Cameroon - Fall

Kenya - Spring

Grassroots Alliance for Community Education (GRACE), Nairobi

Kibera Community Self-Help Programme (KICOSHEP), Nairobi

Pandipieri Community Health Programme, Kisumu

Rural Education and Economic Enhancement Programme (REEP), Busia

Rural Education and Economic Enhancement Programme (REEP), Busia

WEM Integrated Health Services (WEMIHS), Thika

Kenya - Fall

Global Strategies for HIV Prevention / ESSIE, Nairobi
ESSIE Development Group provides nutritional programs that reach nearly 200 children. They also raise awareness among community members about the issues facing children affected by HIV/AIDS. This grant will support ESSIE's nutrition, fundraising, AIDS awareness, and care-giving programs.

Mama Darlene’s Children’s Centre, Tala
Located in a poor neighborhood, Mama Darlene’s Children’s Centre provides healthcare, education, and meals to vulnerable children aged 3 to 14 who would not attend school otherwise. Firelight has funded classroom construction and playground equipment, as well as providing orphans with medical and educational needs. In addition, past funding has helped to educate 1,000 community members in Tala about HIV/AIDS. This grant will help the Centre expand its outreach and improve educational facilities for vulnerable children.

Click here to read a moving account of a visit to Mama Darlene’s from a California resident, published in the Palo Alto Weekly in April 2004.

Positive Widows in Kenya (POWIK), Athi River
POWIK, an association of HIV+ women, works to reduce the stigmatization associated with AIDS through advocacy, home-based care, and counseling programs that target women and girls. They will use this grant to provide group counseling to 25 HIV+ women and youth, offer educational support to 100 children, and train caregivers in income-generating activities.

Lesotho - Spring

Hoohlo AIDS Support Group, Maseru

Khanya Support Group, Maseru

Lefikeng Disabled and Social Training Centre, Thaba Bosiu

Lesotho Child Counselling Unit (LCCU), Mazenod

Re Tsepile Morena Support Group, Maseru

Phopholetsa HIV/AIDS Support Group, Maseru

Tšosane Support Group, Maseru

Young Basotho Professionals Forum, Maseru

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Malawi - Spring

Eye of the Child, Blantyre

Matindi Youth Organisation (MATYO), Blantyre

Nkhotakota AIDS Support Organization (NASO), Nkhotakota

The Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC), Namwera

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Rwanda - Spring

Benishyaka Association, Kigali

Centre pour L'Amour des Jeunes (CPAJ), Kigali

Solidarité Femmes 3x3 (SOLF 3X3), Cyangugu

Soutien aux Initiatives de Lutte Contre le SIDA en faveur des Enfants Economiquement et Socialement Defavorises (SIDECO), Kigali Rural

Trust and Care, Kigali

Rwanda - Fall

Association d'appui aux Groupements dans le domain Socio-économique (AGS), Gikongoro
AGS is a volunteer-driven organization that helps over 150 disadvantaged children to succeed in school. Since 2000, AGS has networked with other local service providers in Gikongoro, Western Rwanda, to support people living with AIDS, their children, and their caregivers. This two-year grant will enable them to develop a goat-raising income-generation project for orphans and caregivers, and to extend educational support to 150 students.

Association de Rescapés du Génocide (ASRG-Mpore), Mirenge
ASRG-MPORE assists child-headed households resulting from the 1994 genocide and the AIDS epidemic. With previous support from Firelight, they have engaged 50 adolescent heads of household in pineapple production and goat raising to generate income for these youth and their 75 siblings. This year, ASRG will train these 50 young people in composting, tutor them in basic literacy and numeracy, offer a rotating credit program, enroll children in the national health insurance program, and provide 50 children with education.

Association Pour le Développement Agro-Pastoral (ADAP), Kigali
ADAP was created in 1994 to assist genocide survivors. This grant will help community leaders provide books and pay the salaries of two teachers, who will instruct 60 primary school students, and to purchase materials and cover the salary of a tailor who will train 90 vulnerable youth in sewing and tailoring.

