Today, Thursday, Dec. 1, is World AIDS Day. This year’s theme:

Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.

On World AIDS Day, organizations and world leaders hold events to commemorate and raise awareness around the struggles of people suffering from HIV/AIDS.

Over the last month, world leaders have been speaking publicly in honor of the day, highlighting the need for not just medical interventions in treatment and prevention but education and awareness too. In her speech to the National Institute of Health, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined the U.S.’s goal of “creating an AIDS-free generation.” She said, “Although the past 30 years have been a remarkable journey, we still have a long, hard road ahead of us. But today, thanks both to new knowledge and to new ways of applying it, we have the chance to give countless lives and futures to millions of people who are alive today, but equally, if not profoundly more importantly, to an entire generation yet to be born.”

At Amsha Africa Foundation, education through financial, health and life-skills training is an integral part of our services to our clients. We’re committed to life-skills training and education like this in order to improve all aspects of our clients’ lives.

We’re grateful that you are partnering with us to implement crucial services, including our training programs, which do so much to improve our clients’ quality of life. Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support.

Did you know that you could "Lease" a solar panel system in the U.S. and other parts of the world?  The problem with solar has always been the large upfront cost, but that is changing. In some cases, people can sign up for a system with nothing down, or at least very little down.

These solar leases aren't available everywhere, so you'll have to check with one of the national companies that offers leases.  The best one we found in the U.S. was Solar City.

Depending on where you live, you may be able to get solar installed on your house with little out of pocket.  That changes a lot!  This makes solar affordable for many people that were previously priced out of the market.

AAF is working to promote the idea of solar leases with companies in Africa in an effort to promote green energy consumption. Click below to read more.

AAF built an IBC tote flood-and-drain (or ebb-and-flow) aquaponic system using the super simple constant drain with adjustable flood depth control tube.

At this meet-up that was organized by David Pennington in Dallas, we went over the fine art of sawing a 275 IBC Plastic Tote in half, building the wooden frame supports, drilling holes, hooking up the plumbing, washing the gravel and planting some transplants, and setting up the timer and pump. All of the parts needed for this aquaponic system are readily available from local sources.

This is about the easiest and simplest aquaponic setup you can build, and it only costs about $200 to build one and took roughly no less than 1 hour to finish it. When you compare that with some commercial offerings it's a real deal, and a great way to try out aquaponics as a hobby.

Millions of children caught in food crisis need urgent aid.

More than 10 million people across the Horn of Africa are in dire need of humanitarian assistance due to a deadly combination of drought, escalating food prices and armed conflict.  Hundreds of thousands of children are facing death due to starvation.

Among the most vulnerable to the drought and famine are 2 million children under the age of five in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

Many communities in Africa have had expensive tubewells built for them by governments and international agencies. One reason for making these wells is to better protect the water from contamination by people and animals. But 4 to 5 years after they are drilled, many of these wells can no longer be used because the pumps break, spare parts are no longer available, or the people who can fix them are gone.

This article illustrates inexpensive ways in which communities can access the water that is naturally stored underground in many places.

In raising community awareness, it is important to understand the root causes of problems. Many illnesses related to water security come from poverty and exploitation. Amsha Africa Foundation is taking steps to improve water supply in the rural communities in Africa by working together with community based organizations to assess existing water supplies and develop a plan for community water security.

This article is about water scarcity and what happens when people don’t have enough water to stay healthy.

When people have raised community awareness about the problems they face in meeting their water security needs, they are ready to take the next step. Communities can work together to plan for water security.Planning needs to start with an assessment of current water security. This could take the form of a Water Watch activity. AAF follows these planning methods and encourages all rural communities in Africa to follow these steps to find suitable sources of safe drinking water.

What is a Water Watch?

A Water Watch activity can help a group choose the best sources of safe drinking water. It can also help find sources of contamination now, or possible problems in the future. A Water Watch activity can be a long process that involves the whole community and includes many of the steps in planning a water project, or it can be a shorter process done by a small group responsible for community water safety and supply. The most important thing is to listen closely to the whole community, especially those who collect and treat water every day.

AAF together with Comfort Experts Inc , a company that provides airconditioning, heating and clean air service, have partnered up the Tune Up for a Cause Program.

What is Tune-Ups for a Cause?

Comfort Experts, Inc. / Hobson’s Air Conditioning, Inc. will provide a Tune Up & Safety Inspection that takes 1—1 1/2 hours to perform & 100% of the $39 service cost goes directly to Amsha Africa Foundation!!

This program will be able to raise money for AAF to benefit and better serve our communities! Homeowners benefit from regular maintenance on  their heating and cooling systems. Comfort Experts will benefit from new customers, that will and in turn  potentially become life-long customers. 

To visit our website created by Comfort experts, please click on the following link: http://www.acgenius.com/tuneupsforacause/amshiafrica/