The PC(USA) home-based care kit program (HBC) began in response to the needs of our African church partners, who saw more and more families in their communities struggling with HIV/AIDS. Presbyterians in the United States sought to help by equipping families to care for loved ones in their homes. The home-based care kit program was created in 2003 to provide basic home care supplies and training of volunteers. The International Health Ministries Office has facilitated U.S. congregations in assembling AIDS home-based care kits for shipment to Malawi.
Across the United States, Presbyterians have participated in this mission opportunity with amazing generosity, making and shipping over 1,000 HBC kits to Malawi. Because each kit contains supplies for ten families, the care it helps provide has touched the lives of many thousands.
Now that care will extend much further. Building on the successful model of the HBC kit project, the Malawian government has recently instituted a national program of providing supply kits for home caregivers. We applaud this action, since it will greatly serve the people of Malawi in a number of ways. First, the kits will be more readily accessible. Second, the kits can be assembled as the need arises. Third, the items can be purchased locally which will help the local economy.
What does this mean for Presbyterians in the United States? It means we can discontinue making the kits in the United States and thus be better stewards of our financial gifts since we will no longer pay costly shipping and port fees for the kits. The home-based care kit program consisted of two parts; the kit and the training of volunteers. Although the government of Malawi has now adopted the kit portion of the program, it has not taken on the training of volunteers to distribute the kits. Presbyterians in the United States can now concentrate on this critical element of the program.
PC(USA) will no longer make and ship the HBC kits. We will continue to fund the training of volunteers to provide for the physical and spiritual needs of individuals and families with AIDS.
Your support of this program has helped provide care to thousands of people. We invite you to continue to support this important ministry with gifts to the AIDS Home-Based Care Program (ECO # 051700).
Thank you for your participation. If you have any questions, please contact Joy Raatz at (502) 569-5415.
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