WE-ACTx

Our Children’s Rights Handbook is now available on line!

deirdre summerbell — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:42:14 +0000

Know Your Rights! Children’s Rights Handbook. A handbook on using the law for young people and their advocates.

In-Kind Donations

Donna Rae Palmer — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:08:15 +0000

WE-ACTx is actively seeking tax exempt donations of goods and services to support our programs in Rwanda. We are actively seeking donations of food, vehicles, laptop computers, video cameras, cell phones, clothing, children’s toys, sporting goods, and materials to support our income-generation programs. For further information on donations, please contact us at: us@we-actx.org

Donate by Mail

Donna Rae Palmer — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:07:38 +0000

Mail your tax deductible donations made payable to WE-ACTx to:

WE-ACTx—584 Castro Street #416, San Francisco, CA 94114 415-863-4676 x3

WE-ACTx is a US based, 501C3 tax exempt organization, EIN# 56-2572210

Volunteer

Donna Rae Palmer — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:53:51 +0000

WE-ACTx appreciates your interest in volunteering with us – at both our US admin office, and at our clinics/programs in Rwanda. Please send your bio/resume to us@we-actx.org and tell us about yourself, your skills, your interests, and we will get back to you. Thanks again for your interest!

Clinical Treatment & Medical Research

Donna Rae Palmer — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:23:22 +0000

WE-ACTx’s initial intervention toward accessing HIV medications for Rwandan women survivors of sexual violence and genocide involved working with the grassroots women’s groups to identify their needs for access to HIV education and treatment services, providing them with technical assistance and access to medical experts to develop concrete action plans and strategies to access the HIV treatment programs being developed by the Rwandan Ministry of Health; and helping them develop, budget and implement proactive access initiatives and models of HIV care delivery in which HIV-positive women play a key role in their own care and mobilize local communities. With such support and resources, women can provide leadership and develop solutions for a successful grassroots response to AIDS.

Centreville Clinic
Our flagship clinic in Centreville houses our Collaborative Research Program (RWISA) as well as providing clinical care to our patients. The building houses WE-ACTx’s head office in Kigali. A range of primary health care and clinical services centered through the Centreville Clinic are generously supported by the MAC Global AIDS Fund, one of our earliest funders.

WE-ACTx has designed and implemented community-based HIV clinical services and primary health care programs in 3 clinics utilizing this community based nurse-practice model through partnerships with grassroots women’s organizations and the government of Rwanda. Nearly 5000 HIV+ individuals have entered care with WE-ACTx, with nearly 1300 requiring ART, and 70% requiring prophylaxis of opportunistic illness. We provide clinical care and treatment for HIV to women, children, and men, who are into care by our grassroots partners via collaborative community outreach and mobilization programs. Patients needing further care and hospitalization are referred to district hospitals and supported by WE-ACTx’s community trained nursing and other support service staff.

KCA Centre for Excellence
Icyuzuzo Clinic

Our second clinical care project, a partnership with a local NGO, supported by the Keep A Child Alive Foundation, and individuals.

Nyacyonga Centre de Santé
(Community Health Center)

Our most recent clinic project: With support from American Jewish World Service and the generosity of private donors, WE-ACTx updated this district health center on the outskirts of Kigali in 2006 and early 2007. Nyacyonga Centre de Santé (Community Health Center) is one of ~130 publicly owned facilities operated by the Government of Rwanda through its decentralized District Health system. These health centers are extremely important to the communities as the first site for community access to all needed services, including prenatal care, birthing, well-child care including vaccinations, diagnosis and treatment of acute illnesses such as malaria and endemic infectious diarrhea, and HIV evaluation, care and treatment with antiretroviral (ARV) medications. WE-ACTx has partnered with the District to provide technical assistance in provision of high quality cost-effective HIV care, integrated into the community’s care. This required significant upgrading of the physical plant, such as provision of running water and electricity to all patient areas and an improved array of equipment to allow a full spectrum of high-quality services.

Children’s Education Network

Donna Rae Palmer — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:22:52 +0000

Learn about this program here

Health and Justice Project: Human Rights Training, Mediation and Advocacy

Donna Rae Palmer — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:21:30 +0000

The Health and Justice Project teaches WE-ACTx patients and community groups about human rights under Rwandan and international law, to empower women and orphans caring for younger siblings to take action to resolve the legal problems they and their families face. Mediation and assistance are also provided in complex cases.

Human Rights Education and Training

The Health and Justice Project (formerly known as The Legal Project), along with its sister organization, WE-ACTx for Hope, in Kigali, Rwanda, has published Know Your Rights!, a reader-friendly, health-care rights handbook for women and their families, available in two languages:

Grassroots leaders, Rwandan legal experts, the Ministry of Health and other government agencies consulted with the Health and Justice Project extensively on the handbook. In addition to health care rights, the handbook addresses property, inheritance, paternity, custody and discrimination, as well as gender-based violence prevention and intervention.

