KICOSHEP, the Kibera Integrated Community Self-Help Programme, is an
NGO founded by Anne Owiti in a sparse dingy clinic within the shanty settlement of
Kibera
Kibera (Kinubi: ''Forest'' or ''Jungle'') is a division of Nairobi Area, Kenya, and neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the largest urban slum in Africa.http://www.dominionpa ...
in 1991. The majority of patients were diagnosed with
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
/
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
related ailments, revealing the impact and spread of HIV/AIDS within the Kibera community and confirming the recent discovery that Kibera slum records the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Nairobi.
Kicoshep, a pioneer of the
Voluntary Counseling and Testing concept, now has a network of VCT centers across Kenya.
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Kicoshep Primary School
The NGO runs a primary school within the Kibera slum for children affected by HIV and AIDS. Many of the children are orphans, with some adopting the parental role within their families before they even become teenagers.
The school attracts many international visitors including a number of well known celebrities,
and was the focus of the
Comic Relief Red Nose Day 2007 campaign videos with
Ant & Dec.
Broadband initiative
Kicoshep focuses on the wider impacts of HIV/AIDS as well as the immediate health issues. As part of their income generation schemes, Kicoshep has opened an Internet resource centre for the Kibera community at their base near Wilson Airport, and plan to provide wireless broadband services to local NGO's and schools with help from UK social enterpris
CBN
References
{{reflist
External links
Official website(archived)
HIV/AIDS organizations
Medical and health organisations based in Kenya