31 graduate in home-based care

home-based care to child headed families especially those who lost their parents as a result of HIV and Aids.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony the national commissioner of St John Ambulance Association, Mr Jaret Sibanda, was full of praise for the graduands whom he hoped would impart the knowledge and skills in home-based care to communities.
“I am very happy because this was a breakthrough and I encourage the youths to revive the spirit of care giving and be involved in more voluntary work,” he said.
Mr Sibanda said the reason they chose the orphans in child headed families was to equip them with life skills to deal with HIV and Aids patients.
“This course was to teach them to take care of their relatives and in the end society since they would know the basics of first aid.
“A total of 161 students sat for our final examination upon which only 30 failed and we are looking forward to more than this in the next intake,” he said.
The association’s administrator, Mrs Siphilangenkosi Nkomo, said the major challenge facing the institution and its students was the unavailability of places for attachment.
“We have a few students on attachment at such institutions as Ingutsheni Hospital and Kings Poly Clinic among others but it is not adequate as quite a number of students faced difficulties in securing places,” said Mrs Nkomo.
Mrs Lindinkosi Dube, a voluntary worker and teacher by profession, said home-based care was an important skill to acquire to take care of the vulnerable.
“Home-based care is our mandate and we wish to reach out to as many people as possible so that they in turn they would impart those skills to the needy in society,” she said.
Mrs Dube, who came with a group of children called St John Badgers, who are being groomed to be caregivers, said it was important to impart the knowledge to future generations.
“This is a group for children who are under the age of 16 but they are being made aware of the importance of the need of home-based care,” she said.
The course catered for the Matabeleland region and the graduands comprised orphans.
St John Ambulance Association is a voluntary organisation, which was funded by OAK Foundation and has many other voluntary organisations working hand in glove with it.
Some of the organisations include Restoration of Hope, which brought 64 students who also graduated yesterday.
Some of the students were drawn from schools such as Mazwi Primary School in Magwegwe North and Founders High School.