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Make a contribution to ACM
You can make your gifts online using VISA or MasterCard or direct payments from your bank account.
You’ll need your login or to create a login. Once inside enter the amount you want to contribute and on the next screen enter that amount in the box next to the African Children's Mission line and follow the directions to complete your gift.
Click on the button above to give to the 2012
African Children's Mission Have A Heart Campaign
Valentine’s Day.... chocolates, flowers, a romantic dinner for two?
Are you looking for a meaningful gift for your sweetie, and an unusual surprise?
Have a Heart is a way to express your love by making a donation to improve the lives of AIDS orphans in Malawi. The African Children’s Mission at The Redeemer provides transformative gifts for Valentine’s Day that will have long-lasting effects, as shown below:
Box of chocolates = Goats to AIDS orphans ($25)
Dozen roses = Antibiotics and HIV drugs ($50)
Dinner for two = Secondary school tuition for a child ($100)
Theater tickets = Bicycle ambulance ($200)
Night on the town = Medicines to stock a mobile clinic ($500)
Weekend at the shore = tuition, room and board for a nursing student ($1,200)
This year give from your heart! A Have a Heart invitation from African Children’s Mission will be mailed in early February. You can also make your contribution online (please designate it for African Children’s Mission). For more information, contact co-chairs Julie Williams and Margaret Welsh, or make a donation to Church of the Redeemer noting ACM Have a Heart on the memo line. Thank you!
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Travel to Malawi Summer 2012
SEEKING HUMANITARIANS WHO LIKE TO TRAVEL AND MEET PEOPLE
By Prill Bradshaw
Are you a humanitarian who likes to travel and meet people? If you are, I have a proposition for you. The African Children's Mission of The Church of the Redeemer, in partnership with the non-profit Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA), is organizing a trip to Malawi in late July, 2012. My proposition is for you to join the trip and witness the progress occurring in our village of Naluso in Malawi.
To refresh your memory, Naluso is the village the Redeemer has adopted for three years and we are part-way in our second year. It is located in the southern region of Malawi, the poorest area and hardest hit by infectious diseases. In Malawi, 940,000 of the 12 million people live with HIV and well over 500,000 children are orphans.
What an experience to meet the two chiefs of our village. They speak with great appreciation. Chief Naluso said, “Other organizations came with just words but the Church of the Redeemer came with action: supplies, soap, school materials, clothes and blankets.” All of these contribute to children going to school, necessary for the future of the country.
You will meet children who were dead in spirit before our help and who are now lively and happy like William. He wrote a poem to express his appreciation of The Church of the Redeemer and GAIA:
“Before I was walking in rags and not bathing.
I am looking handsome now because of what I have received.
I want to finish school so I can ride a motorcycle like the Coordinators.
Now with the support of The Church of the Redeemer,
I am handsome and educated and proud of myself.”
Please give prayerful thought about going to Malawi this summer. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” There are many parishioners who will be happy to answer your questions and tell you about their trips to Malawi. Stephen Billings has gone on three trips, Prill Bradshaw has gone twice and will return in 2013, Suzie Walsh has gone twice, and Lynn Marsden-Atlass, Jeanne Holeman and George Steele have all gone once. There is a possibility of some subsidy, either with frequent flyer miles (please donate yours before they expire) or straight financial assistance. We recommend that plane tickets to Malawi be purchased by the end of March for summer 2012. Please email prillbrad@aol.com to accept this proposition.
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ACM current events
African Children's Mission was featured in this issue of our
Outreach Missions Newsletter
Volume 2, Issue 6
October 2011
African Children's Mission (ACM) 
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Communications from Malawi - July 2011 ACM Travel Team
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Today we went to Naluso Village which has a population of about 1850. About 300 gathered to greet us and give us a program of speeches of appreciation from students, dances and songs. I'm afraid I was even encouraged to dance with them- not one of my strengths. We presented 10 soccer balls at the end of the program with reams of paper and colored pencils,and frisbees for the school.
Chief Naluso is an older reserved gentleman who was so appreciative AND generous hearted in that he wanted other villages to receive the support that they are receiving.
