Peer Education Programme Against AIDS (PEPAIDS)

Mission

PEPAIDS' mission is to contribute to the reduction of poverty and HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and to raise awareness, both within the affected communities and internationally, of the issues surrounding poverty and HIV/AIDS. PEPAIDS has a special focus on using education as a tool for empowerment. PEPAIDS' work is predominantly in Zambia at present.

Programs

PEPAIDS partners with a Zambian NGO, SAPEP, to deliver projects in Zambia. Current Programmes: Schools of Good Hope: A project that aims to improve the quality of education available to some of Zambia's poorest and most marginalised children, attending Zambian community schools. We provide training for the untrained volunteer teachers who run the community schools and improve their resources by linking the Zambian Schools with schools in the UK who fundraise for them. The link also enables cross-cultural learning for all pupils and teachers involved in the programme. OVC Camps: 3-day camps for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs), in Zambia, to give them much-needed respite from the daily challenges they face. Examples include, children who have suffered sexual abuse, those who are part of child or grandmother headed families, pregnant teenagers, children who have been forced into early marriages and those who are forced to work rather than being allowed to attend school. The objectives of the camps are to equip these OVCs with life skills that enhance their ability to cope in daily life and ensure that they are aware of their rights. By empowering them with the ability to find solutions for themselves and promoting skills for more effective communication with parents, elders and children who may bully them, these OVCs are given the tools to be able to make their own situation better. Importantly, the camps are an opportunity for them to have a break, experience a different environment, and to relax and feel freedom. Engage: A range of volunteering opportunities that enables volunteers from all over the world to use their skills and experience to contribute to PEPAIDS' work in a meaningful way. This could either be remotely, from their home country, or by undertaking a placement in Zambia with our partner NGO, SAPEP. The aim of Engage is to capacity-build PEPAIDS and SAPEP, to improve the quality of our outreach for the benefit of people in Zambia. Water For Communities A project to assist rural Zambian communities to dig boreholes, so that they can access water for their crops all year round and generate an income. The ultimate aim of the project is to facilitate communities to become self-sufficient and independent of the need for outside help.

Current Projects on GlobalGiving

New hope for Zambia's poorest school children!

Personnel Overview

Helen Allen - PEPAIDS founder and CEO
Helen was born in Zambia in 1978, but left when she was a baby to live in the UK. After a lifelong urge to return to her birthplace, Helen finally went back in 2001 and shadowed a local organisation to try and understand why AIDS in Africa was so bad. She was so inspired by what she saw that she came home determined to help and started the UK charity PEPAIDS. The rest is history!

Vincent Heselwood - Schools of Good Hope Co-ordinator
Vincent is a qualified teacher who accompanied his partner, Sasha, when she went to work for PEPAIDS in Zambia for a year. He co-ordinated PEPAIDS' Schools of Good Hope Project and discovered a huge need in the Zambian education system for community school teachers to be trained and resources in these poorest schools to be improved. He has written and will deliver the teacher training syllabus.

Sasha Kasturiarachchi - Engage Project Manager
Sasha won the Vodafone World of Difference International competition 2010 and went to work for PEPAIDS in Zambia for a year. Sasha has played a huge role in establishing the UK-Zambian schools linking part of the Schools of Good Hope Project, and has rallied hundreds of UK pupils to fundraise for their partner schools in Zambia. She helps the schools communicate through letters and youtube videos

Personnel Statistics

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Founded in 2001
Employees: 0
Volunteers: 0