In Zambia, one in six children has lost his or her parents to HIV/AIDS. Although there are no tuition fees at public schools, students still have to pay for uniforms, school bags, and notebooks. AAR JAPAN is supporting the schooling of these children.
AAR JAPAN is also supporting income-generating activities such as raising poultry and milling maize (a staple food in Zambia, a kind of corn). This effort was begun by groups of guardians who have adopted orphans to bring up, with the aim of creating a fund to finance the children’s schooling in the future. |
Zambia
For people infected with HIV, proper treatment can still minimize the potential for developing AIDS. In Chilanga, a suburb of Lusaka, AAR JAPAN has constructed a voluntary counseling and testing center (VCT center) that provides locals with medical checks and counseling. We plan to build a second VCT center in another district as well.
Education is essential for preventing HIV infection. With this in mind, AAR JAPAN is supporting the HIV/AIDS Initiative, which was formed by high school students to promote people’s understanding of HIV/AIDS. Through home visits and awareness-raising activities, the group’s members are educating people in the community about condom use and basic knowledge of HIV.
AAR JAPAN is supporting the efforts of self-help groups in which HIV-positive people share their problems and concerns. AAR JAPAN staff and local volunteers also visit the homes of HIV-positive people and patients to educate them about medicine, meals, and lifestyle choices appropriate to their conditions, also responding to the patients’ concerns.