1. GUIDELINE DOCUMENT FOR THE
ECCLESIATICAL COMMUNITY TO PLAN AND
HOST A HEALTH DAY
Prepared by Elzaan de Villiers, Building Hope Foundation
June 2014

2. Guideline document for the Ecclesiatical Community to plan and host a Health Day
Page 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction............................................................................................................................................................3
1 Planning the Event.........................................................................................................................................4
2 Who to include during planning ....................................................................................................................4
3 Time Frame ....................................................................................................................................................5
4 Hosting the Event...........................................................................................................................................6
5 Check list........................................................................................................................................................8
6 Lessons Learned.............................................................................................................................................9

3. Guideline document for the Ecclesiatical Community to plan and host a Health Day
Page 3
INTRODUCTION
Our vision, Building Hope Foundation and Mission4HIV (a ministry of the Lynnwood Ridge DRC Mission
Office), is to engage the Church, in the broader sense, in the fight against HIV and AIDS in a manner that is
relevant to the community. We have found that one such initiative, was hosting health days in
cooperation with local churches, missionary partners and medical service providers. The health day
initiative destigmatises HIV by not isolating it from other health problems. It also makes the church
relevant to the community by recognising that people not only have spiritual needs but also health and
other needs. The church is ideally placed to support and provide pastoral care to both it’s congregation
members and the community at large.
Building Hope Foundation and Mission4HIV have hosted different health day initiatives in various
different communities over time.
1. World Aids Day Health Day with a focus on basic wound care, ambulance demonstration in
Mamelodi in 2012.
2. Lynnwood Ridge Health Day with a focus on HIV & TB testing, blood glucose, blood pressure and
eye screening at Lynnwood Ridge DRC in 2013.
3. Eersterust Health day with a focus on HIV testing, blood glucose, blood pressure and eye
screening, wound care, dental screening and paediatric screening of children in September
2013. We also had speakers on drug and alcohol abuse and woundcare.
4. Ga-Rankuwa Health Day on basic wound care, ambulance demonstration, dental screening, HIV
testing, blood glucose and blood pressure testing in May 2014.
5. Mamelodi on basic wound care, HIV awareness, HIV testing, blood glucose and blood pressure
testing in 2015.
Although there are several other initiatives that one can offer, the focus of this document is to provide a
very practical guideline based on experience in the above days held.
The information in this document is of a fluid nature as each community, area or place will differ in
context and culture. The information in this document is based on observations from three health days
presented at different churches with different denominational backgrounds and within different cultural
settings.
Building Hope Foundation can be contacted on www.buildinghope.org.za or the Lynnwood Ridge
Missions Office can be contacted at www.lynnwoodrif.co.za .
We would like to specifically mention PEN Wellness, based in Pretoria, whose input and support made
these health days possible. We could not have done it without you.

4. Guideline document for the Ecclesiatical Community to plan and host a Health Day
Page 4
1 PLANNING THE EVENT
1. Decide WHY you want to host a health day. What do you want to achieve?
2. Are you ready for the costs – financial, spiritual and emotional costs - involved?
3. Gather a small team of volunteers at your local church who forms part of your planning committee.
4. Volunteers must be willing to participate on the day of the event.
5. Each volunteer has a specific purpose on the day (arranging food, registrations etc.). Each person
volunteers for a task they feel comfortable in or are good at. This way the volunteers will not get
tired of doing something they don’t really want to do.
6. The church must decide if they would want the clinics to be present on the day. If so, then;
6.1. Determine which clinics service which area.
6.2. Determine the closest local clinic in your area and whether they serve the community in that
area.
6.3. Visit the local clinic and build a trust relationship with a person at local clinic or a person from
these health services with the authority to support your initiative.
6.4. Invite the necessary persons to your first planning meeting for the event.
7. Determine whether your community will expect of you and what your limitations are.
2 WHO TO INCLUDE DURING PLANNING
1. It is wise to start small – offer one or two services and first run a pilot before extending the services
too wide. Once you have completed your first health day initiative, you can plan a bigger one if
needed.
2. Determine the services that you would like to offer. These services could include:
2.1. Blood pressure
2.2. Blood glucose tests
2.3. HIV/AIDS tests
2.4. TB testing
2.5. Eye screening
2.6. Oral Hygiene screening
3. Invite provincial health organisations who can assist with the services that you plan to offer.
We invited the Department of Health, Gauteng, Foundation for Professional Development (whose
services are available throughout SA), an ambulance service and volunteer nurses who provided
wound care and blood pressure screening, eye screening and dental care mobile units from various
provincial departments.
4. Relevant NGO’s who deliver health services (i.e. Foundation for Professional Development)
5. Volunteers from your local church or community.

