"My family is smiling."
It's common for HIV/AIDS patients to speak of a CD4 count, which measures immune cells. A normal CD4 count is between 500 and 1,500. Two of the patients explain that when they came to Chreso, their CD4 counts were as low as 31 and 25 -- meaning they had practically no immune systems left. Today, they are both living positively with HIV. One man, Jonathan -- a married father of four -- explains that he was so weak from AIDS, his entire family thought he was going to die. But with the treatment he receives at Chreso, he says, "I am healthy. My children are in school. My family is smiling."
Flame Center
Our last stop on this busy day is the Flame Community Center, established in 1997 to serve orphans, abused children and young people at risk. Flame staff go out onto the streets to find abandoned boys and girls and work to reunite them with their families. When reunion isn't possible, they find other members of the community to care for the children. Flame also offers a community-based HIV/AIDS program, provides home-based care to the chronically ill and runs two community-based schools.