There are 120 children in the fifth grade room which might be 1/3 the size of our assembly NOT including the Shortridge room. They arrive at 7:00 am, possibly having had some Nsima(Cornmeal), and stay till 2:00. During that time, there is no snack, no lunch and no one brings anything to eat because they don't have anything. About 6 desks and very few books.
By secondary school probably 7th grade their population diminishes to 40 because secondary education must be paid for.
They are a very happy people showing courage and determination against incredible odds.
Besides the soccer balls, the biggest hit were the LETTERS. James the Deputy head of the school would like MORE PICTURES and letters so I will discuss this with Barbara and see if we can get some letters SOON to them - because it will take 3 weeks.
I look forward to telling you more stories about OUR VILLAGE, NALUSO.
Love,
Prill
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Mission Statement
As Christ cared for and uplifted those most powerless, so, too, the Church of the Redeemer strives to care for those suffering from the devastating impact of AIDS in Africa. The committee has sought to:
- Empower our congregation to improve the lives and hopes of these infants and children by supporting established and new programs
- Develop an interactive educational and spiritual relationship between these children and our parish’s children, young people, and adults
- Coordinate activities with other faith-based organizations when our mission coincides with their mission
- Ensure that funds are applied effectively and efficiently to address the pressing needs of these children orphaned by AIDS.
In fulfilling its mission, the African Children’s Mission at Redeemer funds community-based projects organized by local leaders to benefit infants and children orphaned by AIDS in Malawi. We partner with the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) which not only works with us to identify worthy projects but also provides oversight of the funding to ensure that funds are indeed applied effectively and efficiently.
Redeemer’s African Children’s Mission is led by a group of volunteers who meet monthly on Saturday mornings in the Parish House to plan fund raising and educational efforts as well as to plan how funds will be used. We maintain personal contact with our brothers and sisters in Malawi through correspondence and self-funded visits by members of Redeemer and the campus ministry at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges.
For more information about the African Children’s Mission at Redeemer, contact Lynn Marsden-Atlass or any member of the mission.
For more information about Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance, visit www.thegaia.org
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Malawi Trips
Travel teams from The Redeemer have visited Malawi five times.
An ACM travel team last visited Malawi July 10-26, 2009.
Click on the photo for a gallery of pictures from the trip.
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Photos from the 2009 ACM travel team to Malawi
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Children and Youth
The ACM continues to work with the children and youth at the Redeemer to develop empathy and awareness of the plight of Malawian children. Part of instructing Redeemer’s youth and children about a compassionate God is helping them experience compassion for others. The ‘Malawi Box’ containing artifacts brought back from Malawi came with a lesson plan and hands-on activities to help children learn more about life in Malawi.
In the spring, The Redeemer Youth Group participated in an evening of Malawi cooking in the youth cottage - it was an evening of authentic Malawian food and fun which raised awareness of the situation in Malawi. In March the Redeemer Youth Group was given a presentation concerning the economic realities of poverty in the third world.
Redeemer children also created Malawi flags and handprints with greetings to be taken to Malawi with the 2007 travel team.
In February 2006, valentine cards were handmade by youth ages 8-16 for children in Malawi. The cards were mailed to our Global Aids Interfaith Alliance Malawi contact, Sister Gertrude, who distributed the valentine cards to children in select villages.
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Projects
The 2009 Journey to Malawi
This July, George Steele, MD, Priscilla Bradshaw, Suzie Welsh, and Stephen Billings travelled to Malawi to visit several of the projects supported by the African Children’s Mission. These included animal husbandry programs, the care and feeding of infants at orphanages, an intervention program for teens living on the streets, and nurse education and training. The travel team will share photos, experiences, and reflections at an Adult Forum in the Parish House on Wednesday evening, October 21 from 7:15 to 8:30 PM. Supper will precede that presentation, for those who wish to partake.
Nursing Scholarship Program
In this fifth year of the Mission, we continue to learn about the powerfully compelling needs in Malawi and how best to respond. We know that a growing shortage of skilled nurses threatens the basic healthcare available to children orphaned as a result of the AIDS pandemic. In response, we are helping to support 4 nursing students through scholarships that include students’ annual expenses for tuition, room, and board, in addition to uniforms, shoes, stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, watches, and small living stipends. Each new nurse has pledged to remain in Malawi for a minimum 4-year commitment at a government or mission hospital after graduation. The goal is to enable these young people to become leaders in fighting the AIDS pandemic at home.
