Running to end AIDS
Dear friends,
This is my third year participating in a fundraising run for one of my alI-time favorite ministries, Loving South Africa. Here is what motivates me on our early morning training runs:
Running for a Great Cause
Team LSA participates in athletic events in order to raise awareness and funds for Loving South Africa (LSA). LSA is zooming in on the AIDS epicenter of the world and loving accurately the AIDS sufferers in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, through strategic partnerships with 7 grass root ministries (in education/prevention, testing, treatment, evangelism, hospice and orphan care) who are impacting lives in this region.
Help Over There vs. Right Here at Home
It’s true that there are many problems right here at home and that many of us are already at work locally to reach out to our community and country. Together we can make an impact one life at a time, yet it also seems that the work here at home will never be done. I’ve made the personal decision to join others in not waiting to be “done” with my work in local outreach before I also start helping in other places of great need.
Whose Backyard?
The inspiration for me is the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. Jesus made a real statement and expanded the definition of neighbor when He taught us to “go and do the same” as a much-disliked Samaritan man, who went out of his way to help someone who was very much outside of his neighborhood, having come from a different geographical region, ethnicity, religion, race and culture.
Today, I see my "neighbors" in South Africa being buried upright in mass graves due to the extreme rate of AIDS deaths. This epidemic is occurring in their own backyards as well as in those of surrounding African nations, and as a result the truly local backyards can’t offer the help that is desperately needed. In response, I am committed to adopting South Africa as my backyard.
It is difficult to overstate the suffering that AIDS has caused in South Africa.
· Nearly 50% of all deaths in South Africa, and a staggering 71% of deaths among those aged 15 to 49, are caused by AIDS.
· At the end of 2007, there were approximately 5.7 million people living with HIV in South Africa, and almost 1,000 AIDS deaths occurring every day.
· 18% of all South Africans are infected with HIV/AIDS, which is the 4th highest prevalence in the world. The other top 5 countries with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence are all neighbors of South Africa
· 1 in 6 people in the world with HIV/AIDS are South African.
· Only 28% of people in South Africa with advanced HIV/AIDS are receiving anti-retroviral treatment.
Your Neighborhood
By supporting me in my race, you are helping to save lives along with the partners of Loving South Africa. Every bit can contribute to making a huge impact:
* $9 provides a child with anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) for a month
* $15 enables Lily of the Valley, an LSA partner, to provide an HIV/AIDS test
* $20 enables Metro Africa to reach 20 children of the next generation through Sunday school outreach for one week
* $60 funds one Life Skills course to equip community leaders in South Africa, provided by WorldChangesAcademy, an LSA partner
* $81 funds a leadership scholarship for a high school student
* $90 allows Makaphutu Children's Village to care for an orphan for one month
* $100 treats one child with life-saving ARVs for a year
Besides monetary support, prayers for our team and especially for those affected by this disease are just as vital toward making a difference. I greatly appreciate your support and will continue to keep you posted on our team’s progress in the upcoming month!
With love,
Anne