Since 2003 St. Columbans has raised over $30,000 to support a training programme to teach HIV/AIDS prevention throughout Kenya. Trainers are taught ways to prevent the spread of the HIV virus including abstinence and use of condoms and how to overcome the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. These trainers then return to their home communities to train others who then educate in a variety of settings.
This is an ongoing mission project for our congregation. Working with Presbyterian World Service and Development through their World Without AIDS campaign, Presbyterians Sharing, and individuals in our community with expertise on the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, we continue to seek effective ways in which to respond. Recent fund raisers have included selling flowers on Mothers Day, hosting Harvest Suppers in the fall, and sponsoring a concert with Dawn Tyler Watson, a popular blues singer. For more information on the situation in Kenya please click here. : TOT Program