Dec. 5, 2006 GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) has received almost $1-million from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to address the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS in Kenya. The grant is part of the New Partners Initiative of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
CRWRC also received approval for $1.5-million grant from PEPFAR as a member of a consortium of faith-based organizations led by Nazarene Compassionate Ministries in Zambia.
In Kenya, CRWRC is helping to deliver quality prevention and care services to AIDS victims through existing partners in the Kenyan Anglican Church and the Reformed Church of East Africa's Plateau Mission Hospital. The million-dollar grant will provide AIDS counseling and testing, prevent mother-to-child transmission, train religious and community leaders in home-based AIDS care and support, and create educational campaigns addressing awareness, stigma, and prevention.
In Zambia, CRWRC's $1.5 million sub-grant will address prevention education and provide home-based care for people living with AIDS (PLWA) through partners in the Presbyterian and Reformed churches in Zambia and Central Africa.
CRWRC projects that the Kenya program alone will reach nearly a quarter-million people with prevention messages, provide for 11,000 AIDS orphans, and support 6,000 PLWA.
CRWRC's AIDS response in Africa has been expanding for nearly two decades. CRWRC is dedicated to helping reduce the spread of AIDS worldwide through integrated programs that address the root causes of poverty in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
To learn more about how CRWRC is responding to the AIDS crisis, see http://www.crwrc.org/development/aids.html for information and action steps you can take to "Keep the Promise" about AIDS.
CRWRC is a Christian, non-profit organization of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. With offices in Burlington, Ontario and Grand Rapids, Mich, CRWRC provides a ministry of development, relief, and justice education to people in need around the world. CRWRC is currently active in 30 countries, and has an international reputation for "helping people help themselves."
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Interview Contact: Stephanie Sackett, Grants Officer, 1-800-55-CRWRC or 616-241-1691
US Media Contact: Beth DeGraff, 616-648-7821
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Henry Hess
Director of Communication
Christian Reformed Church
To learn more about the Christian Reformed Church visit us at www.crcna.org <http://www.crcna.org
"It is a serious waste to let a day go by without allowing God to change us."-Richard Rolle, The Fire of Love