HIV Counselling & Testing (HCT)

LifeLine/Childline Western Cape has offered training and counselling from its Cape Town centre since 1968. In the mid-1990s, LifeLine opened an office in Khayelitsha, a community that even then was known to have a high prevalence of HIV infection.

At the Khayelitsha Centre of LifeLine/Childline Western Cape, we provide information and educational talks. We provide generic as well as HIV and Aids lay counseling. We also offer Trauma Counselling.

We offer training for  community members from Khayelitsha and surrounding areas in Personal Growth and Counselling Skills. This training enables individuals to use the skills in their families, communities and places of work. The information shared in the awareness programme around HIV and Aids,  helps people to make informed decisions whether or not to have themselves tested.

Since the LifeLine centre opened in Khayelitsha, hundreds of unemployed individuals have been trained as LifeLine counsellors in the area.

After trainees complete the nine-week personal growth course, and the nine-week counselling skills course, they go through a thorough selection process. Those who are invited to join LifeLine as lay counsellors are then offered the opportunity to apply to become HIV and Aids lay counsellors. Should they be successful in this, they are then referred to the Aids Training, Information and Counselling Centre (ATICC) for specific training in HIV and Aids.

In partnership with the Department of Health, LifeLine/Childline Western Cape have lay and adherence counsellors in Community Health Centres throughout Khayelitsha.

Our counselors follow the 4 steps of the

Advise Consent Test and Support Model

A = Advise all clients to have an HIV test

C = Explain consent and confidentiality

T = Explain testing procedure

S = Support to the client once the results are given

LifeLine counsellors are an indispensable part of the  HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) programme in the Western Cape.As with all of LifeLine/Childline Western Cape’s counselling programmes, the HIV and Aids lay counsellors receive group supervision with a clinical psychologist every second week, and receive ongoing training fortnightly in order to increase their knowledge and skills. In addition, counsellors have access to individual therapy as and when required. A reflexologist, working from the Khayelitsha centre, also offers the counsellors treatments as a means of de-stressing.

Food Gardens

We have two community food gardens, operational at Kuyasa and Zakhele Community Health Centres, where women are actively involved in the sowing and harvesting process. Among others, they grow vegetables, such as spinach, spring onions and cabbage, as well as a variety of herbs.

Beading project

This project aims to equip women with bead-making skills by providing the necessary resources and enabling them to start their own business.The beadwork items feature brilliant colours, especially yellows, blues and green. They also include items such as mobile phone holders, pen holders, commemorative beaded ribbons and keyrings

The Desmond Tutu TB Centre (DTTC)

The PEPFAR funded (Presidents Emergency Fund for Aids Relief) TB/HIV Integration Project, is collaboration between the Desmond Tutu TB Centre, the City Health Directorate, the Provincial Government of the Western Cape and local NGOs and aims to provide integrated TB and HIV services at both a community level and within health facilities. The HCT component of the project has established nine non-medical community-based HIV Counseling and testing (HCT) centers around the City of Cape Town Metropole. These centers provide a free service and offer clients the opportunity to test their HIV status in a secure and comfortable environment. The majority of clients are accessed through outreach activities whereby teams visit a variety of places including workplaces, transport hubs, farms, local organizations and religious groups, which allow them to access well people, including men, youth, couples and working people. During HCT clients also undergo symptomatic screening for TB, STIs and family planning.  Symptomatic clients are tested for TB. Other clinical services, including blood pressure and a glucose test are available. Clients are appropriately referred for further management and care at the health facility of their choice. An essential part of the service is the follow up of clients to ensure that treatment or the appropriate care has been accessed.

Training

Personal Growth:

All courses are based on the principles of experiential learning. Participants work in small groups, each one facilitated by a trained and experienced LifeLine/Childline Counsellor. The course is designed so that the week between eanc session allows participants time to reflect on, and assimilate their learnings and to internalize new behavior, should they so wish. Each session will comprise a variety of methodologies to provide optimum learning. As each trainee has a unique contribution to make to the group, attendance at all sessions is essential.

Counselling Skills:

The Counselling skills course consists of 9 weekly sessions of three hours each. The same group structure follows as with the Personal Growth Course. Regular practice of the skills as they are acquired is built into the course. Trainees receive constant feedback on their skills from fellow trainees, their facilitator and other LifeLine counselors. Attendance at all sessions is essential

In 2003, this public/private partnership programme won an Impumelelo Award for innovative poverty alleviation and effective service delivery