The Warriors are a team of HIV positive outreach workers. They are powerful agents of social change in their communities, travelling through the mountains spreading their message that AIDS can be prevented, and treated. Through Phelisanong, the Warriors provide a life saving transport fund for patients to access treatment and keep up their anti-retroviral therapy.
Health Clinic
A health clinic, staffed by two nurses, operates out of the Phelisanong centre. Aiming to provide basic medications, referrals, family planning services, and nutritional support for malnourished children, the clinic serves mothers and young children, students, disabled residents, staff, and community members from a 10,000 person catchment area for whom the cost of travel to larger medical centres is prohibitive. The clinic provides an emergency transport fund for patients who are critically ill and operates a twice-monthly taxi service for patients, including children, on anti-retroviral medications who could not otherwise access their treatments.
AIDS Education and Outreach
Following their motto, “nobody without testing, nobody without treatment”, the Phelisanong organization engage in energetic community outreach to combat HIV/AIDS. A group of six AIDS Outreach workers, known as The Warriors, travel from village-to-village conducting public education workshops and doing patient home visits. The Warriors distribute condoms, provide patient care kits, arrange mobile HIV testing and counseling at the village level, and assist patients with adherence to medications through the provision of emergency food, travel funding, and regular meetings and check ups at the Phelisanong-run health clinic.
HIV/AIDS Conference
Once a year the Warriors host an AIDS Conference in the region, inviting HIV/AIDS support groups, health care providers, governement and NGO representatives to come together and share information and resources with the general public. The 2009 conference featured a three day Youth Camp which engaged 200 local youth in sports and arts activities, all with a focus on AIDS education and prevention strategies.