Ejo Nzamera Nte, Umutara Province
Ejo Nzamera Nte ("How shall I be tomorrow?") Association assists youth in expressing their needs and provides them with job opportunities and training, loans, and reproductive health education. This grant will enable Ejo to extend this support to 178 child-headed households in Murambi District, Umutara Province, a district bordering Uganda with one of the country's highest rates of HIV infection.

Ihorere Munyarwanda, Kigali
Ihorere Munyarwanda ("Hope for Rwandese People") is a volunteer group mobilized to help more than 600 people living with AIDS and their children through an integrated community empowerment and advocacy program. In particular, they target women and girls who have turned to the commercial sex industry to meet their basic economic needs. This grant will fund sensitization about the care of children affected by HIV/AIDS, health and educational/vocational training support for 79 children, and micro-credit programs for 100 caregivers.

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South Africa - Spring

Association François-Xavier Bagnoud (AFXB), Houghton

Diketso Eseng Dipuo Community Development Trust (DEDI), Heidedal/Bloemfontein

Mofumahadi Wa Tshepo Care, Rosslyn

Motivation Community Development, Welkom

Rob Smetherham Bereavement Service for Children, Hilton

Rural Women's Movement, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal

Thandukuphila Community Based Organization, Empangeni

South Africa - Fall

Botshabelo Babies' Home, Kyalami, Gauteng
Botshabelo Babies' Home provides care to HIV-positive and abandoned babies through hospice and adoption services, a family reunification program, and income-generating activities. Regrant funds to Botshabelo will help cover administrative costs and salaries, allowing staff to focus on expanding their home-based care program.

Organization Website

Children's Rights Centre (CRC), Durban
With a prior grant, the Child Rights Centre developed Play Rights Packs for children in institutional settings. These Play Rights Packs enable staff within institutional settings such as social welfare offices, police stations and hospitals to engage children in play, enabling staff to help children express their emotions and cope with an unfamiliar, stressful environment. With their regrant, CRC will pilot their Play Rights Program in all nine provinces in order to scale-up the program. This is part of their campaign to launch a national children's rights network.

Organization Website

Click here to read an article highlighting CRC from Radio Netherlands "Early Childhood Development" series, October 2001.

St. Nicholas Children's Hospice, Bloemfontein, Free State
St. Nicholas offers palliative day care and in-patient services, a preschool, bereavement counseling and nutritional support to children with life-threatening illnesses in three underserved communities. Firelight will support their nutrition and bereavement program, which offers support groups and individual therapy for AIDS orphans.

Organization Website

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Tanzania - Spring

Boona Baana Centre for Children's Rights, Dar Es Salaam

Butogwa Women's Health and Development Association (BUWOHEDE), Mwanza

Diocese of Southern Highlands (DSH), Mbeya

Elimu, Michezo na Mazoezi (EMIMA), Dar Es Salaam

Lake Nyanza Environmental and Sanitation Organization (LANESO), Mwanza

Muungano Community Based Organization (MCBO), Etaro Village, Musoma

Tanzania Teens Against AIDS (TTAA), Dar Es Salaam

Tuamoyo Family Children's Centre, St. Alban's Street Children Society (TFCC), Dar Es Salaam

Yatima Kwa Wazazi (YAWA), Kilimanjaro

Tanzania - Fall

AIDS Outreach-Nyakato
AIDS Outreach-Nyakato was founded to continue the activities of an AIDS awareness-raising and home-based care program initiated by a Maryknoll Sister, who handed over leadership of the program to its Tanzanian staff in 2003. They will conduct life skills seminars and leadership training toward HIV prevention for youth, hold two special day-long celebrations for vulnerable children, and provide educational support to 100 children. Click here to read a personal and organizational history by AIDS Outreach's founder, Maryknoll Sister Veronica Schweyn.

Maryknoll Sisters, Musoma
With previous Firelight funding, Youth Alive-Musoma has assisted 125 children with school fees, conducted HIV prevention programs with 600 youth, and supplied home-based care and counseling to AIDS-affected families. Youth Alive will use this grant to continue their child-focused activities and outreach.

