Positive peer pressure…

Powerhouse coaches doing a role-play from the Bible

I spent Friday at a grant proposal workshop put on by an organization called the Botswana National HIV/AIDS Prevention Support Project.
We will write a grant proposal to get funding to expand our Powerhouse Sports Program. Powerhouse is a discipleship and HIV/AIDS prevention program for youth and children. We use sports to bring the children out to play so that we can share the Gospel and teach them moral lessons from the Word of God. Currently we reach about 300 children – we want to reach 2000! We believe children are the key to turning this pandemic around, and it starts with teaching them how to rise above the activities that are spurring this disease on, and how to make good decisions for their lives.

I found out that this organization has $50 million to finance innovative HIV/AIDS related prevention programs. They have been giving money to fund different projects for the last few years – but the HIV infection rates have not gone down. The Botswana government’s goal is to have no new
infections by 2016 – a lot of government resources have been thrown at this
epidemic for several years but they don’t seem to be working. Steve is on a
committee out in the village of Tobane that was formed because the government is now looking to the churches in the country for help… and that is where help is going to come from – our Almighty God!

Pray with us as we put this proposal together. Powerhouse Sports has been so effective, even with the meager resources that we have to put towards it. Pray that we will get funding so we can reach thousands of children with the Word of God. So the children can learn that they don’t have to settle for the fear of dying at a young age like so many, in many cases their parents, have. We want them to be the cause of positive peer pressure in their schools and neighborhoods. These kids can stop this devastating disease and turn the country of Botswana toward God!