HIV/AIDS IN AFRICA
2010 Call For Assistance and Donations!!!
Please read this letter of APPEAL for 2010.
The statistics regarding the HIV/Aids crisis in Africa sadly continue to speak for themselves because the voices of those who are suffering continue to be stilled (Stephen Lewis Foundation; AIDS Update).
Some of the past events to address the issues are:HIV/AIDS Benefit Concert in Peterborough--August 20th
XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto
Some facts about HIV/AIDS:
• The overwhelming majority of HIV-positive children are infected by the virus during and following the birthing process.
• Children infected in early infancy usually die before the age of two.
• There are more than half a million deaths of children from AIDS every year.
• Even when transmission is prevented during pregnancy and birth, the virus can still be passed through breast milk
• 80% of all HIV+ women and 87% of all HIV+ children in the world live in Africa .
• Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 67% of all people now living with HIV/AIDS in the world; representing 23.8-28.9 million men, women and children.
• Estimated new infections for end of 2005: 4.3 – 6.6 million.
• Estimated deaths for end of 2005: 2.8-3.6 million.
• Because AIDS is ravaging the working and child-rearing age group, WHO predicts that by 2010 there will be 25 million AIDS orphans in Africa.
And please recall that HIV/AIDS is just one issue that hinders the "human" and humane growth of Africa. Contribute your voice for Africa.
AASK: Africa AIDS Support of the Kawarthas.
(The description below is from an information sheet provided by AASK.)
What is AASK?
AASK is comprised of a four local professionals who are conducting an AIDS mission to ease suffering, save lives, and build sustainable self-help projects at Howard Hospital , a small rural facility in Zimbabwe . Our goal is to combine our skills to provide practical solutions to the desperate need for AIDS prevention and treatment.
We are doing this because we believe that our children and grandchildren will ASK us: "What did you do to help the millions of people dying of AIDS in Africa ?"
2010 Call For Assistance and Donations!!!
Please read this letter of APPEAL.
2009 Call For Assistance and Donations!!!
Efforts continue to support Howard Hospital. By April 23, a 40-foot container is expected to be filled with desperately needed humanitarian supplies for the Howard Hospital and the Nyachuru Secondary School in Zimbabwe.Photos showing the AASK/Ve'ahavata Trip of 2004.
• Howard Hospital is a tiny hospital and teaching facility in rural Zimbabwe (sub-Saharan Africa ).
• Operated by the Salvation Army, and led by a Canadian physician, Dr. Paul Thistle.
• The only health care facility and maternity unit for 2000,000 people.
• Operates on an annual budget of only $45,000 (Canadian), and constantly runs out of basic supplies such as bandages, medicines and sterile gloves.
• The rate of HIV/AIDS is approximately 37% in the area of the hospital, and 90% of admissions are HIV-related. The hospital staff are experiencing stress and despair.
• Exciting Canadian-based research at Howard is exploring affordable ways of preventing transmission of HIB from pregnant mother to child. It is a project jointly supported by Ve'ahavata (a small development organization based in Toronto, click HERE for link to Ve'ahavata), community groups (such as Rotary and the United Church ), CIDA, and individual donors.
What will AASK do with your donation?
• Secure donations of AIDS drugs and other medical supplies.
• Deliver these materials directly to Howard Hospital .
• Raise funds for Howard Hospital to save lives and ease suffering in the short-term.
• Conduct education and prevention to build log-term self-help community supports.
• Work with African youth to build sports-based AIDS education.
• Partner a Zimbabwean high school class with one here in Peterborough , to build bridges and to improve Canadian you awareness of the risk of HIV.
• Raise awareness of the global AIDS pandemic through public speaking
.
You can ASK AASK to:
• Send you regular email updates about AASK's mission while in Zimbabwe.
• Give a presentation of AASK's to your workplace, school, faith group, or volunteer group.
The AASK Team
Rev. Bill Peacock: Bill is an ordained Minister, a Professor of Addictions and Social services, and serves as Spirit Advisor at Fleming College . He has trained in AIDS palliative care, and has extensive bereavement counseling and hospice experience in Peterborough .
Jennifer Reid: Jennifer is a midwife and maternal-fetal health consultant who has taught Health Sciences at Sir Sandford. She has been to Howard Hospital twice to teach midwifery and to assist the research into prevention of HIV in newborns.
Larry Gillman: Larry is a London Life Financial Security Advisor, with twenty years of corporate management experience at Quaker Oats. He is the President of Beth Israel Synagogue ( Peterborough ), and brings a decade of volunteerism in sports coaching and community-building.
Merla Russel: Merla works with Boehringer-Ingelheim, a globally respected maker of pharmaceutical products. Merla brings extensive knowledge of HIV pathology and treatment, as well as a background in nursing, marketing, and health education.
Contact AASK to make a donation or for further information: info@bethisraelsynagogue.ca