Getting to Know Us - American Foundation for Children with AIDS

The American Foundation for Children with AIDS (AFCA) is a non-profit organization based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. AFCA helps HIV+/AIDS children and their guardians in sub-Saharan Africa who have no other access to aid by providing critical AIDS and related medications, medical equipment and supplies, nutritional supplements, and emergency supplies that are requested by the institutions in its targeted areas. Currently, AFCA is working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

AFCA was founded in March of 2004 by the late Father Harold Bradley and Robert Maynard. These men, along with others, saw a need for children in Africa affected by the AIDS pandemic. In the years since AIDS was discovered, children had simply been forgotten. Adults across the globe started receiving anti-retroviral medicine (ARV's - known in the US as the AIDS cocktail), but there weren't even child dosages available for the youngest victims. These children did not have access to free medication or any way to obtain it and needed those resources provided for them.

Through the efforts of Bradley and Maynard, a board of directors was formed and they hired Executive Director, Tanya Weaver, to start and run the organization. Weaver started working with the AFCA when she was pregnant with her first child. This event in her life had a major impact on her decision to take on the challenge of running AFCA. She knew that if her child were to be born with an incurable disease, she would want to help in any way and would cross the world to get that help, if need be. With this thought in mind, it was impossible for her to turn down the opportunity to help some of the millions of children affected and infected with HIV/AIDS. Weaver comments that one of the greatest rewards of her job is seeing the sick children playing and acting like healthy children after they receive their medications.

One of the biggest struggles for the AFCA is funding. Although AFCA is one of the few organizations actually giving medication for free to HIV+ children, their HIV+ guardians and HIV pregnant women, donations are few and far between in these hard economic times and securing monthly donors is even harder. The best way to get involved is by making a donation, big or small. AFCA also hosts many different fundraising events, like the Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up series of events. Anyone, anywhere can be involved in one or more of these events. It is great because it forces people to go outside and do something healthy for themselves while they are helping children in Africa.

If you would like to get involved with AFCA, make a donation or simply learn more about us, please visit our website.