BUCAI

By the standards of Kituti sub-county, where John Babalanda and his ancestors have lived as long as anyone can remember, he is a prosperous farmer.

The five acres that he tills in the village of Bukalijoko yields a variety of cash crops: soybeans, cotton, millet, corn, cassava, bananas, and rice. The income supports his two wives and nine children aged 24 years to 18 months. His status in the community is such that he serves as an elected member of his sub-county's governing council.

Yet the only mode of transport that the 43-year-old Babalanda owns is a sturdy bicycle. A light-weight man, he relies on the bicycle to navigate along the area's bumpy dirt roads, which respond with clouds of dust when cars or trucks drive past him.

Four years ago, pained by the death and suffering that HIV/AIDS was inflicting on people in his sub-county, which is in the Pallisa district of Eastern Uganda, he signed on as a community volunteer for Buseta Community AIDS Initiative, BUCAI. A nongovernmental organization located two miles from Bukalijoko in Buseta village, BUCAI provides outreach care for people with HIV/AIDS.

Babalanda was part of the first wave of 63 community volunteers that BUCAI recruited and trained for home visits to HIV/AIDS clients. "Our communities are very poor, and many of our sick people can't manage to reach health centers or hospitals on their own," notes Frank Mugoda, the BUCAI coordinator.

When I reach a house, first,I look at the sanitation... Is there a latrine? Is there a kitchen? I encourage the residents to maintain good hygiene with their cooking and eating utensils.

- John Babalanda

When he calls on people suffering from HIV/AIDS, Babalanda says he spends as much as two hours a visit. "When I reach a house, first, I look at the sanitation," he says. "Is there a latrine? Is there a kitchen? I encourage the residents to maintain good hygiene with their cooking and eating utensils." If those whom Babalanda is visiting are bedridden, as they often are, Babalanda asks about their symptoms. "I ask about diarrhea or coughing, and I explain how they can care for themselves." If Babalanda believes that a case is serious enough to require a healthcare professional's attention, he refers the person to a community nurse or hospital. With funds received from AIM in 2004, BUCAI strengthened the home-care program that Babalanda and other community volunteers were offering. BUCAI trained and deployed 24 new community volunteers and supplied them with bicycles. It augmented the advice and counseling by providing the volunteers with home-based care kits to distribute to people living with HIV.

The kits contain an assortment of basic healthcare items (soap, towels, latex gloves, mosquito nets, and so on). A mosquito-net-draped bed, for instance, protects against malaria, a potentially lethal threat to anyone with an HIV/AIDS-compromised immune system. BUCAI volunteers handed out 112 of the kits last year, explaining what purpose each item serves and how to use it most effectively.

In addition, BUCAI used the AIM grant to widen its reach. It was able to cover all of Kibuku County, comprising Kituti and three other sub-counties. By late 2005, BUCAI's client list had grown to 476 people. Despite the progress, Babalanda says, it's too early for congratulations. "Not yet, because AIDS is still going on," he says. "We don't know what will happen next."