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_An update from Barrett Ward, Project Director for African Leadership, who recently visited with our friends at this HIV/AIDS project in Kenya…_
We’re now partnering with 140 HIV-positive people who are living in Kibera, Kenya, which is the largest slum in all of East Africa. In Kibera, there are over 800,000 people living in an area just over 1 square mile. Just to give you a comparison, the most densely populated square mile in the U.S. is in Manhattan, at 70,000 people. With this group of families affected by HIV, we have been able to use Mocha Club funds to first provide *relief*. Next, we will move to rehabilitate, and we could not be more excited! We believe that this is the model for the new millennium of missions – relieve, and rehabilitate. These people are suffering and need relief. People who are HIV-positive are _far_ more stigmatized in Africa than any such prejudice here at home. For example, a man may be unfaithful to his wife, become HIV+ and then infect his wife. Guess who gets kicked out of the house once this is discovered? Yep, the wife. This woman would then find it nearly impossible to find a job, and in turn, be unable to support their children. So she first needs physical relief, as well as counseling to help her rise above the mental abuse she will undoubtedly receive.
Next step, *rehabilitate*. How can we help men, women, and children like these become self-sufficient? One way we’ll do this is through *micro-lending*, which is helping people develop their own businesses through a mini-loan program. Now don’t picture the corner store, and eliminate your presuppositions of running your own business and the level of prosperity that might bring here in the U.S. Instead, they will set up stands to sell cabbage or corn or things like that in the local market. This will help move our friends into a place of self-sufficiency, being able to pay for their own meals and living quarters. _Wouldn’t there be great dignity for someone who couldn’t feed their children before, but who now can?_ Seeing this transformation with your own eyes will strip you of what you think you NEED – and remind you of what is essential. We hope that through these updates, you will be reminded not to try to find joy other than where it’s meant to be found.
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So, does that make sense to you, how micro lending works? Please see this letter from our director of this work in Kenya, Peter Odero, and this report of our first food distribution to these families affected by HIV. Friends, your contributions through Mocha Club brought much joy to these families over Easter weekend! We’d like to remind you that all our staff is African, as this is our model to equip the capable leaders of the area. In the letter, you’ll see that Peter Odero uses the word “affected.” To help you understand what that means, one person “infected” brings a host of “affected” within the household because of the stigma. There are still widespread misconceptions on how one is infected, causing concern if one can get AIDS from a person who lives with someone who has AIDS.
Soon we’ll update you on the micro-lending work we’ll be doing with Mocha Club funds. Thank you for your support of our friends – we wish you could see the dignity that your sacrifice is creating…
