May God bless the giving hands



Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Isaiah 50:8

In the 1980s in Uganda, more than 18% of the population was infected with the HIV/AIDs virus. Today, that percentage is less than 7%, but still higher than in most other countries in Africa.

In eastern Uganda, the AIDS Education Group for Youth (AEGY), an MCC partner, educates students and families about HIV/AIDS and provides treatment and support for people living with HIV/AIDS.

In Kamuli, fishermen are especially vulnerable – fishermen say AIDs will kill you slowly but the currents in the ocean can kill you much more quickly. HIV still carries a stigma. Most men are reluctant to participate in testing.

“When I got sick,” one woman tells us, “I lost all hope and I thought I would die, but now I am stronger thanks to AEGY, and with the training I received, I will be able to live longer.”

AEGY combats the stigma of AIDS with a popular weekly radio show. It provides HIV testing and counseling from mobile clinics. Staff members run support groups and peer education in high schools. Each year, more than 100 children whose parents have died or whose parents are HIV positive receive a primary school education and an additional 60 students participate in apprenticeship programs.

“Come brothers, come sisters,” repeat the AEGY educators over and over in the communities they serve. They point to the way HIV can affect the whole family and they remind people that the testing is free.

Emmanuel Welukhagna, a bricklayer, tells me AEGY has transformed his life and given him a future. “By ourselves we fall down, but together we can stand up,” he tells us.

MCC has been a consistent supporter of AEGY’s ministry for a number of years, and that support has had an impact. “May God bless your giving hands,” a community group sings for us.

It is difficult not to feel blessed when we see how attitudes and lives in these communities can be changed for the better. Together, community groups and partner organizations, we can stand up and fight this adversary.

Ron Byler is executive director for MCC U.S.



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