CAPACITY BUILDING

Our charity is based in Deptford  where we offer free HIV advocasy, outreach and  counselling services to the wider community  across the borough of Lewisham. Our organisation has delivered several programmes and actiivities to raise awareness of HIV in Lewisham saving several people from aquiring the HIV infection therefore reducing the spread of the epidemic in the borough. Lewisham is one of the Boroughs in the UK with the highest HIV prevallence. It is the 8th Borough with the highest HIV infection in London (8.2 in 1.000 residents). Our charity has been organising events in churches through our Take Action Now and UTEST4LIFE  projects. These projects enable us to organise confrences and open HIV testing centres in Churches within the Black African Community to enable members to test for HIV as early testing is paramount to the health and wellbeing of those who are infected with the virus. When a person is tested and he or she know their staus earlier than latter they can receive treatment and support.  Actionplus has recently completed a pilot programme which has trained young people in the borough of Lewisham as HIV peer educators and ambassadors who are creating awareness of HIV to young people in churches and the community. They do this through the social media, radio presentations, musical shows, drama, poetry recitals and one on one engagements.  Lack of funding to our activities after the pilot project which was completed in December 2016 have had it's toll on our engagement with the community. We are anticipating to use this platform to raise £12,000.00 to jump start our programmes and actiivities in Lewisham. This fund when raised will enable us to rent an office in Deptford where we will recruit and train volunteers to manage our counselling and outreach programmes in the community because we are very much aware that when we don't talk about HIV, people become complacent and this gives room to the rise of the HIV infection.  Thank you for pledging to this worthy cause.