The FACE AIDS Bay Area Ride is a one day, 50- or 15-mile bike ride through the mid-Peninsula. Participants in the Bay Ride commit to raise at least $125, which is the cost of one year’s worth of anti-retroviral treatment for an individual living with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda.

Funds raised through the Bay Area Ride are used to support FACE AIDS’ and Partners In Health’s work in Rwanda. Both FACE AIDS and Partners In Health work to provide comprehensive health care and socio-economic support to individuals and communities affected by HIV/AIDS.

FACE AIDS and Partners In Health work in Eastern Province, Rwanda. Many young Rwandans are particularly vulnerable in the wake of the HIV/AIDS pandemic: because of the 1994 genocide and the resulting spike in HIV prevalence, an estimated 30% of Rwandan youth have lost one or both of their parents. These orphans and other HIV-affected youth are at a much higher risk than their peers to a host of problems, including inability to attend school, poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, and child labor.

All current FACE AIDS chapter members in Rwanda are living with HIV, have lost at least one parent to HIV/AIDS, and/or are caring for a person living with HIV/AIDS. Approximately one-third (33%) of these youth are living with HIV, a dramatically higher prevalence rate than the national average for young men aged 15 – 24 (0.5%) and young women aged 15 – 24 (1.4%).

Community member details not available yet.

Direct Impact of Your Project

Funds raised will be used to support a range of community health initiatives in Rwanda. As an example of the power of Bay Area Ride participants’ fundraising, $125 is enough to provide an individual living with HIV with a full year of anti-retroviral treatment.

Extended Impact on Your Partner Community

Funds raised for FACE AIDS and Partners In Health will provide services to HIV-affected individuals in Rwanda in addition to:

-Raising awareness about the HIV/AIDS pandemic and global health inequities.
-Broadening the community of individuals committed to global health equity and social justice.