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„Fék“ - the Program „Brakes”One of the greatest problems in Ukraine today is AIDS. By the end of 2001 it was the first European country to surpass 1% of its total population being infected with HIV.In no other country in Europe is the number of newly infected as high as there. According to experts, more Ukrainians in the past year have been infected than in southern Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies Ukraine today as the epicenter of AIDS in Europe. Of the 50 million inhabitants of the country, it is cautiously estimated that about 600.000 people are infected with the virus. A study by the demographic division of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences has calculated that by 2016 there will be between 900.000 and 1.9 million victims of immune deficiency disease in the country. Those most affected are young people between the ages of 16 and 30. Causes for the rapid spread of AIDS are a lack of awareness training and poor medicinal care. Only the wealthy can afford therapy and treatment. Although the area of Transcarpathia is in a better position than the rest of the country when considering the official number of people with AIDS, unofficial data still showed over 10 AIDS-related deaths in 2004. The Reformed Church in Transcarpathia has always been deeply involved with social issues of humanity. The Reformed youth organization KRISZ has therefore now started a new initiative against AIDS, drugs and alcohol.
The prevention program known as „Fiatalok az Élet Küszöbén“ ("Young People on the Threshold of Life"), with the acronym FÉK (which is the Hungarian word for "brakes"), has been taken over by the Hungarian Timóteus Foundation. KRISZ has hired a married couple for this effort, and there is a large number of volunteers working under them. The main thrust is a comprehensive training for the participants using the teaching material, subject literature and videos contained in the program. With this training the volunteers go to various youth groups of the Reformed Church, but also to village clubs, cultural organizations, discotheques and wherever else they are invited. While attending these information and awareness sessions the young people receive an appropriate brochure.
The Transcarpathia Benefit Society would be happy to support this important work financially, since teaching material, information brochures for young people, and salary for the paid staff must all be paid for, and of course so must the travel expenses to the individual sessions. We ask that donations be sent to: account no. 381 20 10 908 You can make a donation online ! |
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