Have-A-Heart Campaign
Members of the Mission make Valentine’s Day a little more meaningful each year with the “Have-A-Heart” campaign. Thanks to those who responded generously to Cupid’s arrow, the Mission raised more than $8000 to support children in Malawi whose lives have been affected by AIDS.
Medicines Assistance Program (MAP) International
Through contacts at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the Mission has learned about MAP International (through which Wyeth itself donates), a program that helps distribute medicines to the developing world. MAP International researches the medicinal needs of target countries, assembles donated medicines into shipping containers, and provides customs clearance assistance. Travelers to Malawi have personally delivered large boxes of much-needed medical supplies to clinics in Malawi through this program.
Got Goat?
Over the past 4 years, our “Got Goat?” campaign has spread awareness of the Mission while raising money for the purchase of live goats for villagers in Malawi. Goats are extremely valuable as sustainable sources of milk and, of course, more goats. Redeemer youth sold “goats” after Sunday services, while college students sold “goats” on the BrynMawrCollege and HaverfordCollege campuses. All together, we raised over $8,000 – enough to purchase and deliver more than 250 goats and teach new goat owners how to care for them.
Children’s Education
Each year, children have learned about Malawi through age-appropriate lessons. Lessons for the younger children have focused on how our ministry in Malawi strives to serve broad objectives (the Millennium Development Goals). The older groups have been introduced to some role plays based on materials that are used in Malawi to increase awareness about HIV/AIDS.
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Fundraising
“Got Goat” Campaign
Goats for the bargain price of $20 each are sold as Christmas gifts at Redeemer during the Christmas season, and through the auspices of GAIA (Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance) are given (with training) to hungry households in Malawi.
“Have a Heart” Campaign
A Valentine’s Day parish-wide mailing which invites Redeemer parishioners to support the African Children’s Mission with a financial gift.
Christmas Joyful Giving
Through Redeemer’s “Joyful Giving” program, parishioners donate funds to the African Children’s Mission in honor of someone special to them – usually as a Christmas gift that keeps on giving.
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Related Links
http://www.thegaia.org/
The Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) partners with religious organizations in resource-poor countries for community-based HIV prevention and care.
www.africaaction.org
Africa Action is the oldest organization in the U.S. working on African affairs. We are a national organization based in Washington, DC. Our work dates back to 1953, the year our oldest predecessor organization was founded in New York.
www.AidsinAfrica.net
AidsinAfrica.net is an online resource for current information on HIV/AIDS in Africa. This website uses visual models, such as animated maps and diagrams, to make the the statistics behind HIV/AIDS in Africa more engaging and easy to understand. AidsinAfrica.net is also home of the in-progress documentary "5 Heroes of AIDS in Africa."
www.allafrica.com
AllAfrica Global Media is a multi-media content service provider, systems technology developer and the largest electronic distributor of African news and information worldwide. Registered in Mauritius, with offices in Johannesburg, Dakar, Lagos and Washington, D.C., AllAfrica is one of a family of companies that aggregate, produce and distribute news from across Africa to tens of millions of end users.
www.africasangels.org
Africa’s Angels is a privately run website and is not affiliated with any specific organization. Its goals are to provide information about the AIDS epidemic in Africa, the resulting orphan crisis, the many organizations and individuals working to help these children, and details on how anyone can help. It is meant to serve as a resource for those looking to learn more about the situation and also provide a guide for those searching for ways to help Africa’s orphans.
www.afsc.org
The American Friends Service Committee is a practical expression of the faith of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Committed to the principles of nonviolence and justice, it seeks in its work and witness to draw on the transforming power of love, human and divine.
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Join Us
Get Involved
We welcome the thoughts, suggestions, and active participation of anyone who shares our sense of mission and is interested in making a difference in Malawi. You will find many varied opportunities to contribute in ways that are manageable for you. If you would like further information about the Mission, please speak with Lynn Marsden-Atlass or any member of the mission.
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