Christmas Carols and ropes of colourful twinkling lights operate as signposts. They point to an evening twilight, the reality that another year is drawing to a close. They also signal to us that a new year is dawning. As we look over our shoulders on the year that was, it is not hard to see what our weary bodies know and understand – it has been quite a year. Starting with fires, ending with floods, it was the long middle that changed the course of our lives indelibly.
We learned an entirely new vocabulary. We changed the way we worked, related to each other, and went about our daily lives. For some of us, forced separation from loved ones, grief, loss and economic hardship made the long middle particularly bitter.
AAF and its partner organisations in South Africa have stood firm through the long and uncertain middle, united by the vision to transform individual lives and bring hope amidst a backdrop of untold despair. Looking back over our shoulders at 2020, we marvel at our survival. It is only through the faithful and generous support of our AAF family and friends that we are able to stand at the morning twilight of 2021 with renewed hope, vision and purpose. It is a collective hope, that AAF will continue to transform the lives of orphaned and vulnerable children and youth in rural South African communities where HIV/AIDS has hit the hardest.
their take-home study guides provided by AAF.
- AAF operates in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa; home to 2 million people, and the epicentre of the South African HIV epidemic.
- 1.4 Million people are on ARV treatment, preventing their HIV advancing into AIDS however 600,000 have stopped during lockdown causing an inevitable increase in death.
- HIV+ people are three times more likely to be infected by Covid-19
- AAF has adapted many existing programs to increase access to medication.
As you hear the Christmas Carols and see the twinkling lights this festive season, we ask that you consider making a donation toward the work of AAF. Your donation will empower our team to bring hope and joy to communities still ravaged by COVID, HIV and AIDS. Join with us this Christmas in delivering the gift of hope to the people of the KwaZulu-Natal region.
With warm regards and blessings for the Christmas season,
The AAF Board.