She was given the sum of ten thousand naira (10,000) to start ‘okpa’ (a local delicacy made from Barbara nut) business. With the profit, she was able to provide food for her family and also to support her children’s education. She was also able to build a mud house (a room and parlour) in a plot of land she previously acquired from the community
Uloma is a 24 years old lady who tested positive to HIV and enrolled into treatment and care at FMC Owerri in October, 2019 after several sessions of counseling.
She passed through the agony and difficulties of disclosure. For fear of stigmatization by friends and family, with her greatest fear being what could happen to her mother if by any means she got to know that she was HIV+. She became reclusive, dejected and depressed. Subsequently battling the challenge for a while, and following counseling sessions at the ART clinic, she decided to disclose her status to her confidant and boyfriend of over 2 years.
As an adolescent, she became a member of the DREAMS club. As a complementary package, CFHI enrolled her for one year tailoring skill acquisitions, during her apprenticeship, she did exceptionally and as such she was empowered with a sewing machine as a startup kit.
Being an intelligent girl, Favour took advantage of the pandemic and began to produce facemasks which was in high demand, this in turn increased her turn over.
During the time of enrollment, she had nothing doing, she was living with her four children with no means of livelihood to cater for their education and well being.
She was then empowered with ten thousand naira (N10, 000) in May through the house hold economy empowerment which she used to start a business of yam flower. She started selling with 10 mudus of yam flower, which she sells to her neighbors and supplies from house to house.
