Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

Brought to you by the volunteers of Canada Africa Partnership on AIDS (CAP AIDS), all proceeds from the event will be matched 2:1 by CIDA to support our Safe Livelihoods Program in Africa. More information about CAP AIDS and the Safe Livelihoods Program can be found below.

CAP AIDS is a volunteer-driven Canadian charity that was created in 2003 to support Africans on the front lines in the fight to resist, survive and overcome HIV/AIDS in Africa. We take a "partnership" approach, supporting existing grassroots African NGOs that directly serve the people most affected but have difficulty securing resources from the big development and AIDS funds. We focus our efforts on three areas: 1) helping our partners develop vocational training, micro-finance and small business development services for people living with or affected by HIV (including orphans, grandmothers, etc) so they can earn reliable income through employment or micro-enterprise; 2) supporting the volunteer "community based caregivers" who serve people who are sick with AIDS, care for AIDS orphans, and their community members about HIV prevention (these are the recipients of the bicycles that we provide with proceeds of our "Bike to Cap AIDS" bike-a-thons); 3) support capacity-building initiatives for our grassroots partners so that they can expand their reach and increase their effectiveness.

Our Safe Livelihoods program is related to the first of these three areas. Through the program, we are helping 4 organizations in 2 countries (HAPCSO and Mekdim in Ethiopia, and Lira Neighbourhood Women's Group and Dyere Tek in Uganda) to provide livelihood supports to 200 young people whose parents have died because of AIDS. These youth face terrible vulnerability and pressure when their parents die: first, they must cope with the loss of their parents; second, they often carry responsibility for the care of their younger siblings, usually without any source of income, and; third they must face the stigma and shame that comes with being from an AIDS-affected family. Too often, the only means of survival for these young people is commercial sex work which, of course, puts them at great risk of acquiring HIV as well. The Safe Livelihoods Project is working with 200 such young people to provide them with life skills training, vocational training, finding work or starting a small business (sometimes a co-op run by a group of youth). With the resulting income, they will be able to look after themselves, gain greater dignity, self-respect and confidence, and care for their younger brothers and sisters.

The total budget for this 2 year project is $180,000. CIDA (Canada's public agency for international cooperation) is providing up to $120,000, using a "matching" formula of $2 for every $1 we can raise from the Canadian public. Thus, our challenge is to raise $60,000. So far, we've raised over $15,000 of this and are expecting another $13,000 by Christmas, so the project is well underway.

Any proceeds from Beats to CAP AIDS will go to support this initiative, so that for every $1 raised, CIDA will pitch in another $2, yo.