In accordance with the policy of Survivors Fund (SURF) for transparency in our work, we publish here the first quarterly report of AVEGA on the progress of our new Widowed Survivors Empowerment Project (WSEP).

The report makes for great reading, some highlights of which are:
– 1,362 AVEGA members received counselling as a result of the project
– 835 AVEGA members have received education on the importance of HIV testing
– A baseline survey of over 1,000 AVEGA members has been successfully conducted
– 672 home visits have been undertaken of AVEGA members
– 1,019 AVEGA members were help to form into IGA associations
– 1,081 legal cases were documented

All of this work was delivered in just three months, and considering at the start of that period the teams in the Southern Province and Northern Province had only just been formed, it is quite some accomplishment!

It establishes a great foundation upon which to build the work ahead, and we are hopeful that we can extend the reach of AVEGA into more of the Western Province (not covered by WSEP) through a new grant application to the BIG Lottery Fund, a decision on which we will receive next month.

We will be certain then to keep you posted as to how that application progresses, as well as the continuing progress of WSEP.