The meaning of HOPE
30 June 2005
When Hurricane Ivan spiralled its way over Grenada in September 2004, the island and its inhabitants, including HOPE-PALS (Helping Our People Lead Productive Lives - a support network for people living with HIV/AIDS) were left in disarray. In addition to the usual challenges, HOPE-PALS faced the immediate and pressing issues of flooding, loss of property, power cuts, inconsistent water supply and even homelessness. Locating clients and volunteers was difficult, and often turned into an all-day event. But the HOPE-PALS team did not give up. They kept their focus and found their members, joined forces with the Grenada Red Cross and other organisations and became part of national and community relief efforts.
As life slowly returned to some semblance of normality, HOPE-PALS moved into a new phase of its operations. With funding from USAID/the Alliance, HOPE-PALS was able to launch a collaborative Food Delivery/Home-Based care intervention with the Grenada Red Cross with the aim of re-building the support networks within the community of people living with HIV/AIDS. The projected reach for the intervention for January-June 2005 was for 20 people living with HIV/AIDS to benefit from this initiative. Reports for January-March 2005 indicate that 19 people living with HIV/AIDS are already getting food delivered to their homes along with other support services that form part of these home visits, such as counselling and referrals.
In May 2005, the first full and active collaboration between HOPE-PALS and the National Infectious Disease Control Unit happened, with HOPE-PALS hosting a Home Care workshop. The event was well organised and well-received by participants. A mix of peer educators, volunteers and staff attended the workshop over three days.
As HOPE-PALS looks to the future, there are plans to consolidate and improve their current operations and venture into new areas, including targeted safer sex interventions, education and positive prevention.
