Ugandan HIV partner visits UK

Robina Ssentongo works at the Kitovu Mobile Home Care unit, bringing practical and emotional support to those living with HIV [Annie Bungeroth]

CAFOD supporters heard from the front line of the fight against HIV and AIDS when partner Robina Ssentongo from Uganda visited livesimply audiences

Robina travelled around schools, parishes and a university in the dioceses of Hexham & Newcastle and Leeds, giving talks about her work at the Kitovu Mobile Home Care unit.

The unit manages a network of over 750 volunteers who support people living with and affected by HIV.

Robina was invited by CAFOD’s spirituality team to talk to supporters who have been involved in the livesimply challenge over the past year.

A living response

Robina also addressed CAFOD’s sister agencies at the CIDSE International Cooperation and Development Conference in Holland, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Populorum Progressio.

Her work and that of the Kitovu volunteers is a living response to the call to live in solidarity with people who are poor.

Each volunteer regularly visits up to 10 families in their homes, bringing practical and emotional support to people either infected with HIV or affected by the virus – such as households run by children orphaned by HIV.

Around 50 of the volunteers are "expert clients" who are themselves HIV positive.

“They can talk to people about their own personal experiences and do so much to dispel fear,” explains Robina.

She talked to UK audiences about the impact of livesimply. “The generosity that prevails in your society has real meaning to people in my country,” she said.

“livesimply is not about depriving people in the UK of what they need. It’s about solidarity and sharing. It’s about living simply so others can have a better life.”

At a deanery evening in Skipton, and a lunchtime talk at the Leeds Universtiy Chaplaincy, supporters who asked her how they could support her work after hearing her talk were told: “You’re already helping!

"This ‘living simply’ is just another name for what you have been doing all along by supporting CAFOD. Your contributions are what is making the difference that we can see on the ground.”

“I found Robina’s talk extremely moving,” said CAFOD schools volunteer Pam Lloyd who was at the evening in Skipton.

“They do such fantastic work against horrendous odds and I felt that the team work and the spirit of the people she works with is really inspiring. She came over as a very determined, hard working but compassionate woman.”

Spirit of solidarity

Tired but content after an intense round of visits, which also included St Mary’s High School and Notre Dame in Leeds, Robina said how pleased she was to meet supporters:

“For us who work at the grassroots it is fantastic to go out to dioceses and meet these groups. It was good to see the message about HIV reaching home, and I could tell that people were really moved by what they were hearing.

"I am happy that CAFOD has given me the opportunity to feed back to the people who support us in Kitovu.

"I saw a true spirit of solidarity amongst those I met. People understood that the money they give to CAFOD really has value, and they feel good that they are part of this netwok that is achieving so much.

"The generosity that prevails in your society has real meaning to people in my country.”

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