Mr. Felly Katalay, a full-time telecommunications employee and family man, founded African Salvation Group Corp (ASG) in 2002. ASG, a non-profit organization, serves to promote health education, disease prevention, and outreach for African immigrant communities to address health issues, such as HIV/AIDS, STI, TB, and Malaria.
ASG’s grass-roots activities are international. They serve the African immigrant community in New York City, as well as communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the homeland of many of ASG’s New York constituency. In New York City, ASG has educated over 2000 people about HIV/STD/TB prevention. Through its referral network, ASG provides clients with access to HIV counseling, testing, and condom distribution for safe sex. Additionally, ASG outreach helps recent immigrants, asylum seekers, and low-income legal-resident immigrants access health services, social services, employment opportunities, education, and English proficiency classes.
In Africa, ASG has educated scores of at-risk individuals about HIV and HIV prevention through individual or small group-level interventions. Collaborating with testing centers, ASG workshops help clients through the HIV testing process, while promoting HIV awareness and safe-sex practices. Those who do test positive (currently about 80% of the women) are directed to treatment support services. ASG’s Community Capacity-Building and IEC project has sponsored the education of more than 25 primary school students. In September 2003, ASG ensured that 1056 students of the primary school EP 4 Bambous in Masina/Kinshasa received basic school supplies. The organization’s Food and Nutrition project has provided more than 3 tons of food to families affected by HIV/AIDS.
Mr. Katalay personally invests his monies and time in ASG to help others, whether new immigrants to America or communities in his native land, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He often notes, "I am very often touched by the disparity of way of life I find in two places separated by 6 hours flight.” He refers to his new life in New York City and the one in his country of origin, the Democratic Republic Congo, in which over 3 million people have died in an ongoing war. For more information about ASG, please visit the organization Web site: www.asgroup.org
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