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AIDS Outreach: Africa

This Ministry reaches out to support some of the estimated 13 million orphans and vulnerable children affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic ravaging Sub-Saharan Africa. Simultaneously, we strive to create opportunities for our fellow parishioners to learn more about HIV/AIDS while they contribute to addressing the needs of affected children and communities. See our April 2006 brochure! [Caveat: these are rather large PDF files.] Page 1 (971 KB) Page 2 (597 KB)

For information on our ministry, contact: Marie Cavanaugh Chair cavacom@comcast.net 571-312-1502 Sheila Flett Co-chair / Treasurer sheilaflett@hotmail.com Gail Goodridge Kenya Ministry gail.goodridge@gmail.com 254-20-271-3913 (overseas)

Purpose of the AIDS Outreach: Africa Ministry

Our Ministry has the following objectives:

• Increase our community's awareness of the effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on families in Africa through educational and promotional events
• Provide our parishioners with concrete opportunities to provide moral and financial support to affected families through the efforts of Catholic organizations implementing community empowerment and development strategies in Africa
• Conduct fund raising activities to support selected projects of our Catholic partner organizations in Africa
• Make personal contact through the good will of our community members who visit African countries or who work in African communities

The Problem

An estimated 1.1 million children were orphaned due to HIV/AIDS-related deaths in Kenya alone, according to UNICEF's statistics for 2005.

Many orphans are themselves infected with HIV. Many others are not. Nevertheless, they all need a lot of help!

Our Approach

Our ministry supports small, achievable interventions that make a real impact in the lives of children and communities.

In Kenya, we support the Crisis Assessment and Recovery (Care) Centre in the Kibera slums of Nairobi. The center (formerly known as the Riara AIDS Project) is under the direction of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and the Camillian Fathers.

The Care Centre seeks to create communities of peace by serving the pastoral, spiritual, psycho-social, health and physical needs of the person holistically. In the Kibera slums in particular, the center ministers to adults and children living with HIV, their caregivers and the orphans.

In December 2008, through the generosity of the St. Charles community, we sent $18,000 toward the education of more than 100 children. Each "godparent sponsorship" of $160 covered a child's school fees, uniforms, shoes, food, boarding facility and learning materials for the 2009 calendar school year.

In 2008, $12,000 helped support the education program, and more than $10,000 went to other projects in Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone.

Activities to Date

St. Charles Borromeo AIDS Outreach: Africa Ministry has sponsored the following RAP activities:

• A psychological support program for caregivers, designed to reduce burnout
• A program to increase the effectiveness of teachers who work with AIDS orphans
and vulnerable children in the Kibera slum
• Sponsorship for primary school students -paying for their school fees, uniforms, books and pens
• Micro-credit to market women
• After-school recreation program

Our Direct Connection

Personal involvement of our parishioners is a key element of our ministry. St. Charles parishioner and ministry leader Gail Goodridge moved to Kenya for work and identified the Riara AIDS Project in Nairobi, which later became known as the Care Centre, as the first project to receive our support.

Sister Janet Crane, a School Sister of Notre Dame, is a pastoral care educator for the Care Centre and our point of contact there. She also is the sibling of one of our committee members!

How You Can Get Involved

The AIDS Outreach: Africa Ministry encourages all levels of involvement. In Africa, we support the Riara AIDS Project, but at home we also work to educate our own community of St. Charles. Ways to participate include:

• Join the ministry!
• Help organize and run educational or fund-raising events
• Attend educational and/or fundraising events
• Help fund AIDS Outreach: Africa Ministry activity through your donations (contributions by check can be made any Sunday through the St. Charles collection basket by indicating “AIDS Outreach: Africa” on the memo line