Trelawny AIDS association emphasises care
Published:Saturday | May 25, 2013 | 12:00 AM
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Trelawny Parish AIDS Association (TPAA) staged its annual general meeting (AGM) last Thursday at the First Assembly Church in Falmouth.
The meeting was the first to be held in two years as the organisation had to forego the 2012 AGM where the 2011-2012 fiscal report was to have been presented.
In her address to the meeting, re-elected president of the organisation, Carla Ledgister, said despite limited funding, the organisation was able to undertake a large number of HIV treatment, care, and support initiatives during the last two fiscal years.
"Among our achievements were the 25 income-generating grants provided for our clients by the Global Fund, assistance with the construction of 18 houses, and assistance to 89 orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in 2011 and 128 in 2012," Ledgister said.
She said the TPAA was also integrally involved in supporting the Country Coordinating Mechanism on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and had contributed to the preparation of a grant proposal which was submitted to the Global Fund on behalf of Jamaica during the reporting period.
Ledgister said the organisation was focusing on its three key areas in order to reduce the spread of HIV in the parish, namely care and support, education, and fund-raising.
ASSISTING CHILDREN
"We are currently assisting 128 OVCs at varying ages in different ways. These children are all going to school and while presently, the sponsors we have do not want to be named nor seek public recognition, we want to say thanks to them as we have received direct sponsorship of over $2,597,309.
"However, we need to continue seeking sponsorship, especially as we start preparing for back to school all over again," Ledgister said.
She added that while the organisation was able to garner funds for targeted projects, it was still faced with challenges with respect to the funding of administrative costs.
"We hope to improve greatly in this area and as such will be launching two fund-raisers in short order," she said.