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 Seeds
were planted for the SARAH Network in 2003 when Margaret Oketch attended
the International Substance Abuse and Addiction School in Egypt (www.isaacinternational.com)
and had the vision for a Substance Abuse And HIV/AIDS prevention project
in her home country of Kenya. She discussed her vision with a team from
GOAL Project when they came for an addiction training in Western Kenya
in 2004.
 Margaret
Oketch invited and selected fifty-two Kenyan leaders for a “Leaders in
Action” two week workshop at the Brackenhurst Conference Center in Limuru in April, 2005. God called together a diverse mission training
team of seven US specialists in addiction recovery, treatment, and
HIV/AIDS prevention. These trainers were supported and commissioned by
St. Barnabas Church, South Brunswick, New Jersey. During the second week of the
training the delegates gathered in regions, prepared, and presented
Action Plans. Ten regional supervisors were selected to meet quarterly
to report on the progress of these action plans. Action projects range
from forming 12-step support groups, designing a Prevention curriculum,
developing a prison recovery program for incarcerated addicts, and
palliative care for HIV+ widows and sex workers. The Limuru training
event was the birth of the S.A.R.A.H. (Substance Abuse Recovery And
HIV/AIDS) Network.
In the spring of 2006, the Anglican Relief and Development Fund (ARDF)
awarded SARAH a grant to train clergy and begin the preparation of a
Kenyan Prevention curriculum. Fifth Ave Presbyterian Church provided
small grants to help sustain SARAH. On December 1, 2006, the US PEPFAR
President Bush New Partner’s Initiative selected a GOAL Project proposal
for supporting the SARAH Network to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS. The
award goes to GOAL Project for three years to build on the work that
GOAL/SARAH has begun, supporting SARAH’s training of clergy, prison
officials, and school heads. The grant will help build capacity and
sustainability of the SARAH Network NGO and nine grassroots projects:
these. SARAH
seeks funding to feed the many AIDS orphans under the care of the
leaders of the grassroots projects not now covered under the USAID grant
monies. GOAL continues to provide overall oversight to SARAH, assisting
with fund raising, support, educational materials and leadership
training. . The Rev. Wycliffe Balongo is the chairman of the SARAH Board
of Directors.
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