LifeLine/Childline Western Cape opened an office in Khayelitsha in 1997. Khayelitsha is an area, known even then, to have a high prevalence of HIV infection. Over the last six years, hundreds of unemployed, Xhosa-speaking men and women have been trained as LifeLine counsellors in Khayelitsha. In partnership with the Department of Health, our counsellors provide lay counselling services around the area of HIV/AIDS in the day hospitals and clinics in communities at risk.

In addition to presenting education and awareness workshops, our counsellors do pre- and post-test counselling as well as ongoing supportive counselling for people who test HIV positive.

LifeLiners are an integral part of the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission Programme, and the voluntary Counselling and Testing programme in the Western Cape. They also partner Medecins Sans Frontieres in their ground-breaking anti-retroviral programme in Khayelitsha.

There are currently 57 government funded posts for LifeLine-trained HIV/AIDS counsellors.

In 2003, LifeLine/Childline Western Cape’s AIDS counsellor programme won the top Impumelelo Innovations Award for poverty alleviation and effective
service delivery.

Call the LifeLine/Childline Western Cape’s Khayelitsha office on
021 361 9197 if you would like to find out more about this excellent programme.