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Akwaaba! Karibu! Boyei Bolamu! Emukela! Cry Africa is the official HIV/AIDS initiative of Assemblies of God World Missions/USA (AGWM) for sub-Saharan Africa. Speaking in reference to the role of the church and religious leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis – Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for HIV/AIDS in Africa – has said… Who else, beyond yourselves, is so well-placed to lead? Who else has such a network of voices at the grass-roots level? Who else has access to all communities once a week, every week, across the continent? Who else officiates at the millions of funerals of those who die from AIDS-related il lnesses, and better understands the consequences for children and families? Who else works on a daily basis with faith-based, community-based organizations? In the midst of this wanton, ravaging pandemic, it is truly like an act of divine intervention that you should be physically present everywhere, all the time. I ask again: Who else, therefore, is so well-placed to lead? Through its team of US missionaries and national partner churches, the Assemblies of God has one of the finest service-delivery networks on the continent of Africa. Empowering and equipping this network of nearly 400 missionaries and over 40,000 local congregations to strategically engage in the fight against HIV and AIDS is Cry Africa’s primary goal. By focusing on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention education this dedicated team of ministry partners is diligently working to prevent the further spread of HIV, and the devastating impact on life, of full-blown AIDS. By offering holistic care and support services, these missionaries and national churches are compassionately responding to the spiritual, social, physical, and economic effects HIV/AIDS is having on individuals, families, and communities across the African continent today. Stephen Lewis said it best…, “…it is truly like an act of divine intervention that you (nearly 400 missionaries and over 40,000 local churches) should be physically present everywhere, all the time. I ask again: Who else, therefore, is so well-paced to lead?” Help us help them engage in the fight… Help us help them lead in the communities where God has rooted them… Help us provide Christ’s peace – and all it entails – to individuals, families, and communities affected by HIV and AIDS in Africa today…
In partnership with Assemblies of God ministries across Africa, Cry Africa is involved in… - Mobilizing and equipping church and community leaders to engage in the fight against HIV/AIDS…
- Conducting HIV/AIDS educational seminars and distributing awareness and prevention literature…
- Providing care and support to persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) and their family members…
- Caring and supporting children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS…
- Working to alleviate poverty and under-development – which both worsens and is worsened by the HIV/AIDS crisis…
Cry Africa assists Assemblies of God field-based ministries by facilitating professional technical and program consulting, the development of collaborative networks and partnerships, and project funding as available. Cry Africa also serves as a resource to the American Assemblies of God church for information regarding the magnitude of the crisis, its multi-dimensional impact throughout the continent, the strategic response of the Assemblies of God World Missions—Africa, and ways in which individual believers and local congregations can play a vital role in this ministry.
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