UMURDA bringing back lives of HIV/AIDS patients

 

FORMED in 1992, the Uganda Muslim Rural Development Association (UMURDA) has for the past years transformed the lives of many people in Bugiri and several sub-counties in the neighbouring districts of Mayuge and Iganga among others.

 

Much has been done by the organization in as far as Capacity Building of rural communities is concerned but one thing to recon with is the fight against HIV/AIDS amongst the rural community and the use of condoms by the Muslim community under the Home Based Care (HBC) programme.

 

According to the Muslim teachings, the use of condoms amongst the Muslim community is believed to be against the teaching. However, UMURDA against all odds has managed to change the minds of the many Muslims in Bugiri district. The organization is a faith based but regardless of the religious sect UMURDA employs people from all religions right from the board to the lower levels.

 

In recruiting the Community Counseling Aides (CCAs) the same applies. Actually most of the CCAs are non muslims. According to Elyasa Muluga, the man behind the prosperity of UMURDA under the HBC programme says that Bugiri has sizable Muslim population who have many wives and children but they have managed to reach out to them and even passed on information on how to live a descent life and they have come to realize how important it is to condom use.

 

Flanked by the chairman, Hajji Habibu Mbulyanga and George Tagole, the Finance Officer, Muluga said they have been so much focused on community training, availing money to the communities in form of credits, sensitizing the community on HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation, Adult Education and Islamic Studies.

 

"Whereas we are known to be a Muslim organization our services have however, gone to everybody. We have improved lives of everybody in this community in as far as HBC is concerned regardless of the religious affiliation.

 

Administering medicine to a patient.

 

"With regard to HIV/AIDS we have participated and personally carried out and implemented several projects in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. For example, we got funds from the Global Fund and under this programme, we informed, educated and taught people much about behaviour change communication which was lacking amongst them.

 

Muluga, who is also HBC programme officer says that with the help of Goal, an Irish International Organistaion, they have a target group of 200 people as beneficiaries in the whole district of Bugiri. He says several HIV/AIDS victims (terminally ill) have received welfare packs to enable them continue surviving strongly. The ill have also been helped, through the organization's CCAs who provide them with physical and social support through counseling and referring them to referral centers for treatment.

 

"The response has been overwhelming. And in addition, we have also made herbal medicine available to them. This is a very unique practice of all we have had. It is unique in the way that we have trained our CCAs to carry out more research so as to come with better results," said Muluga.

 

According to the researcher, The New Vision visited at his "laboratory" in Namakoko, Nankoma Sub County , the herbal medicine is used to suppress the strength

of HIV/AIDS. It is normally used to curb down the cough and diarrhea, which he said was so rampant among the HIV/AIDS victims in the districts.

 

"My medicine is free of charge. Patients come and take whatever I have mixed and they get on with life. It is a strong mixture because if a patient is bed ridden but can manage to swallow the mixture, it takes only five days for him/her to walk," he said.

 

"We were direct implementers and we selected several groups that included boda-bodas, restaurant operators, the Muslim Supreme Council and Women groups through which the grass root people received information about the dangers of HIV/AIDS," said Muluga.

 

Besides, the HIV/AIDS and condom sensitization, UMURDA has also helped the rural community to have access to safe water by constructing for them spring wells in several parishes.

 

"We also constructed latrines at schools on the request of Local Leaders who would chose a place that is badly off and we would implement," said.