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 | Standard Bank pledges its support to the fight against Aids |  |  |
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25 August 2003
Standard Bank today donated R20 000 to help train primary health care workers in the Free State province in the fight against HIV/Aids.
At a ceremony held in Bloemfontein, Standard Bank Foundation handed over a cheque to Lebone House Care Centre and pledged their support in the battle against the pandemic.
Lebone House Care Centre is a non-governmental organisation that houses 46 children infected or orphaned by Aids, provides home-based care to 33 families and counselling to 1604 people from Bloemfontein, Ficksburg and Botshabelo. The centre also provides food, clothes and support to a further 1925 people infected or affected by HIV/Aids.
The money donated by the bank will provide training to counsellors and primary health care workers. Lebone House relies on a network of trained volunteers who provide assistance to families affected by HIV/Aids. The training will focus on home-based care and counselling of HIV positive individuals and their families.
Says Theo Potgieter, Free State Provincial Director, "The HIV/Aids pandemic is one of the most challenging issues facing everyone of us, and Standard Bank recognises the threat it poses to society. Children are the most vulnerable members of our society. They need our love to grow up with a sense of belonging. We need to make them feel part of our society, not outcasts. Standard Bank believes that children are the future of our nation and we need to afford them opportunities to grow up into responsible citizens.
"We need to equip caregivers and primary health care workers with skills to provide adequate support to people infected or affected by HIV/Aids. If our contribution is able to change the lives of a few people living with the harsh realities of HIV/Aids, we will have achieved our goal of helping make our country a better place for all."
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