Today, the handbook is used in Rwanda to train WE-ACTx partner organizations, community leaders, law students, trauma counselors, and health care providers about human rights. With “each one, teaches one,” entire communities can learn.

A legal rights hand book for children is also available now:

Mediation and Advocacy

Joseph Mafurebo is the Director of the Health and Justice Project of our sister organization, WE-ACTx for Hope, and is based in Kigali, Rwanda. As an attorney and mediator, Mr. Mafurebo assists women and children referred through WE-ACTx clinics or community partner associations.

The Health and Justice Project offers concrete solutions. Women and children with HIV face a variety of legal problems that can undermine the positive effects of the medical care and trauma counseling they receive through WE-ACTx clinics. With human rights education and necessary assistance, patients gain the opportunity not only to survive but thrive.

The Health and Justice Project also advocates for policy changes to improve Rwanda’s health, social services and education programs for women and their families. Recent successes include improvements in AIDS drug-importation policies and progress towards providing prompt treatment for gender-based survivors in the public health system, free of charge, and with dignity and respect.

Download Our Publications

Know Your Rights! A community handbook on health care rights and other laws for women and families.
(Download PDF documents below):

Know Your Rights! Children’s Rights Handbook. A handbook on using the law for young people and their advocates.

Peer Education and Outreach

Donna Rae Palmer — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:19:34 +0000

WE-ACTx for Hope participates in a countrywide collaborative HIV prevention and outreach program in which large scale community mobilization and sensitization campaigns are implemented throughout the country. WE-ACTx for Hope trains HIV+ peer educators within our grassroots partners using a ”train the trainer” model, imparting skills in basic HIV prevention and positive living with the goal of creating an informed cadre of Rwandan grassroots health educators throughout the country. WE-ACTx for Hope holds workshops with grassroots organizations and collaborates with WE-ACTx’s family program and trauma counseling activities.

INEZA

Donna Rae Palmer — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:17:50 +0000

In-house sewing and crafts cooperative

WE-ACTx has organized its own in-house sewing and crafts cooperative, INEZA, to make dolls, clothing accessories (hand bags, computer sleeves, etc.) and other crafts for sale in the international market as an effort to develop a sustainable source of income for women on HIV treatment. Over the past year, we have developed a marketing and distribution arrangement for clothing accessories products with Connect USA. We are planning to develop markets and production capacity for Rwandan domestic sales as well, linking our production with overall economic development efforts in country. The women who make up our cooperative are paid weekly wages, receive transportation and food supplements, and of course, are provided with HIV care and treatment – and YOGA!

go to INEZA’s blog

Pediatrics AIDS Care and Family Support Services

Donna Rae Palmer — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:15:56 +0000

WE-ACTx developed pediatric AIDS care and a family based support program in 2005, Medical care is made possible through the generous and on-going support of the Keep a Child Alive (KCA) Foundation, for the continuous operation of the Keep a Child Alive Center of Excellence Icyuzuzo Clinic. The family support program was made possible by a two-year grant from the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Recently, we received a very generous donation from Madonna’s Ray of Light Foundation to continue and expand our services to children and families. We currently support and provide care to over 600 HIV+ children and adolescents in our three clinics, providing comprehensive pediatric care in the context of their family care – at the same sites and at the same time as their mothers or caregivers receive their own HIV care. The support program includes monitoring of HIV status, monitoring of anti-retroviral therapies and importantly, concomitant monitoring of mental health status. Each HIV+ child receiving care in our programs receives a home assessment prior at the time of initiating. These home visits allow us to assess the therapeutic environment, anticipate potential barriers to treatment adherence and thusth thus to provide a supportive foundation and individualized care plan for each child. Finally, the Family Program also includes a weekly support group for these children. The support group includes a healthy meal (a large majority of the children are nutritionally depleted or are at risk of serious nutritional deficit) and transportation to the support group. The activities of the support group are appropriate to the age of the child; for example, older children engage in ongoing discussion of HIV, HIV care, and the implications of HIV disease for their future. There are special groups for adolescents who have been abused. Younger children enjoy organized playtime, sports and have some access to child life and art therapy. With support from the Ray of Light Foundation and dedicated professional Yoga instructors, WE-ACTx now offers Yoga classes to the kids, families, and staff of WE-ACTx.

Clinical goals for these children include the provision of state of the art HIV medical care which includes full access to ARV therapy, to reverse disease progression. ongoing medical monitoring, and all medically indicated prophylaxis and treatment of opportunistic infections and other co-morbidities. We have learned from our two years of experience in assessing HIV affected children within their home environments, that 20% of the children in the program will exhibit signs of serious depression and/or PTSD, and we therefore also provide psychological monitoring and care.