This doesn't paint a rosy picture for the economy's future but a group of dedicated volunteers are tackling the problem at grassroots level and trying their very best to hold back the disease's stranglehold. This group of volunteers belong to the Brotherhood of Blessed G rard in Mandeni where they have established a care centre to bridge the gap between hospital care and caring for the ill at home. The volunteers, carefully guided by Father G rard Lagleder and Clare Kalkwarf, have also set up mobile home nursing teams who visit the ill and provide training for families in nursing care within their home situation. Perhaps their most difficult task is the comprehensive AIDS Education Programme which they embarked upon three years ago in which they reach out to communities and raise awareness about the debilitating effects of the disease. The AIDS educating teams, headed by Dr Paul Thabethe, travel into the rural areas and speak to communities about prevention, treatment and counselling using flip charts and pictures to help get the message across.
People are very accepting of the concept, both young and old.
Unfortunately the people hold many misconceptions about the disease and the task of the AIDS education teams is not easy. Father G rard explained that the programme is purely aimed at prevention and those suspected of having the disease are sent to clinics or state hospitals for an AIDS test. The volunteers are not involved in the treatment or provision of medication for patients and merely help in taking care of the terminally ill. What people must realise is that the Care Centre is not a hospital. We simply back up the medical fraternity because there is a desperate need for this type of service.