Upendo Village Update

August 2006

A Mother, her two sons, and her husband are visited at home by Upendo Village staff.The mother has since died from AIDS and her husband is receiving therapy. Her two sons have returned to school thanks to Upendo Village donors, including her oldest son, Samuel, who is in high school.

At Upendo Village, exciting developments continue to evolve as the staff strives to meet the ever-growing needs of those suffering with HIV and AIDS in and around Naivasha, Kenya. Thanks to the wonderful efforts of the Naperville Rotary Clubs, Upendo Village has successfully dug a well at our future permanent location. Once the perimeter wall was in place to secure the site, the well digging company was able to begin work. The pump house and water tower are nearly complete. This precious gift of water is now available for use as we slowly begin to level the ground and prepare the site for building. This preparatory work is possible thanks to a generous donation received from the Wheaton Franciscans, our partners in this ministry. We are quickly outgrowing our 4 small rooms at our present temporary site and hope to have the multipurpose building and the staff house ready for occupancy in the near future.

Well diggers and Upendo Village staff rejoice as the water gushes forth! All celebrate after 220 meters of digging finally pays off with this precious life-sustaining gift.

Since Upendo Village began providing services in May 2003, the number of people being served has continued to grow. As of June 2006, Sister Florence and her staff have now placed 636 orphans with next of kin and have only had to place 9 in orphanages. This enables children to maintain their family and village connections, thus rooting their identity as individuals and members of their communities.

Upendo Village now serves over 1440 clients and their family members, including 347 women, 221 men and 90 children who are HIV+. They provide them with nutritional supplementation and basic healthcare, emergency shelter for more intensive support when necessary, AIDS education and counseling support and home based care. We continue to partner with the Kijabe hospital’s antiretroviral therapy program. A nurse from Kijabe attends clinic at Upendo Village twice a week to meet with our clients who are receiving antiretroviral therapy through their program. We now have 107 women, 27 men and 50 children on therapy for the AIDS virus. This has greatly improved their ability to resume caring for themselves and their families, attend school and participate in their communities. Kijabe hospital has also partnered with Upendo Village’s support group meetings and now jointly sponsors these gatherings at all 4 locations.

The Upendo Village support group has grown steadily as the educational efforts have continued to dispel the myths about AIDS and as more and more people come forward to share their struggles and journeys with one another. There are now 4 support groups totaling 205 adult participants who meet at 4 locations that are accessible to Upendo Village clients near their own villages and neighborhoods. This means that the Upendo Village staff has to transport food and nutritional supplements to the meeting locations to give to clients who attend. Nutritional supplements are delivered to the homes of those not participating in the support groups. Children often accompany their parents to these meetings and we hope to be able to start simultaneous children’s support groups in the near future to help the children deal with their own experiences of loss and grief.

Our special thanks go out to the Mill Hill Missionaries, North American Region, who recently made a special donation to support an eighth Upendo Village staff position. This position will be a social worker to coordinate programs for the children and orphans of Upendo Village clients. He/She will do follow-up visits to orphans who have been placed with next of kin to be sure they are receiving their nutritional supplements and attending school. The social worker will also conduct support groups for the children at all four adult group locations so that they have a chance to share about the unique issues that they face. Additionally, this staff person will keep in touch with the children who have returned to school through our Educational Donations

Program to be sure that they are succeeding in school and to help them communicate directly with the donor who is sponsoring them. This will be a much-needed addition to Upendo Village’s staff.

We here in the USA were thrilled to welcome Sister Florence Muia during her recent trip to meet with supporters and friends of Upendo Village. She shared many stories and the latest news from Kenya and continues to be grateful for our prayers and support. Through her efforts many became aware of the crisis of AIDS in Africa and our efforts to make a difference.

Upendo Village is looking forward to our second annual 2-week medical mission team visit from the Catholic diocese of Joliet in September. The team members will participate in home visits as well as seeing patients at our Upendo Village clinic. They will also assist at the Naivasha Sub-district Hospital, serving in the wards, labor and delivery areas and in the surgical areas. Their visit is another sign of love to all who meet them and their presence brings healing, caring and hope. “Karibu”—“Welcome”!

A home visit with our partners from the Joliet, IL diocese during their medical mission visit in September 2005.

Thank you for your support for Upendo Village and the people of Kenya. Your concern and solidarity bring hope and life to many. Together we continue to work toward the day when the people of all the countries of the world will be able to live healthy and happy lives.—

Beatrice Hernandez, OSF, MD

Upendo Village, NFP.

HIV/AIDS Women Project-Kenya

Sr. Florence Muia, ASN – President

Sr. Beatrice M. Hernandez, OSF,MD-Executive Director

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 449

Wheaton, IL 60189

E-mail: contact@upendovillage.org