HOTLINE - week of March 31, 2008

As World Health Day approaches (April 7), Church World Service is helping many communities around the world to address health issues.

For example, people in ten remote villages in Bosansko Grahovo Municipality, in Bosnia, are receiving health care through a mobile health unit put together with the help of Church World Service and partner the Grahovo Women’s Association. The unit assists the most vulnerable out of a total population of about 3,000 people in the villages--those who are sick, elderly, disabled, or have chronic illnesses and have no health insurance.

The mobile health unit consists of a doctor, nurse, and at least ten health trainees. The trainees from the ten villages are participating in a five-month course in preparation for their duties. The mobile health unit provides regular home visits to patients along with medical assistance.

Bosansko Grahovo suffered massive destruction during the Balkans war, and despite considerable reconstruction, most villages lack electricity, running water, or access to health services. Employment is virtually non-existent, especially for new returnees.

Grahovo Women's Association, with 400 members-- returnees, displaced, and refugee women-- has worked with Church World Service for more than five years to help improve living conditions and economic independence, particularly for women.

Families in Afghanistan have suffered through one of the harshest winters in close to 30 years. Some families have had to resort to eating their seed stocks. Much of the livestock has died and a lot of the remaining livestock is ill and too weak to feed its young. Farmers in some districts can’t prepare their land because it remains snow covered.

And as temperatures rise, and mountain snows melt, 23 provinces are expected to be at risk for flooding.

Church World Service is closely monitoring the food security situation and is planning a food security project in the southern and central part of Afghanistan, using imported food commodities. (While purchasing food locally is often preferred, in this case it could drive up prices and create an even harsher environment for the local people.)

Some 570 young people, ages 12 to 25 in in 114 households in Siaya district, who have become the caregivers for their HIV-positive parents, grandparents, or younger siblings are taking part in the Church World Service-supported Giving Hope program for Orphans and Vulnerable Children.

The project is located in Karapul sub-location of Siaya district, Nyanza Province of Kenya, which has a population of some 9,275 people, most of whom have been adversely affected or infected with HIV/AIDS.

The goal of the Giving Hope program is to restore family relationships and help create social structures that will enable the children to improve their lives, including going to school. The young people are learning about HIV/AIDS prevention and care, and are receiving support so they can nurture their talents.

The program is helping to build the capacity of the 114 households to increase their food security by growing small kitchen gardens. Vocational training is also being stressed, along with psycho-social support and access to advocacy networks.

The program also helps to reinforce the capacity of church and related organizations in their efforts to empower children affected by HIV/AIDS.

In addition to Siaya district, Kenya, the CWS Giving Hope program is nurturing the empowerment of HIV/AIDS-affected orphans and vulnerable children in other communities in Kenya, and in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The program is also expanding to Mozambique.

Your prayers and support - and your participation in CROP WALKS and the TOOLS & BLANKETS Program - make possible these and other life sustaining programs. For information on how to get involved, please call your Church World Service/CROP Regional Office toll-free at 1-888-CWS-CROP, that's 1-888-297-2767.

For information about free loan videos, please call 1-800-297-1516, ext. 338, or e-mail us at: videos@churchworldservice.org.

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