5. Guideline document for the Ecclesiatical Community to plan and host a Health Day
Page 5
6. Local clinic. The value of having the local clinic present at the church grounds is that it breaks down
the stigma that the local clinic cannot be trusted with confidential information, but rather that the
clinic is a trust partner of the church.
7. Other churches in the area. Partners from other local churches should be included so that a network
of churches and clinics are established and the value of trust is restored.
3 TIME FRAME
1. It is recommended that you plan your event at least 4 months in advance. If you are in close or
constant contact with your health service providers, it can be planned closer to the time.
2. Use the first three months to build relationships with partners and plan the event with them.
3. Once a relationship has been established with the clinic/s, a formal invitation should be written by
the hosting church to the clinic, several months in advance.
3.1. The time period is important because clinics need to obtain permissions from higher authorities
to participate and to order stock in advance
4. Use the last month to invite your local church and community members to the event. Usually
invitations to the congregation and members of the community are only given on Sunday’s or other
events that the church host in the week.
Guideline Time Framework
First Meeting 4 months in advance
Invite role-players that you find relevant to the services that you
require
Host the first meeting
 Overall goal: request their services, obtain their needs for their
involvement, goal of the day and expected result is discussed.
 Preliminary date is also set.
Second meeting Confirmed role-players are invited
 Overall goal: services are confirmed, date is confirmed,
meeting their needs are confirmed, expectations are discussed,
issues such as flow of the day, equipment needs, chairs and
shade is dicussed, electricity and water supply, crowd control is
discussed.
 Each role-player knows what is expected and what each one
must bring.
 Marketing to the community starts now.
 Preliminary registration from the community can also now
start.
 Volunteers are now discussed and an action plan as to which
volunteers for which task is now assigned.
 Food and beverages are also now confirmed and who brings
what is now confirmed.
 Follow-up needs have been identified and action is taken to put
follow-up services/responsible people in place.
Final meeting Confirmed role-players are invited
Overall goal:
 Each aspect as discussed during the second meeting is dicussed
and how needs are going to be met is finalised and confirmed.
 Feedback is given as to the interest from the community on the
marketing.
 Feedback is also given on the number of volunteers and to

6. Guideline document for the Ecclesiatical Community to plan and host a Health Day
Page 6
whom they are assigned. Volunteers have by now been trained
and know what to do.
 Follow-up has now been finalised.
4 HOSTING THE EVENT
1. Host the event at the church grounds or at a venue that is accessible to the community.
2. Plan the layout of the stations of the services that will be offered. Take into consideration which
services might need electricity, tables, chairs and privacy for patients.
3. Depending on the structure of your church and available grounds, a big hall or big tent would be
suitable.
4. Ensure that you have planned for food and refreshments for the service providers. They do it for free
– please treat them with hospitality.
5. It is important to have refreshments (at least water) for your community. Sometimes they have to
wait in lines and a day can get hot.
6. Provide shade and chairs where possible – set up a tent or place chairs around a tree which can
provide shade.
7. Provide acceptable ablution facilities to the community and the service providers. Make sure there’s
toilet paper at all times. Make sure it is clean and kept clean during the day.
8. Typically a test/first health day will look as follows:
 08:30 Set up of service providers
 09:00 Opening and welcome by the hosting church
 09:30 Registration, training and services commence
 12:30 Lunch is given to service providers
 * Ps take note – if you have not planned to give any food to the community, please give the lunch
in a discreet manner or call the service provider to a central place where you serve them lunch
separate form the community.
 13:00 Last patient is taken in for registration – people wait in queus and time has to be planned
for this.
 14:00 Day closes.
9. Typically a follow-up health day would look as follows: ( a follow-up health day is done
approximately 4-6 months after the first one)
 08:30 Set up of service providers
 09:00 Opening and welcome by the hosting church
 09:30 Training is given or Registration opens
 12:30 Lunch is given to service providers
 * Ps take note – if you have not planned to give any food to the community, please give the lunch
in a discreet manner or call the service provider to a central place where you serve them lunch
separate form the community.
 15:00 Last patient is taken in for registration – people wait in queus and time has to be planned
for this.
 16:00 Day closes.

