SWAP has been building the capacity of HIV support groups and community self help groups by engaging them as vendors of household water treatment, soap, mosquitonets and repellents, sanitary pads, improved stoves, fortified flour and immune boosters, condoms and family planning pills, solar lamps and other health and hygiene products. The groups receive training on behavioral change and business skills and are linked to microfinance services. The project has improved their health, income and reduced stigma. The members of the groups are recognized by the leaders and have become useful members of society.
I feel a fondness and connection with the remote areas in Western Kenya we visit and where we are able to reach out to the most vulnerable groups. It is rewarding to see the overwhelming demand for services and the positive changes in the groups who are now recognized by their local leaders and who shift the attention from being HIV infected to offering services for their own community members in a sustainable way. The community members take responsibility for their own health. We have seen group members change from being helpless to now becoming ambassadors with improved health through the use of the health products and who are now economical empowered through income raised from the sales and other small scale businesses.
We would like to see HIV support groups and community self help groups continue to take responsibility for their own health in a sustainable by using health products and adopting healthy practices which improves their health and economic status.
Safe Water and AIDS Project (SWAP) is a registered NGO operating in Western Kenya since 2005, building the capacity of HIV support groups and other self help groups in the community.
The aim of the organization is to reduce diarrhea, malaria and malnutrition and improve income and health of HIV support groups and the community at large.
SWAP works with currently over 900 HIV groups and community self help groups who have been trained on safe water, behavioral change, business skills and who have access to microfinance services of savings and loans.
SWAP has a research wing doing various effectiveness studies to assess the health and economic impact of its interventions. SWAP further responds to cholera outbreaks and other disasters. SWAP has it headquarters in Nyanza Province and has opened 9 satellite offices and another provincial office in Western Province and has employed 45 Kenyan staff. The products promoted and sold are household water treatment, safe water storage vessels, soap, mosquito nets, repellent, skin infection treatment, fortified flour and food supplements, sanitary pads, diapers, improved stoves and solar lamps. SWAP has recently launched a SWAP model village where raw water from the river after filtration is sold to the community, health education is offered in a community banda on various health topics, a baby and family care centre is operational where an HIV support group sells health and hygiene products, a traditional kitchen is set up with an improved cook stove and a dry ecofriendly toilet with hand washing facilities for demonstration. SWAP collaborates with various partners including the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation and is member of HENNET, a National Health NGO network organization.
For more information please browse our website on www.swapkenya.org
