With 71 million people in a vast landscape the size of Western Europe, the Democratic Republic of Congo is a huge country, dominated by almost impenetrable rain forest swamps and huge rivers.  The AIDS problem is serious, made worse by 10 years of civil war, anarchy and severe poverty. Around 5% of the population is infected with HIV and 100,000  a year die from AIDS. The epidemic is still in a relatively early stage with capacity for massive further spread if urgent action is not taken now. Communications are difficult, distances are great, and infrastructure is often lacking.

Yvonne Kavuo leads the ACET Congo team, based in the capital city Kinshasa, and also in Goma to the East.  Goma was hit by a recent volcano which buried hospitals and schools to a depth of three metres. From these two centres, ACET teams work in schools, colleges, churches and Sunday schools in HIV prevention and training as well as caring for orphans, providing HIV testing and so on. In addition Yvonne broadcasts weekly on HIV and AIDS on a national radio station, reaching over 3 million people.

74 educators now work in schools and churches, training leaders and teachers as well as providing life skills education to young people in schools, churches and youth camps. 7000 ‘Straight Talk’ Bulletins are regularly distributed.

ACET Uganda, founded in 1990, is one of the oldest and largest ACET programmes tackling HIV and AIDS.  Its programmes have been at the forefront of HIV prevention work, capacity building, mobilising the churches and training volunteers for the past 22 years. Uganda has seen dramatic falls in the number of new infections, especially among teenage girls, and is often held up as an example of what can be achieved with a continuing concerted effort throughout the country. 

ACET Uganda has been at the centre of this effort and is now frequently called on to offer support and advice to other projects throughout Africa. ACET Uganda is based in Kampala, with teams in Mbale and in Kitgum in the north, working in refugee camps with displaced people since 1993. ACET Uganda was one of the only agencies who remained throughout many years of fighting and instability in the North, close to the Sudan border, often working in dangerous situations. ACET Uganda has been supporting around 4,000 vulnerable children in these camps.

ACET Uganda's expertise has been internationally recognised through commissions by Tearfund and other agencies to support emerging work elsewhere in Africa, through advice and consultancy. 

ACET Zimbabwe, led by Godfrey Mhlanga, works to bring hope to those infected and affected by HIV and AIDs in this country where economic meltdown has made the plight of those on the margins of society so much worse.  At one stage the country was coping with an inflation rate of one billion %, yet ACET continued, while many other agencies closed down.

Through work with families and teenagers and a specially written training resource pack ‘Mana Hoo’ for peer educators, ACET volunteers offer support and guidance for those dealing with HIV and AIDS in and around Bulawayo. They work in schools and youth clubs addressing issues of healthy lifestyles to protect against HIV infection.

Through the Matilda Project, ACET Zimbabwe volunteers support over 2,500 orphans and vulnerable children in remote rural areas around Bulawayo, including a regular breakfast and help with school fees.  Other projects include home based care and encouragement of church congregations to get involved in their communities where many are HIV positive.  The Matilda project is supported via a special partnership with ACET Ireland, with a large number of individuals who give sacrificially to ensure the work continues.

ACET Nigeria, led by Paul Mershak, has developed a major new programme in this most heavily populated country in Africa, where 300,000 people die of AIDS related diseases every year.

Based in Jos, in the Plateau state of Nigeria, ACET provides training and resources for church leaders and organisations, families and peer educators, as well as support for AIDS orphans.Churches are uniquely placed to reach out to their local communities; they are a visible presence, have huge local influence and an army of committed and compassionate volunteers.

ACET Nigeria trainers travel to rural villages and towns throughout the province and beyond.

They equip leaders of churches and organisations to start their own programmes. They encourage local communities to be tested for HIV, to form community care teams and start prevention work in schools.

ACET Nigeria also has a small but growing programme of care and support for individual AIDS orphans. Particularly effective has been the free distribution of thousands of copies of ‘AIDS and You’, in English and the local language, Hausa.

Teams also provide training for families and peer educators in how to deal with people living with HIV and AIDS with whom they come into contact. ACET Nigeria is also involved in voluntary counselling and testing, in Plateau State where it works closely with the local government AIDS Control Programme.

ACET Nigeria, led by Paul Mershak, has developed a major new programme in this most heavily populated country in Africa, where 300,000 people die of AIDS related diseases every year.

ACET Eastern Cape, based around East London, was founded in 2005 and is led by Ray Sangqu.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV and AIDS in the world and ACET Eastern Cape is involved in education and home based care to tackle the pandemic in many of the poorest communities around East London.

ACET Eastern Cape has teams in remote rural areas and townships supporting over 4000 people offering practical and emotional care. At the same time ACET Eastern Cape challenges the widely held stigma and ignorance that often mean that those identified as living with HIV are rejected by their communities, just at the time when they are most in need.

Volunteers from 35 churches, trained by ACET, visit schools and church youth clubs reaching over 87,000 young people, whilst others offer home based counselling and practical care to over 1,300 families infected and affected by AIDS.

In common with all ACET programmes, volunteers collect data on the impact of the work they do and a recent independent review of the ACET programme in South Africa found it to be of outstanding quality.

The success of ACET can be attributed to many factors, not least the leadership provided by the Chief Executive and the dedicated team of staff and volunteers, working in difficult conditions. By working with local churches, ACET has developed responses that are community-led and community-owned.

Visit the ACET South Africa web site here.