Two from African AIDS ministry to speak in Cypress

International Director Jos Holtzhausen will speak during a stop in Cypress on the Ride For Hope from Orange County, Calif., to Daytona Beach, Fla.

Cyclists on a cross-country benefit ride for Christ's Hope International will join two speakers from the organization during a June 18 stop in Cypress.

International Director Jos Holtzhausen and Tanzania Director Assed Josephat will both speak as participants in the Ride For Hope and make a stop on their journey from Orange County, Calif., to Daytona Beach, Fla. The ride benefits Christ's Hope's efforts to minister to children and families devastated by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

"Jos will give a history and just an overall look at the AIDS situation," says David Kase, director of Christ's Hope's America wing. "Roughly 3,800 men, women and children die of AIDS every day, and about 5,000 cases of HIV infection happen every day.... the orphan population is estimated to be around 30 million in sub-Saharan Africa, and almost half of that because of AIDS."

Kase says Josephat will draw on his experiences working with families and street children in Mwanza, a Tanzanian town on the shore of Lake Victoria. His efforts have included establishing group homes and foster care for children whose parents have died of AIDS. "Most of them are excelling at school," Kase says.

The event is free and open to the public, and is scheduled to take place June 18 at Bridgeland's Festival Park, 16919 N. Bridgelands Lake Pakway, at 6 p.m.