December 1 is World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day: Stories of Hope

LEARN : 33 million people are currently living with HIV, including 2 million children. Learn about what Food for the Hungry (FH) is doing to reduce vulnerabilities to HIV through prevention, treatment, care, and support by reading a story of hope.

SPEAK : Join Food for the Hungry in speaking to the powerful on behalf of the powerless. Encourage your Congressperson to continue supporting legislation that will fund HIV/AIDS programs.

GIVE : Take action and help make stories of hope possible. Through “Change for Life,” your nickels, dimes, and quarters will bring hope! Lead a “Change for Life” campaign through your church and make a big change in the fight against AIDS!

Stories of Hope: Tumaini Medical Center Gains Life-Saving Equipment

Food for the Hungry’s Tumaini Medical Center in “hard-to-reach” northern Kenya is now equipped with vital life-saving technology for the fight against HIV/AIDS. FH, in partnership with Blood:Water Mission, reopened this previously under-staffed and under-resourced clinic in Marsabit town during summer 2009. In November 2009, the FH staff and community celebrated the arrival of a CD4 machine, which greatly increases the clinic’s capacity to serve those who are living with HIV and other medical ailments. CD4 technology ensures that individuals who are undergoing Anti-Retroviral Therapy receive proper treatment that can exponentially extend life. Previously, community members would have to travel a full day on battered roads to receive this type of medical care. Therefore, many did not access such health services at all. The clinic’s name “Tumaini” means “hope” in Swahili. Through the partnership of many, this clinic is bringing hope to both those who are infected and affected by HIV and other diseases in a severely underserved area of Kenya.