Philip (center back) and the HIV/AIDS patient support group at clearing their new farm

Last November, Philip, the second AIDS patient to ever receive care in Tiyatien Health’s (TH) HIV clinic, rose from a bench under a tree’s shade to give a rousing speech at TH’s annual retreat.  Philip called for a renewed focus on “improving the living conditions of we, the poor.”  At the moment, he announced that he would form a support group for people like him, who are living with AIDS, to make that change.  

In one year, Philip has organized with 32 other patients, primarily women with AIDS, to start the region’s only HIV/AIDS patient support group.  The support group’s first project was to reduce hunger and poverty by starting a cassava and peanut farm.  They managed to get land donated and TH, in partnership with the United Nations, gave them hoes and axes.  

As of July they needed just a final $43 to launch their farm.  Eager to start before the rains end, the support group refused to wait for aid from the outside.  Rather, they set out to raise funds on their own.  They first collected small dues from their members, and then lending the growing pool of cash to support individual members for various projects -- asking for a small interest on return.  Last year, a Nobal Peace Prize was awarded to Muhammad Yunus, the man who championed this so-called “microcredit” approach.  It’s a credit to Philip and the HIV/AIDS patient support group that they arrived at this idea on their own!  

Since July, Philip and the support group surpassed their fundraising goal -- collecting over $65 to launch the farm!  As you can see above they have already begun to plant cassava crop in their farm.  The group is now asking TH to raise another $200 in micro-loans to buy peanut seeds.  

Email us at info@tiyatienhealth.org or visit http://www.tiyatienhealth.org/donate if you would like to support or get more involved with TH’s poverty reduction work. 

p.s. - We’re also proud to report TH just hired Philip as our anti-poverty officer.  We hope in this new position he will continue to be an inspiration to others living in poverty.

-Raj Panjabi, Co-Founder at Tiyatien Health; Harvard Medical School