The Healing Homes Project - Community Standards

The Healing Homes Community Standard

A Healing Homes community is a safe place. It’s a place where a child can go to sleep free from hunger or fear. Where fresh water and healthy foods are available to everyone. Where a sick child can visit a clinic and get the life-saving medications and treatments she needs. Where a school—and even a playground—are close by.

The Healing Homes communities will be called “Little Ones," translated into the languages of each given country, and will be designed to be gated communities. These communities will include dormitories for children ages 0-17, a schoolhouse, a medical clinic, a playground, a freshwater well and sewer system and an organic garden. In the beginning, the communities' capacities will be set to accommodate 100 children but future expansions will allow us to help more children.

A Healing Homes community includes:

Cheerful, Home-like Dorms. Separate dormitories will be built for boys and girls. Separate bedrooms will be built within each dormitory to provide the feeling of living in a home, with one room set aside for the dorm mother/father. Each room will have bunk beds and dressers for the children. Bathrooms will be located throughout the dormitories and will be shared by the children.
Kitchen and Dining Hall. A separate structure, located in close proximity to the dorms, will serve as the kitchen and dining hall. Here, healthy and balanced meals will be prepared and children, volunteers, and visitors will gather for meals.
Schoolhouse and Playground. The school will accommodate children aged 4-17. A library will be stocked with books and each classroom will have textbooks and computers. Internet access will play a vital part in the children’s learning and will be an invaluable tool for the community. An open field and play area will feature playground equipment for the younger children, bikes in various sizes, basketball goals and soccer goals.
Modern Medical Clinic. A small medical clinic will be built on-site. Staffed with a doctor, a nurse, and volunteers, the clinic will provide medical treatment, preventative care counseling, prenatal counseling, and nutrition information.
Freshwater Community Well and Sewer System. A water pump will be dug to provide the community with fresh drinking and bathing water. Water storage facilities and recycling systems will also be built.
Organic Gardens. A fruit orchard and vegetable garden will provide food for the children, volunteers and visitors.
Volunteer Dormitory. As the community grows and the children settle into their new home, a separate dormitory for volunteers will be built. People from around the world will have the opportunity to visit the community throughout the year, interact with the children and get involved with the hands-on work of running the community.

North Botswana (2012)

Botswana is among the countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS. In a country with a population of less than 2 million, the HIV prevalence rate is the second highest in the world with 37% of the adult population infected. Over 120,000 children have been orphaned due to AIDS. However, the country was the first African country to aim to provide anti-HIV drugs to its citizens in need. There is a strong belief that if there is anywhere in Africa that can succeed in implementing an HIV/AIDS care and treatment program, it will be Botswana. To be built as a HH standard community.

South Africa (2014)

In Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa is at the top of the list of countries whose people are living with HIV/AIDS. Nearly 11 percent of the country's population, or 5.2 million people, are infected with HIV/AIDS, including one in five women ages 15-49, which is more than any other single country in the world. Today, there are over 3.5 million orphans under the age of 18, with over 1.5 million of them orphaned due to AIDS. In a fight against this pandemic, the country has begun to distribute ARV drugs to its people, which is proving to reduce the number of infant deaths, while at the same time, increasing the life expectancy of South Africans living with HIV/AIDS. This Healing Homes community will be built as a HH standard community.