wahap-pendo: The association

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The association

WAHAP was born out of a great necessity. In 2002, HIV infection was running wild in Kenya with a national prevalence rate of 15% to 17% of the total population. In Malindi district, the hot spots were Watamu, Malindi town and Mambrui. These are tourist resort towns. Quick interventions were called for and government efforts alone were not going to be sufficient. At the same time, trends were emerging showing a direct connection between HIV infection and poverty. Kenya has a poverty level of beyond 50%, i.e. that percentage of Kenyans live below the abject poverty line. Those are the people who live on less than US$1 per day. In Malindi district, that index is about 70%. For this reason, HIV infection is inevitably high. Those who are already infected and therefore become even poorer also become dependent on others for their survival. Able bodied people focus their attention on caring for their sick relatives and have very little time for income generating activities.

The other motivation for the creation of this organization is the health message proffessed by Adventists world over. In fact the Adventist health message forms an integral part of their evangelism. It was ironical that a church with a health message stretching more than a century and a half would be without any activities geared towards fighting against HIV/AIDS. WAHAP was born to answer that descrepancy. It became a registered organization at the department of social services within the Ministry of Gender, Culture , Sports and Social services and also joined the network of other groups in Malindi which were involved in the war against AIDS.