Generator to keep hospice lights on

NEED

Rustenburg, in the North West Province, is an area rich in mineral resources. The growth in mining activities has led to an influx of people hopeful for work. This has resulted in the disruption of local community life, and the burgeoning of informal housing. In these environments HIV has spread rapidly, and, as a result, Rustenburg has a disproportionally high HIV infection rate. At one clinic, for example, it was recently found that half of all pregnant mothers treated there were HIV positive.

Tapologo provides a place for the sick to turn to for treatment and assistance.

OVERVIEW

Tapologo provides a holistic response to the HIV/AIDS-related health needs of the communities surrounding Rustenburg. Their services include an in-patient unit; community outreach through home-based care and the provision of basic health care services; anti-retroviral treatment, and an orphans and vulnerable children programme. They also run nine satellite clinics in rural communities surrounding Rustenburg. This project will provide two valuable pieces of infrastructure for the organisation.

Firstly, it will provide a generator for the hospice, which needs a standby power supply to avoid disruptions caused by regular power-outages. At the moment, nurses are often forced to use candles and torches to tend to bed ridden patients.

Secondly, it will help fund the completion of a development office. This office will include much-needed space for Tapologo’s technical staff and house a workshop for operations and maintenance equipment for Tapologo's satellite clinics. It will also take some of the pressure off the current administration office, from which all operations are currently run.

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

• Tapologo has a holistic strategy for providing quality care to their patients.
• The organisation encourages community participation: family members and friends of patients often assist staff.
• Tapologo reflects international and national best practice in basic health care by decentralising health care services into the community.

IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS

The new generator at the hospice will:

• Ensure that the hospice always has sufficient lighting, creating a safer working environment;
• Ensure that germicidal ultraviolet lights are on 24 hours a day, which will minimise the risk of spreading airborne viruses such as TB and flu viruses;
• Keep refrigerated and frozen foods cold and bacteria free. This will help to save costs by reducing the amount of food that that must be thrown away as well as reducing the risk of bacterial infection from food.

The completion of the development office will increase occupational health and safety at the clinics and at the hospice, reduce capital repairs, reduce unscheduled shutdowns and repairs, reduce maintenance costs, and extend equipment life. This will result in the clinics and the hospice being able to operate at peak efficiency. This will allow the Tapologo to better deliver services to its beneficiaries.

ORGANISATION CAPACITY

Tapologo has successfully implemented health promoting interventions to people affected by HIV and AIDS in the Rustenburg area for 12 years. The package of holistic services provided by Tapologo includes;

• 10 Wellness Clinics in target areas,
• The Tapologo Community based Outreach programmes, providing home care and education in the home and in the
• The Tapologo AIDS Hospice, with a 30+ bed functional facility
• Anti-retroviral Therapy (ARVs) to 1825 poor beneficiaries through eight satellite clinics;
• The Tapologo OVC Programme

Because of their long history in the region, Tapologo has developed a strategy that is sensitive to the culture of the area, regularly attending traditional council meetings and pursuing partnership opportunities with local authorities.

The Tapologo management team has expertise in various areas including organisational management, fundraising, and project management. This capacity has enabled Tapologo to use efficient systems to manage and document all activities in the eight communities they work with.

PROJECT PROFILE

Key Strengths

• Design: The organisation encourages community participation in caring for AIDS sick patients, family members and friends of patients are invited to assist staff.
• Concept: This project will allow Tapologo to run their operations more effectively with an uninterrupted power supply and improved administrative facilities
• Control: The completion of the development office and the subsequent maintenance of the generator will fall under the responsibility of the internal operations and maintenance department.
• Capability: Tapologo Development, as the development and project management arm of Tapologo, has a proven track record in implementing all of the infrastructure developments undertaken by the organisation since its inception in 1994.

Key Risks - Low

• Design: Tapologo will always be dependent on donor funding as services are provided free of charge. The land is not owned by Tapologo as it is tribal land.
• External: Fluctuations in cost of the material required to complete the construction of the Development office are unpredictable. The success of Tapologo's interventions depends on their favour with local traditional leadership structures. To mitigate the risk of losing favour with traditional leaders, representatives from Tapologo regularly attend community meetings, and secure the approval of traditional leaders before establishing a project in any community.