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Urgent: Uganda's HIV Safety Net Just Lost Its Biggest Funder
0% complete
$4,689 raised of $20K
35 donations
Culinary student on the grounds of Hope Institute in Wakiso.
Hope Institute students play games in front of classrooms.
Culinary students display their skills.
Fashion & Design students at work on classic Singer sewing machines.
Two of Gideon's daughters in leadership training.
A proud graduate of FOCAGIFO's Hope Institute.
Interfaith dialogue with an American exchange student.
Gideon accepting an honorary degree, with wife Pamela.
Culinary students displaying their baked goods.
An enthusiastic graduation ceremony.
Since 2014, FOCAGIFO USA has raised $10,000–$20,000 a year to support FOCAGIFO Hope Institute, an HIV prevention and vocational training center in Kampala, Uganda, serving children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and other at-risk youth. It has always been steady, modest work.
This year is different. The abrupt cancellation of USAID, PEPFAR, and UNAIDS funding has torn a hole in HIV testing, treatment, and prevention services across Uganda and Sub-Saharan Africa. Hope Institute is now trying to cover gaps that used to be filled by international aid — with far less to work with.
We're in the process of applying for larger grants to respond to this crisis. We're new to that world, and we don't know yet how it will go. What we know for certain is that Hope Institute needs support now, and the U.S. dollar goes a long way there:
- $25 feeds a child for a month
- $200 supports a parent who lost income when USAID-funded work disappeared
- $400 covers a boarding student's costs for a year
- $1,000 prints HIV education and stigma-reduction materials for 30 secondary schools
Every dollar goes straight to Uganda — no overhead, no middleman.
This campaign is run by Anna Heath, FOCAGIFO USA's director and a 40-year HIV survivor, educator, and advocate, alongside her cousin Allston McCrady. (You'll see this listed as based in Mount Pleasant, SC — that's simply Allston's location; the work itself happens entirely in Kampala.) FOCAGIFO USA — short for Friends of Canon Gideon Foundation USA — has been a Tennessee-registered 501(c)(3) since 2014, and every donation here is tax-deductible.
You can also give by Venmo (FOCAGIFO-UG-USA) or by check to FOCAGIFO, P.O. Box 213, Sewanee, TN 37375.
Thank you, from our hearts.
— Anna & Allston
Organizer
