The Salvation Army World Service Office

Description

Fighting HIV/AIDS is a major priority of The Salvation Army (TSA). With a vast network of officers (pastors), staff and volunteers, The Salvation Army lives and works in communities around the world that are severely impacted by HIV/AIDS. TSA currently serves communities in 109 nations (and has been operational in most of the Presidential Initiative countries for well over 60 years). Since 1985, TSA has been at the forefront in helping communities to come together to forge grassroots solutions to combat HIV/AIDS. The Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO), the international arm of The Salvation Army in the USA, has been advocating and implementing innovative and sustainable approaches to HIV/AIDS care and prevention. SAWSO utilizes TSA's effective community counseling approach, supports vulnerable children and orphans, and provides training to community volunteers in microenterprise development so that they support AIDS widows and orphans in their communities, as well as to form their own savings and loan groups. For more than a decade, TSA has used this community-based approach to enable hundreds of communities to reflect and make changes that positively impact on the life of the affected and infected. SAWSO staff members work closely with TSA Regional AIDS Teams on care and prevention, support of vulnerable children and orphans, and mitigating the economic impact of the disease. To this end, SAWSO currently supports HIV/AIDS related programs in Brazil, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, and conducts regional workshops on HIV/AIDS, and microenterprise in Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.