"It is now clear
that the AIDS
epidemic is still
in its early stages.
And let’s be equally clear: our fight
back is at an even earlier stage."

- Dr Peter Piot,
Executive Director, UNAIDS

IN AFRICA: SAFE is a local faith-based non-governmental organization (NGO), which was registered in Malawi in1993 to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic. At the request of the Malawi Ministry of Education, in 1994 it developed a life skills curriculum, WHY WAIT?, for implementation by teachers in government primary and secondary schools throughout the country. Where the WHY WAIT? Curriculum has been introduced, schools have seen dramatically reduced dropout rates due to pregnancy and/or early marriage.

In other countries, SAFE develops a partnership with a local organization or another organization operating in the country. For example, in Kenya, WHY WAIT? is being implemented through African Inland Churches/African Inland Mission and Kenyan Christian Students Union. In Uganda, WHY WAIT? is being coordinated through Emmanuel International. In Nigeria, we work through New Life for All Ministries. In Lesotho, Reno Schalm is setting up an NGO--Trust for Africa--which will be responsible for WHY WAIT?.

In Malawi, primary and secondary school teachers have been trained in Blantyre Urban and Rural, Zomba Urban and Rural, and Chiradzulu Districts. The program will expand to Mwanza and Neno Districts in the Southern Region, Mchinji District in the Central Region, and Mzimba North and Mzuzu City Education Districts in the Northern Region in 2008. Plans are to have completed the initial training in all districts by 2011. The other program, introduced later, deals specifically with early childhood development, care and education, including care for orphans and vulnerable children.

SAFE’s ECD activities in Zomba include the development of a model rural Early Childhood Development and Education centre at Makungula Village, initiated by the late Chief Tione Mwera with full support of the community.  SAFE has since the inception of this centre, been instrumental in the provision of technical and material support like sourcing funds for construction of the Community Based Childcare Center (CBCC) and training of the caregivers for quality provision of services to children.  Children originating from the Makungula SAFE place for children have consistently performed better in school than those children who did not attend preschool, as well as those who attended other preschools.

The ECD/OVC section of SAFE continues to provide training of ECD Caregivers and has developed a Training Monitoring Tool to help in the training impact assessment.

The CBCCs that we support are: one at Makungula Village in TA Kuntumanji and the other, which has just been formed, at Simeon Village, TA Malemia. Makungula ECD Centre has an enrolment of 80 children and 8 trained caregivers. Simeon Village has an enrolment of 60 and 4 trained and 3 untrained caregivers.

IN THE U.S: SAFE-Africa is a registered non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to supporting the work of SAFE in Africa with funds and other services necessary to achieving its mission.