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MEETING POINT INTERNATIONAL - A POINT TO LOOK AT

WHAT MEETING POINT IS

Meeting Point International is a Ugandan Non Governmental Organization (NGO) operating in four slums situated in the areas of Nagru, Kireka, Ntinda and Nsambya (Kampala City).

Its main activity has been the care of people affected by HIV/AIDS and of their orphans.
As at October 2003 616 sick patients and 320 orphans were registered with MPI.

WHY MEETING POINT

MPI operates as a presence, a companionship, a point of reference that anyone can meet and involve him/herself in. The methodology adopted by MPI is, in fact, qualified by the offering of an effective friendship in which people are not "reduced" to their problems or sickness; they are looked at and embraced for the infinite dignity of their humanity.

The services and the activities provided are important means for an experience that promotes the awareness of one's own value and, therefore, enhances responsibility in facing reality as protagonist and contributes to recreate a communitarian sociality.

WHY INTERNATIONAL

Those visiting the places where MPI is present are struck by the peculiarity of the experience lived there. For this reason many people, even of different nationalities, have been personally involved as volunteers or supporters of the activities of MPI; this explains the choice of "International" as part of our name.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of MPI is to propagate, through cultural and social activities, awareness of the intrinsic value and dignity of human life at all its development stages and levels of maturity.
This aim is specified into the following objectives:

• assistance to the suffering victims of HIV/AIDS,
• commitment in poverty eradication,
• promotion of education at all levels.

ACTIVITIES

The main activities related to the above objectives are:

Counselling for People Living with HIV/Aids
The support of qualified help and all-embracing companionship is offered in order not to leave the sick person alone in front of the fear of suffering and death.

Medical Care and Home Visits
A medical doctor visits the patients in the centres of MPI twice a week. The ones who need special care are referred to Nsambya Hospital Home Care, where some personnel of MPI is regularly present to facilitate the access to hospital services. Sick people are also assisted at home; the support is not only medical and material, but aims at rebuilding the patient's self-esteem and reintegrating him/ her as a full member of the family.

Provision of Food and Essential Items
Distributions of food and other essential commodities enhance the welfare of sick people, helping them to go back to their normal life, also resuming their daily activities and responsibilities.

Revolving Fund/ Loan Scheme
A steering committee, elected by the patients themselves, manages a fund to give loans to the clients of MPI for the starting of income generating activities. This opportunity helps the patients to be self-reliant and to understand that they can still do much for their families.

Adult Literacy
Sick illiterate people are taught English, reading and writing. It makes them more free, helps them face new situations in daily life and increases their self-esteem.

Health Education and Hygiene
Its purpose is to educate to the value and dignity of life through the care of oneself and the environment.

Knitting Club and Crafts Courses
Their aim is to break the solitude and the perception of uselessness of sick people through a companionship and the experience of being still able to get income.

Re-creative Activities and Dances
Music and dance, as peculiar expressions of the culture and tradition, are used to enhance the identity of the person and the awareness of belonging to a people. Other activities, such as outings and meetings with significant testimonies, are used to develop the desire for beauty and truth that are aroused in people when they rediscover the value of their own life.

Provision of School Fees for Children
MPI caters for the school needs of orphans and works with their guardians in order to offer an authoritative point of reference for their growth.

Welcoming Houses
Two houses are rented for children who have lost both their parents and don't have relatives at all.
The Welcoming Houses try to reproduce the context of a family and a normal condition of life through the stable presence of adults who become for the children the affective and educative point of reference.
Presently 18 children are hosted in the two houses.
Occasionally the Welcoming Houses offer emergency assistance to malnourished children.

Life-Skill Activities for Youth
Various activities (outings, dance, meetings and peer clubs) are used to accompany teenagers in the research for their identity. The same aim is pursued in specific courses on Sexual Education focussed not only on the prevention of AIDS but on a reflection on what defines human experience as such and, therefore, even sexuality.

Child Care Centre
In Acholi Quarter a Child Care Centre has been implemented for children who would otherwise be unguarded.

In June 2003 the Holy See Mission at the United Nations awarded Ms. Rose Busingye, Director of Meeting Point International, with the prestigious "Servant of Peace" prize.

Meeting Point International
P.O. Box 21261 Kampala, Uganda
Telephone +256 077 626757
Email: meetingpointint@infocom.co.ug

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