Linden Care Foundation (LCF)

Linden Care Foundation emerged from the Regional Aids Committee (a Governmental Organisation) within region 10 thoroughly equipped to respond to the vulnerabilities in the region, which included HIV/AIDS and other STIs as well as truancy, teenage pregnancies and other related social ills. Since its inception in 2001 when it registered under the Friendly Societies Act, Cap 36:04 as an non-governmental organisation (NGO), Linden Care Foundation has been able to secure funding for its HIV/AIDS programmes through the USAID Ready Body Prevention Project as well as the US President’s Emergency Fund for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) along with other HIV prevention, care and support initiatives. Funding was also secured from UNICEF for children who are infected as well as orphaned or vulnerable and poised to repeat the vicious cycle of HIV Infection through a Socialisation Skills Building Project (a programme that allowed youths to understand the importance of socialisation and then facilitated the enhancement of their desires and ability to socialise with their parents/guardians as a way of closing the communications gap between parents and children). There were also UNICEF sponsored Youth Media Training Workshops that allowed youths who were otherwise intimidated to express themselves in front of adult educators as well as other senior members of the community.

Purpose
To break the vicious cycle of communicable and noncommunicable diseases including HIV and other STIs among families especially children in communities of region 10.

Core Focus
Providing quality community based health, social and youth friendly services through education, care and support, and capacity building in Bartica and other communities of region 7.

Aspirations for the Future
Further programmes that target youth and HIV, risk reduction among youths, socialisation skills building among children and parents, parenting sensitisation, entrepreneurial and vocational skills building. Enhanced sustainability through the execution of the establishment of a document center and catering services.

Speciality of Activities
These include psychosocial support for orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs), risk reduction counselling for key populations and vocational and entrepreneurial skills for all target groups.

Skills and strengths include voluntary care and testing, HIV prevention sensitisation, home and palliative care for infected persons, working with service providers in stigma and discrimination sensitisation.

Gays in Paradise Healthy Living Facebook page was initiated since February 2015. The site was established and maintained by a men who have sex with men (MSM) Peer Educator attached to Linden Care Foundation as part of a strategy to connect with MSM through social media.

The web page was designed with the primary objective of promoting a healthy lifestyle as well as safe hygienic practices among gays, bisexuals and other MSM. A secondary objective was to reach MSM through voluntary counselling and testing services as well as with HIV education and health promotion.

The Facebook page is dedicated to providing health promotion information that allows for the enhancement of sexual and other pleasure-practices among MSM. Through the web page, Linden Care Foundation was able to target a significant number of MSM.

As quoted by MSM Peer Educator Trevon Garner, “The experience of being administrator for the developed page proved to be a good one for me since I was able to reach a wide cross section of MSM.” As noted from reports received from March 2015 to April 2016 the page acquired five hundred and ten (510) likes together with one hundred and three (103) friends which directly resulted in seventy-four (74) MSM being tested. During the face to face contact with those who were part of the social media page, Mr. Garner presented hygiene packages to some as an incentive for opting in to the voluntary counseling and testing services that were offered through Linden Care Foundation.

HIV Prevention among most at risk populations and key populations, home palliative care services for children and adults, after school literacy programmes, nutritional enhancement for orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs), psychosocial support counseling, treatment adherence counselling for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), support groups, parenting training for parents and guardians of OVCs.

Beneficiaries of Services
HIV infected children, parents/guardians of infected children, OVCs, adults living with HIV, key populations, most at risk populations, clients of sex workers.

Locations or Reach
Communities in Wismar and Mackenzie, Linden.

Beneficiaries of Services
Service providers at health facilities, miners and loggers, proprietors of hot spots, OVCs, youths, members of the disciplined services, employees at various workplaces

Linden Care Foundation provided HIV treatment for two hundred and thirty-one (231) men who have sex with men (MSM) and two hundred and eighty-eight (288) female sex workers (FSWs) in financial year 2014/15. Gender-based violence together with stigma and discrimination training sessions were conducted with forty (40) Healthcare Workers and forty (40) Police Officers, while ten (10) persons were provided with peer education training.