Build a Home for People Living with HIV/AIDS

Dear donors,

Thanks to the generosity of all of you, we have lots of good news. In addition to the money donated through GlobalGiving, Friends of Our Place has raised $5000 with a charity dinner that was held in New York on December 1. A few weeks later, Amici di Deon, the Italian non-profit whose mission is to ensure the growth of centers, raised over 3000 Euro. A good part of this money was donated by children attending Italian public schools who have sponsored the children living at our homes for people living with AIDS in South Africa.

The money collected in New York has already been sent to South Africa, and it has been used to expand the new center of Coffee Bay, Transkei. This center, which was opened with the first donations received through GlobalGiving last spring, is already housing 20 women and children that have been abandoned because of poverty and HIV-AIDS. Part of this money had to be used to rebuild roofs which were blown off by a storm in November. However, we have also begun buiding new huts. Each new hut costs approximately $300 and can provide a home to up to 8 people. Our goal is to provide a home to 80 more people, especially children, because the need for food, shelter, palliative care, and a caring family structure is immense in the area.

The money collected in Italy will be used to support the hospice of Bloemfontein, which is currently providing a home to 40 people who have been abandoned by their families at various stages of the disease. Fifteen of these people are children. Part of the funds raised will help Our Place pay for the mortgage of the building where the hospice is located. The rest of the money wlll be used to buy food for the residents and to make sure our children can attend school. This entails paying for books, compuslory uniforms, and school fees. We need to expand this center too, because in Bloemfontein, just like in Coffee Bay, the need for a home to come to for people who have lost everything because of HIV-AIDS is immense.

Please help us grow with your donations and by spreading the word about the good work we are doing with your support. Thanks again, on behalf of all of us, for having made it possible for all our people to live with dignity, as human beings, within a caring family structure.

Andrea Parmegiani Public Relations Coordinator