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Colombia
About ColombiaWhile a government-sponsored, health-care system provides care and medication to AIDS patients, many people still lack basic education about the disease. Colombia has the third highest number of HIV/AIDS cases in Latin America. People displaced by on-going violence in the country are at increased risk of HIV infection.
MCC Supports:Corporation for Social Community Development (CORSOC)Based in Cordoba, the Corporation for Social Community Development (CORSOC) is a church-based organization that works among the poor and the displaced. The poverty and uncertainty that accompanies the on-going armed conflict and displacement within the CORSOC project area have created communities where prostitution and drug addiction are common. In these areas, over half the population is under the age of 25, and no other organization is doing HIV/AIDS work. In 2008, CORSOC held AIDS awareness workshops in 5 high schools with 1575 students participating. In 2009, CORSOC will print pamphlets to share information, and provide HIV/AIDS education to1600 students between the ages of 14 and 20 in 4 schools and support the students as they then educate others in the community. $5 Cdn./$4 U.S. allows one student to attend a workshop about HIV/AIDS. $39 Cdn./$34 U.S. per month allows the students to do educational radio and television broadcasts. If contributions to a project exceed the amount needed, MCC will use the donations to support similar projects. HIV AIDS Education - Center for a Culture of HopeThere are an increasing number of cases of HIV/AIDS in the neighbourhood of Cazucá, but there are no education programs to help prevent new cases. National studies on HIV AIDS have shown that in the last three years, there is sharp increase in cases among youth under 20 years of age. Mencoldes has worked with women and young people in this neighbourhood for approximately 8 years. They currently accompany the Center for a Culture of Hope, organized and run by a group of adolescents, with a project promoting the exercise of sexual and reproductive health rights, with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS prevention, among 400 women and young people in Cazucá. Mencoldes’ history of work in the neighbourhood and their current involvements make them an ideal organization to begin HIV/AIDS education in this context. If contributions to a project exceed the amount needed, MCC will use the donations to support similar projects. |
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