Here in Neno, Malawi, P.I.H believe that health is directly related to the economic development of an individual and their family. P.I.H's program on social and economic rights, also known as POSER also stems from a core P.I.H belief.
Fighting disease, impoverished settings, also means fighting the poverty at the root of poor health. The program addresses the social inequalities that drive the vicious cycle of poverty and disease by providing nutritional support, building houses, providing education for both children and adults, and starting programs that generate income and help create a self-sustaining economic environment.
Many other organizations used to criticize or think that this is not sustainable or this too expensive. We don't think it's expensive, because most of the time organizations sometimes put a consultant with the people from for the countries and they pay them very expensive, but they don't take that's the best way to go.
The best way to go is to use these people in the committee. , so they can take care of their owner.
POSER starts by employing patients. Not only providing jobs in and around the hospital, but also involving former patients.
And at risk community members in its many programs. Sam and Jiconde are POSER employees. They've come here today to assess whether Edna Joseph and her family qualify for help from POSER.
Edna's five year old child Yunus is a patient at the P.I.H.A.R.T. clinic. Edna is still waiting for the results of her own test.
Married young, she's recently left a violent relationship and has come back to her family home. Her own safety, and that of her daughter. We need to know what kind of a house they're staying in, and the condition of the house. That's what you are looking for.
How is this one?
It's terrible. With P.I.H. this family will qualify for the house and I'm going to build
the house for them. That's our priority. We're planning to build houses for people
like this.
Etna's test results were positive. She started A.R.T. treatment and was supplied
with food. Six months later, POSER had built Etna a brick and tin roof house using
local contractors and After you were here, I went to the hospital and saw the doctor. He gave me medication. They also gave me all type of foods, so that the medication would really work. When I moved in, I sang a song about how happy I am. Now, I will not have to sleep in a house with a leaking roof.
POSER income generated programs help patients to start their own businesses from scratch. These women want to open their own restaurant with the help of Poser.
They started with adult literacy classes, and and a crash course in business to learn how to run a restaurant. The women are all former sex workers but have now become respected members of the community.
Involved in handing out condoms to women at risk , and educating others about the dangers of unprotected sex with clients. It has been a long process, and the women can't wait to open the new restaurant. Six months later, and the restaurant supported by the charity raising Malawi is booming, which is one of the two most successful businesses in the area, attracting trade from passing truck drivers and local business.
Providing education is paramount in the eyes of POSER especially for those who are most in need. William is disabled, and has difficulty walking, but he's a bright student and a keen learner.
To ensure that William receives the education he needs, P.I.H has employed his parents, so they can for his school fees and equipment. Every year PIH helps hundreds of children in this way. Making sure they get the best possible start in their education.
William's walking may not be improving, but he's keen to get to school with the other children. Hose realizes that education should not only be for children.
Deanna is a sixty-year-old grandmother, and a student at a local community adult literacy class.
This is the first time she's ever had the opportunity of education and she has grasped the chance with both hands. She has her first exam in a week, but she's not in the least bit worried.
Nutrition is vital to a patients recover and POSER is spreading the message that without a balance diet it's almost impossible for recovering patients to regain their strength. The hospital provides food for its patients, with a fresh supply of vegetables from the hospital garden.
HIV patients also receive a six month supply of essentials after their initial treatment. One of the programs is working to educate people about Perma-culture, also known as permanent agriculture.
Teaching people how to grow their own vegetables.
The idea is to post the nutrition status in our patients. We have the patients at the hospital, in which they are receiving foods from P.I.H so after six months the patient has finished being given the food. Himself or herself has to establish or construct a permaculture current design at his or her own house.
Working through programs and initiatives [unintelligible] and across the world Poser is committed to fighting disease by fighting the poverty that causes it.
With better education, better nutrition and sustainable development initiatives like permaculture , the health, and lives of people around the world can change for the better.