Maryknoll Sisters, Mwisenge
The Mwisenge chapter of Youth Alive promotes positive behavior change in youth for the prevention of HIV infection and conducts outreach to rural communities struggling to meet the challenges presented by HIV/AIDS through creative peer education programs and home-based care. This grant will support continued educational support for vulnerable children and, through home visiting and access to its drop-in center, extend psychosocial support to children affected by HIV/AIDS and their guardians.

WAMATA Sengerema, Musoma
WAMATA Sengerema is a volunteer-driven national AIDS service organization that assists vulnerable children and HIV/AIDS-affected families through a variety of programs. Firelight's support will contribute to WAMATA Sengerema's programs for educational, financial, and nutritional support to vulnerable children and their families in a rural locality bordering Lake Victoria, where the HIV infection rate approaches one-quarter of all adults.

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Uganda - Spring

Action for Children (AFC), Kampala

Centre for Environment Technology and Rural Development (CETRUD), Kasese

Centre for Environment Technology and Rural Development (CETRUD), Kasese

Uganda - Fall

Friends of Christ Revival (Foc-Rev), Busia
Foc-Rev was formed to care for orphans and people living with HIV/AIDS in Busia District. Since their founding in 1999, the Friends have grown to almost 700 members. With previous Firelight funding, FOC-REV has provided schools fees, materials, and books to nearly 200 children. They also conducted life skills training for youth. This regrant will continue educational support while expanding health, nutritional and vocational programming.

Kyetume Community Based Health Care Programme, Mukono
The Kyetume Community Based Health Care Programme facilitates the psychological and social adjustment of people living with HIV/AIDS while preventing STD transmission among youth. This regrant will extend and replicate their low-cost organic farm project to target child-headed households. The project will also include life skills and child rights education.

St. Francis Health Care Services, Jinja
St. Francis offers a compassionate and comprehensive response to the local HIV/AIDS epidemic. Firelight's first grant funded income-generating projects for 100 caregivers, fed 700 children, and supported a community medical and counseling team. St. Francis also registered over 1,100 children in school and mentoring programs. Building on the experience of their first grant providing income-generating activities to caregivers and mentorship opportunities for children, St. Francis Health Care Services will use the regrant funds to provide livelihoods and medical supplies to orphans and families living with HIV/AIDS.

Click here to read an article entitled "AIDS: How Uganda is leading the way in Africa" that describes the impact of HIV/AIDS in Uganda and highlights the dedication of St. Francis' staff and volunteers.

Student's Self-Helper Initiative (SSHINE), Jinja
SSHINE encourages positive behavior change for HIV prevention among youth. Past Firelight funding has facilitated SSHINE's HIV/AIDS sensitization and communication workshops. This grant will help scale up their activities to new audiences through life skills and values training for caregivers, out-of-school youth, and student leaders.

Youth Alive Club, Apac
Youth Alive Apac supports positive and healthy lifestyles among young people. Previous Firelight assistance has helped Youth Alive conduct Education for Life Anti-AIDS workshops to 500 youth. They reached 800 youth through community-based video shows, and trained 180 peer educators. This regrant will help them reach more rural youth and scale up their educational programming.

Click here to read the stories of six children and adults whose lives have been changed by Youth Alive and other groups in Uganda; from the SCIAF website.

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United States - Spring

Hesperian Foundation, Berkeley

Keep A Child Alive, New York

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Zambia - Spring

Bwafwano Community Home-Based Care Organization (BHBCHCP), Lusaka

Bwafwano Community Home-Based Care Organization (BHBCHCP), Lusaka

Care for Children in Need (CAFCHIN), Lundazi

Chikanta Community Schools Development Project (CCSDP), Choma

Children of the Most High, Choma

Community for Human Development, Lusaka

Luapula Foundation, Manza

New Horizon Orphanage, Lusaka

Ray of Hope for Orphans, Livingstone

Reformed Open Community Schools - Lundazi (ROCS-Lundazi), Lundazi

Senanga Orphan Day Centre, Senanga

The Law and Development Association (LADA), Monze

Youth Activists Organization (YAO), Lusaka

Zambia - Fall

Children in Distress - Kitwe (CINDI), Kitwe
CINDI is a nationwide network established in 1989 to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on children. With continued funding from Firelight, CINDI-Kitwe will empower 120 youth with reproductive health and HIV/AIDS awareness, train 600 behavior change agents, provide a weekly volunteer mobile clinic, and train 600 youth in micro-enterprise.

