WHAT IS A3?
A3 (Answering AIDS in Africa) is an exciting ministry to answer the crisis facing people with AIDS in Africa. We're partnering with Mashiah Foundation in Jos, Nigeria to support the work they're doing to address the real medical needs people have, but also their overall spiritual and economic well-being as well. A3 is an opportunity to respond to the biggest humanitarian crisis of our generation.
Sub-Saharan Africa alone is home to about 70% of those infected by the HIV virus around the world. Twenty-five million people there are currently infected with the virus. Poverty makes access to treatment difficult and Africa has 12 million AIDS orphans.
When you realize what’s happening in Africa, you realize you have to respond. Folks who read the Bible, and try to live as Jesus did realize that you have to address the real needs and crises in people’s lives. Jesus did it all the time. And it’s what we’ve been commanded to do—love our neighbors. The famous story of the Good Samaritan is about a man coming to the aid of a foreigner left for dead on the side of the road. That’s our job too!
The answer to how to respond came from a visit made to Nigeria by our Children's Ministry Director, Carol Bell, who was in Nigeria with a delegation from the Minneapolis Area Synod of the ELCA and visited Mashiah Foundation in Jos, Nigeria. The foundation is run by a Lutheran pastor, Mary Beth Oyebade, from the U.S. and her Nigerian husband, Bayo, who is also a pastor. The foundation offers an AIDS clinic, a home for widows and orphans, counseling, education on AIDS prevention, Bible study, and it’s in the midst of constructing a new 25 bed hospital. About 8% of the population in Jos, Nigeria is HIV+. The clinic currently serves about 400 people on a regular basis. We've chosen to make Mashiah Foundation the key to our response effort. A3 begins Sunday, January 28 and will be the focus of all morning worship services.
The opportunities for developing personal connections to the people at Mashiah Foundation in Jos are really exciting. We’re developing opportunities not only to give monetary support, but to collect medical equipment and supplies to be sent there, to welcome their leaders to our church in the coming months, and to send some of our own folks to Nigeria to visit and serve. This is the beginning of a relationship. We want to change people’s lives in Nigeria, but we can expect our lives are going to be changed too.
HOW CAN WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Funds collected for Mashiah Foundation can go to support many of the needs listed below. If you'd like to make a contribution, make the check out to Cambridge Lutheran Church and write "A3" on the memo line. All money will go to Mashiah Foundation.
Staff: (This is in addition to the current medical staff)
People can serve in the following positions or they can send money towards the monthly salary of a Nigerian serving in one of these positions. Salaries would range from about $130 per month to $800 per month depending on the position.
Pharmacist (1)
Pharmacy technician (2)
Lab technician (2)
Doctors (1)
Dentist (1)
Optician (1)
Nurses (2)
Community Health Workers (1)
Counselors (1)
Medical Records (1)
Janitors (1)
Equipment
Exam beds
Blood pressure Sphygs
Stethoscopes
Thermometers (purchcase in Nigeria)
Weighing scale (purchase in Nigeria)
1st Aid Boxes
Examining Screens
Lighting Stands
Desktop computer (4)
Laptop computer (4)
Binocular microscopes (3)
Kidney dishes
x-ray machine
ultrasound machine
incubator for lab investigation
centrifuge
Petri dishes
Sterilizer
Dialysis machine
CAT scan machine
Hematocrit electronic machine
CD4 count machine
Supplies
HIV test strips
Malaria test kits
Reagents
(The clinic currently provides free drugs for opportunistic infections and has a donation to cover that for 2007.)
Short term or long term mission trips
Short term (2 weeks to 2 years)
People who can share from their professional experience and teach or update Mashiah Foundation staff are very welcome. Also people who just want to go and experience ministry in Nigeria are welcome.
Long term (2 years to indefinite)
People who see themselves making a long term investment in the lives of Nigerians are also welcome.
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