2006 ~ The mission of Home-Based Care is "to glorify God by caring for those in our
community (Olievenhoutbosch) who suffer from TB, HIV/AIDS and cancer, and
for vulnerable children, supporting them spiritually, emotionally and
physically, and loving them, accepting them and giving them hope in God."

Imagine living in a house that consists of just one room. That room holds
everything that belongs to you.  Your bed is in one corner, your clothes in
another, your kitchen in yet another and the door to your house takes up the
last corner.  You and your family exist in this little shack made out of tin
sheeting, wood, plastic and various other materials.  Every day you must
stand in a long line to fetch your water from one of three taps that service
your area. Garbage (which may include sewage) litters the area. On top of
these living conditions you or someone in your family has HIV/AIDS or TB and
is too weak to get out of bed.  You must do everything for them, plus make a
plan for them to go to the bathroom, as the toilets are too far away for
them to get to alone.

This lifestyle is a reality for many people. Major challenges for us
include: people who don't want to test for HIV, those who use traditional
healers instead of medical care, and those who stop taking their medication
before finishing their treatment (a major problem with TB treatment, which
is taken for 6 months).

Even though there are challenges and we have seen terrible situations, we
have also seen God's hand at work. We have an excellent relationship with
the local clinic and work closely with them, taking patients there for tests
and treatment, and receiving referrals of people tested positive for TB from
them. We have about 60 patients, cared for by 6 trained Community Health
Workers who work full-time. We have 23 patients who have HIV, 17 who have TB
(many of whom have not yet tested for HIV) and 11 with both HIV and TB (a
very common combination). We have 15 people on the life-saving
anti-retrovirals that keep HIV in check. Anti-retrovirals became available
free from the South African government almost 2 years ago, and they are
amazing. We have seen people (adults and children) come back from near-death
to regain normal health.

We met Thembi in August 2004. She was a pretty, sweet, quiet 8-year-old
girl. Her mother said she was sleeping a lot and having headaches. She took
her to the clinic, but they couldn't find anything specifically wrong. She
became worse, and was sent to the hospital for further tests. Over the 3 or
4 weeks she was in the hospital, she deteriorated rapidly. She lost weight
until she was literally skin and bones. She had to have a feeding tube put
into her body and wore diapers. She didn't seem to recognize anyone she knew
who came to see her. One day her mother asked me to go with her to take her
home from the hospital; she was being discharged. There was nothing more
they could do and they were sending her home with the expectation that she
would die very soon. She had been diagnosed with TB meningitis (affecting
the brain and spinal cord), along with HIV. She was living with her parents
and brother in a shack in the most poorly resourced area of Olievenhoutbosch
(lacking water and sanitation). We focused on visiting daily to pray for her
and support the mother emotionally. She was brain damaged and had severe
spasms in her arms and legs. At that time, the doctor at the hospital told
us that they wouldn't put her on anti-retrovirals to fight the HIV because
she was so brain damaged.
God was the only one who could change this situation, and He did. Thembi
began to get better over time. Her painful spasms became more infrequent,
and she began to gain weight. She started to talk again, and to smile, and
then to laugh. She is still brain damaged and now attends a school for
special needs children. She was put on anti-retrovirals about 3 months ago.
God had mercy on her and spared her life. She is a testimony that I think
about when we are facing an impossible-looking situation.