"... investment at community level has had a huge impact. Over the last five years, in project after project, we saw lives and hope restored.

We began to think to ourselves that if only we had greater resources to invest, we could help to subdue the pandemic at community level; we could take the lessons we've learned and apply them across the board. This is not meant to be grandiose: it's simply meant to recognize that with enough money, we're on the precipice of creating major change right across the continent [Africa]."
... Stephen Lewis on the Turning the Tide Campaign. Read Stephen Lewis' full message about the Turning the Tide Campaign.

 

Stephen Lewis Foundation ... Turning the Tide of AIDS in Africa

The Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) supports community-based organizations that are turning the tide of HIV/AIDS in Africa by providing care to women who are ill , assisting orphans and other AIDS-affected children, and supporting the heroic grandmothers who care for their orphan grandchildren. Since 2003, the SLF has funded over 300 projects in 15 countries.

With its Turning the Tide Campaign, the SLF wants to scale up the innovative community-based response to HIV/AIDS in Africa and fund hundreds more worthy projects in fifteen countries hardest hit by the pandemic. These grassroots organizations are a lifeline for millions of people — they provide health care, counselling, school fees, food packages and skills training, and encourage women, children and people living with the virus to become leaders in their communities.

The goal of the SLF's Turning the Tide Campaign is to raise $100 million in five years to turn the tide of AIDS in Africa ... and Fullstop wants to help them.

The SLF has identified the five areas where your support will have the greatest impact:

• Children Affected by AIDS
  Nearly 12 million children have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa — that's almost double the number of all of the children living in Canada today! In the next five years, the SLF wants to reach one million children in Africa, strengthening their networks of support so that they can become leaders.
• Grandmothers
  Grandmothers are caring for 40-60% of children who have lost a parent to AIDS. The SLF wants to reach tens of thousands more grandmothers, giving them the tools they need to nurture and provide for their grandchildren.
• Home-Based Health Care
  Nearly two-thirds of people living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa, and yet the region has only 3% of the world’s health workers. To cope with the shortage of millions of doctors and nurses, thousands of home-based care workers have stepped in to fill the gap. The SLF wants to provide stipends, training and other resources so that these caregivers can continue their critical work.
• Positive Living
  Thanks to the persistent efforts of AIDS activists and community leaders, one-third of people who need treatment in Africa can now access it, and more are receiving antiretroviral drugs each day. The SLF works to sustain and amplify the voices of people living with HIV and AIDS until they can bring about an end to the pandemic as we know it.
• Sexual Violence and AIDS
  In several African countries, the risk of contracting HIV is up to three times higher for women who have experienced sexual violence. The SLF supports grassroots efforts to help thousands of women to overcome the trauma of rape and fund projects that make it possible for girls to live lives free of violence.

In the SLF's first five years they spent less than 10% on administration. The SLF is based in Toronto, ON and is a registered charity. For more information, visit www.stephenlewisfoundation.org.

Donate to the Stephen Lewis Foundation and help Tuirn the Tide!