Organization Website

DAPP Children's Town, Lusaka
DAPP's community-outreach programs advocate for orphans' rights by strengthening the capacity of their guardians to provide adequate care. Previoiusly, Firelight funded the building of a community school and the launching of orphan community outreach programs, both volunteer efforts. This regrant will provide materials for the community school and expand orphan outreach and food services.

Organization Website

Click here to read an article about DAPP's model programs from the African News Bulletin, June 2000.

Kaoma Cheshire Care Home, Kaoma
Kaoma Cheshire Care Home provides hospice support and famine relief for HIV positive. With Firelight funding, the home offers the only local free schooling for vulnerable children. This grant will cover school uniforms for 49 children and cover food and health care needs of infants at their home.

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Zimbabwe - Spring

Child Protection Society (CPS), Harare

Family Support Trust (FST), Harare

Gwai Grandmother's Group, Mberengwa

Hope for a Child in Christ (HOCIC), Bulawayo

J.F. Kapnek Charitable Trust, Harare

Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI), Bulawayo

Youth For A Child in Christ (YOCIC), Bulawayo

Youth For A Child in Christ (YOCIC), Bulawayo

Zimbabwe - Fall

The Centre, Harare
The Centre promotes positive living for HIV+ people through nutrition, survival skills, counseling, and advocacy. With this grant, The Centre will develop its youth-focused psychosocial support program, to include skills training, newsletters, recreational activities, and peer education opportunities aimed at supporting young people living with HIV and providing the tools and knowledge to prevent new HIV infections.

Organization Website

FHSSA/Island Hospice, Harare
Founded in 1979, Island Hospice was the first hospice established in Africa. With Firelight funding, Island initiated a community-based Children's Bereavement Support project to increase the quality of emotional care for bereaved and ill children and their caregivers in high-density suburbs surrounding Harare. This grant will fund refresher courses for bereavement support group facilitators, and the training of youth in home-based care of families living with HIV/AIDS.

Institute of Cultural Affairs - Zimbabwe (ICA-Z), Harare
ICA-Z focuses on local HIV/AIDS prevention education and awareness-raising, micro-credit finance, and community capacity building. This grant will support ICA-Z's community sensitization workshops on children's issues, to foster community involvement in meeting the needs of very young children affected by HIV/AIDS.

Mother of Peace Community, Mutoko
Mother of Peace Community, a residential care facility for abandoned and neglected infants and children, has initiated community-based income-generating projects in an effort to enhance the community's capacity to care for children affected by HIV/AIDS. With this grant, they will work with the community to establish a grinding mill, the profit from which will help to address the needs of children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS within the community surrounding Mother of Peace.

Organization Website

Salvation Army Masiye Camp, Bulawayo
Masiye Camp offers life skills training to youth heads of households using experiential learning, recreational activities, and small group discussion. With this grant, Masiye Camp will strengthen community capacity to care for HIV-positive children aged birth to five years old by training and supporting local networks of caregivers to offer palliative care and psychosocial support to them.

Organization Website

Zimbabwe Synod, UCCSA-Bongani Orphan Care Programme, Bulawayo
Bongani Orphan Care Programme has already trained more that 940 orphan care volunteers and has directly assisted children affected by HIV/AIDS with important services, including the legal support needed to make property claims. This grant will educate volunteers in AIDS and reproductive health, provide children with recreational opportunities, and support job skills training for orphans.

Click here to read a description of Bongani's programs, successes and challenges from the Global Ministries website.

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