Cameroon Link & MERENSO Update Partnership

Cameroon Link & MERENSO Update Partnership
The Association of Mother and Child Solidarity, MERENSO, is an initiative of a group of men and women who decided to volunteer as contributors to HIV/AIDS prevention in Cameroon, with special target groups being vulnerable persons, persons infected and affected by HIV including orphans. MERENSO contributes to the care of HIV orphans and organikzes homes care for infected and afftected persons.
This organisation has undertaken preventive activities within the frame work of health promotion in collaboration with Cameroon Link for the past six years. It has accumulated reasonable experience in planning assistance in favour of persons in difficulties.
Their activities are linked to poverty reduction and HIV orphans inclusion through home care and family insertion as a means to guard against stigmatization. These organisations have in the past organized capacity building training with the assistance of donors in rural areas to support Community Local AIDS Control Committees of Cameroon.
The activities of MERENSO are supported by the Provincial Delegation for Social Welfare for the Littoral. Organisation for the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the health district services. MERENSO has developped special activities that target HIV infected women working in enterprises with the collaboration of Cameroon Link.
General Objectives
The association has the following objectives :
• Regroup HIV infected and affetced persons with orphans to seek durable solutions for the amelioration of their health and social welfare situation.
• Organize adequate nutrition, clothing, lodging and education possibilities for HIV orphans with the aim of giving them equal opportunities for education and up bringing without stigmatization.
• Organize psycho-social support for the HIV affected persons and HIV orphans.
• Facilitate access to health care support of HIV affected persons and orphans.
• Organize social mobilisation activities to inform, educate and counsel the populations on HIV prevention and voluntary testing.
• Advocate for material, technical and financial support in favour of HIV positive persons and orphans of Cameroon.
Partnership Frame work
1. Cameroon Link and MERENSO collaboration is non-political, non-profit making and both operate as volunteer partners with similar solidarity plans in favour of under-advantaged children.
2. The internal regulations of each organisation is independent and does not interefere with the other.
3. The different activities of both organisation aim at achieving the objectives mentioned above. These activities should have a positive impact on the well being, socio-economic and educational promotion of the beneficiary target groups. (HIV infected and affected persons, vulnerable children and orphans.)
4. Both organisations are opened to all positive institutional collaboration at national and international levels, that would reinforce the capacities of ameliorating delivery and execution of projects in favour of HIV orphans of Cameroon.
5. Resources are raised from annual membership contributions, donations and subventions obtained for the realization of projects or programmes.
6. All management activities respect the financial procedure of good governance for the promotion of the image of both organisations.
7. The selection of project beneficiaries is processed with the highest reputable transparent guidelines that avoid discrimination or stigmatization.
8. Each project will have a coordinator or team leader to be designated by both organisations. The coordinator is in charge of planning, execution, follow up and evaluation. He or she will report to both parties regularly on the progress of any agreed project or programme.
Specific Activities
Both organisations invest in the amelioration of the health and well being of vulnerable social groups, which include:
1. Persons living with HIV/AIDS.
2. Orphaned children due to HIV/AIDS
3. Persons and Families affected by HIV/AIDS
4. Children of very poor and vulnerable parents
Both partners initiate and animate activities to recomfort these target social groups within the potentials and compitence of each organisation.
Emphasis are accorded to the following :

VIH/AIDS Prevention within the target groups:
On request of the beneficiaries, both organisations organise social mobilisation and public education campaigns including fund raising within a well establish plan of action each year. Participate in capacity building and advocacy activities organized locally, at national or international level as need arises. Organize lobbying with the aim of reducing the risks of propagation of HIV within the communities.
Prevention of stigmatization, discrimination and non-respect of therapeutic prescriptions
Many factors contribute to stressful attitudes of persons living with HIV whether within the group or not. These include :
• Auto stigmatization and auto discrimination due to fear as the principal cause, lack of information and isolation from others.
•The non respect of therapeutic prescription due to the lack of information on nutritoinal or therapeutic needs and poverty.
• The non acceptance of serological statute by the patient or the entourage.
To remedy and improve on these problems, Cameroon Link developped modules for informationa and counselling within the health care facilities and during home care within the families. Difficult situations are referred to the District Hospitals with recommendation for special attentiion.
Cameroon Link documentation centre operates as a community counselling focal point. The counselling activities aim at getting seropositive patients to accept their situation as the first step to accessing the needed aid.
Educative talks on the respect of therapeutic prescriptions and nutritional needs are organized regularly with the assistance of specialists in diet combinations and food sciences. These sessions are organized twice a month at the Cameroon Link Centre as a means of also reinforcing the capacities of persons living with HIV who are already on tri-therapies of anti-retrovirals or not.
On the psycho-social sector, information and advice are made available on demande regularly at Cameroon Link Centre. Regular home visits are also planned to guarantee that patients regularly respect the therapeutic prescrptions or whether the patient is having any particular problems and assist where necessary.
Creative initiatives are undertaken to ameliorate the conditions of very poor families under advantaged children, like helping in setting up small income generation occupational activities. This is an area that needs to be well developped but Cameroon Link resources remain limited.
Global Care of Orphans
Activities directed to orphan care include :
• Consistent health care of orphans by organizing de-worming, immunisation, assistance with essential drugs, hospitalisation and guaranteeing their enrollment in primary schools to prepare them for a better future.
• Advocacy for scholarships to purchase educational pedagogic needs, uniforms and school fees are organized during holidays for an adequate academic year preparation take off. Those in orphanages receive primary school placements scholarships and pedagogic materials. Non schooling orphans are oriented into learning self-help initiative trades.
• Periodically, nutritional diet packs are distributed with clothing to orphans, especially those under the care of families.
• Pyscho-social activities are organized to animate the children and to give them an opportunity to feel the opportunities of other children through sports and exchange visits. Counselling and orientation of orphans is undertaken as a means of assessing their basic needs.
Donate to give an orphan equal opportunities.
Contact: Cameroon Link, P.O. Box 1460 Douala, Littoral Province, Cameroon
Tel : +237 77 75 88 40 Fax : +237 33 39 13 56 Email: camlink99@gmail.com
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