7. Guideline document for the Ecclesiatical Community to plan and host a Health Day
Page 7
7. It works best to host the day in the mornings from 09:30 onwands, depending on the culture of the
community. From 14:00 we have found people do not come anymore and those who wanted to be
there has visited the initiative.

8. Guideline document for the Ecclesiatical Community to plan and host a Health Day
Page 8
5 CHECK LIST
ITEM DONE? notes
1. Relationships built – clinic informed ahead of time
2. Meetings held with pastors, clinics etc.
3. Invitations, agreements and arrangements for the services
in place
4. Advertising to the church and community – don’t go too big.
Not more than 100 people.
5. Registrations done prior to the event.
6. Water for the community
7. Shade, Chairs, Tables
8. Dignified & clean toilet fascilities
9. Toiletpaper
10. Programme finalised
11. Volunteers arranged and each know what to do
12. Health Stations clearly marked
13. Registration papers printed for each patient
14. Food for the service providers
15. Crowd control plan
16. Other items:
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.

9. Guideline document for the Ecclesiatical Community to plan and host a Health Day
Page 9
6 LESSONS LEARNED
1. Start and end times and impact on service providers.
Understanding your community’s culture, for example coming late, is really crucial when planning
start and end times of such a day.
We’ve learned that although we set a start and end time, there will always be people who will come
past the end time of the event. Please remember that your health initiative is not the only health
service in your area and that permanent health services are offered by the SA Government and other
private health service providers.
Set a final registration cut off time at least one hour earlier than the end/closure time of the health
day initiative or arrange a time with your service providers when the last patients can be assisted.
That will provide enough time to finish services to the last queue of people.
Experience from a health day held at Ga-Rankuwa: “Although the health morning was advertised as
finishing at 13:00, several people still arrived. FPD stayed longer until everyone who wanted to test for
HIV, were able to test. FPD was able to stay later. “ Not everybody involved will necessarily be able to
stay for long periods.
2. Know your numbers and attendees up front
Register people well in advance to determine numbers for the day.
We would not advise an open invitation as it is very difficult to determine the amount of people who
will attend. Keep your invitation for a health day focused to a smaller group of people – i.e. your
congregation and the local school/parents.
The smaller the group, the greater the possibility of serviced providers to provide samples (i.e.
toothpaste and toothbrush) to each person attending. Determine if service providers will be giving
products to the community. Confirm with your service providers that there will be adequate
resources to everyone. Too few resources can lead to a negative perception or even unrest and
undermine the success of your health day initiative.
Planning should be made for an additional 20% percentage of “walk-ins” of people who did not
register/know about the day.
Have a crowd control plan that is practical and implementable.
3. The church should have refreshments available for the community who comes to the health day. This
can be either sold or provided free depending on resources.
4. If you are going to test children independent from their parents, you will need to obtain prior consent
from the parents for their tests. Test results may not be given to the children or care-giver if the
parents are not present. If the child does not have parents, the results may only be given to a legal
guardian.
5. A psychologist/social worker should be present on site when children are tested for HIV, to support
the child and parent on receiving the result.
6. It would be to the advantage of the health day initiative if a local clinic supports the day. They
might be in a position to assist with qualified nurses to provide basic health care screening.

10. Guideline document for the Ecclesiatical Community to plan and host a Health Day
Page 10
7. Information sessions during a health day did not work as people do not want to leave their place in
the line. Information sessions such as HIV awareness/wound care can be held in a group format,
prior to or after such a day.
8. Normalise and destigmatise HIV by having different general and specific HIV registration tables next
to one another. We had the attendance registration and Foundation for Professional Development
patient registration tables next to one another and the uptake on HIV testing were higher than at
previous health days. FPD, requires separate registration, for their record keeping. Registration is
important for record keeping as to how many people in your community were reached and to
determine the impact of such a day on the community. It will also help you in contacting people for
follow-ups or post-event training in specific matters.