Our Mission

To end the spread of HIV in poor and rural areas of Malawi through theatre,  education, and access

Our Vision

A just, prosperous, and healthy Malawi, free of the burdens of HIV

Our Values

• We lean into creative solutions
• We are learners leading change​
• We are empowered by diversity
• We are stewards of the resources entrusted to us
• We fulfill our mission with accountability and responsibility
• We are resourceful and imaginative
• We are respectful to people and places

We are proud that our values have earned us a Guidestar Platinum Seal of Transparency

Barriers to ending AIDS

One of the major barriers to ending the AIDS epidemic is access
A lack of access to HIV education
A lack of access to HIV testing
A lack of access to HIV medicine

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Ending the AIDS epidemic

Together! ACT Now (T!AN) removes these access barriers by bringing all needed services directly to the village. This includes HIV educational theatre, in-village HIV testing, and mobile medicine clinics. All offered for free. 

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Utilizing Theatre

T!AN utilizes theatre and education in remote villages to reduce HIV stigma and discrimination as well as:

• Empower Malawians to know their HIV status
• Provide information on how to prevent spreading the virus
• Provide education and access to HIV medicine

UNAIDS Fast Track to ending AIDS by 2030

The United Nations UNAIDS program is working to end the AIDS pandemic by 2030 once and for all.
​There were targets for 2020, which you can see below.

2020 Targets

Malawi 2020 Progress

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2030 Targets

If these targets are met and maintained, UNAIDS will consider the AIDS epidemic to be ended!

​Want to know what these 95-95-95 goals mean? Learn more here.

Together! ACT Now is working to end the AIDS epidemic through our HIV programs. You can learn more about each one by clicking below.

Sign up for our newsletter to keep up with how T!AN is working to end the AIDS epidemic once and for all

Our HIV Programs

Click on any to learn more

Theatre to end HIV

Ending HIV stigma

Stronger Together

Our HIV Community Groups

Mobile Medical Clinics

Equal access to medicine

Rebuild Schools

Education for all

History

Together! ACT Now was founded by Kyle Horne in 2009 when he realized that the stigma surrounding HIV in Malawi was keeping people from talking about the problem. Utilizing his training in theatre, Kyle partnered with Daverious Mteman'gombe Willard to create an original play called The Three Spirits, inspired by Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. This play was translated into two different local languages by Davie.

Kyle and Davie worked with local Malawian high school actors to create the original Together! ACT Now theatre troupe. They rehearsed the play, came up with original short comedies and three main songs about our three main points: knowing your HIV status, not spreading the virus, and taking the medicine. Linking up with local HIV testing organizations, the troupe set out to educate and test eight villages that first summer.

It was a huge success! In every village, community members showed up in the hundreds to watch the show and go for testing. The work needed to continue. The Malawian troupe stepped up to see the work expand.

Together! ACT Now is proud to be a Malawian led organization. We have no paid American staff and support a grassroots, local based approach to creating change within Malawi.

With COVID our focus was on building out Community Groups where we provide HIV education to 20 members in a village. Once they're certified we then support them in creating theatre and songs focused on local issues relating to HIV. This has grown to be ten village groups strong and our programs main form of support, educating hundreds of thousands of Malawians and testing tens of thousands on HIV. 

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And we're just getting started...
Join us on our Journey  as we work to end the spread of HIV...
​once and for all.

Here are our 1,000 words

The Smiles

The smiles make our job so rewarding. 

See more smiles by following our social:

DROP US A LINE

We love connecting with our community

Email

Contactus@togetheractnow.org

Phone

US +1 (323) 300-4929
​MW +265 99 800 2222

Address

10420 Lone Tree Dr.
​Anchorage, AK 99507

THE TEAM

We're a small but powerful team

Staff

Kyle Horne, MPH, CNP

Founder, Executive Director

Kyle grew up calling Alaska and New Zealand home. His theatre passion took him to Interlochen Arts Academy for high school, then the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London for his Bachelor's degree. This was followed by receiving his Executive Master of Public Health degree from UCLA in the Health Policy and Management department. He is a Certified Nonprofit Professional.

His work has taken him from reciting Shakespeare in London to managing an Expressive Arts & Therapies Program in a top 5 ranked pediatric hospital in the US to developing and running T!AN.

Kyle is not paid or compensated for his time.

Davie Mtemang'ombe Willard

Malawi Country Director​

Davie grew up in Malawi and graduated with his Bachelor's degree from Mzuzu University.

Davie has been an advocate working to stop deforestation, improving HIV concerns, and youth issues for years. From being a teacher in Malawian high schools to the head master to working with organizations to teach women English and business skills, Davie loves to work in the community to enact change. For years Davie volunteered his time for T!AN, until recently when we were able to hire him full time.

T!AN Outreach Volunteers

We have over 15 volunteers that work with T!AN weekly. 

From our actors, singers, and drummers to our Village Outreach Volunteers, they are center to the incredible work we do.

In addition to a daily stipend, we have worked with international Rotaries in the past to provide educational grants for our volunteers and continue to find more ways to show our gratitude for them.

T!AN Community groups

​We have 200 village volunteers from across 10 villages that work to create stories, songs, dances, and drama that help tell their communities story about HIV.

​This brings the messaging one step closer to the communities we're supporting. It means their plays are able to speak at a very local level to the issues that arise from the prevalence of HIV in their village.

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US Board of Directors

Annette Leier

Marc Eid

Paul Davis, M.D.

Alicia Coulter, MPH, MSW

Chuck Barnett, RPh

Marco Santo-Domingo

Ricki Richards, BSN, RN

Colleen Dundas, MPH

Margarita Sasieta, PA-S 

Mike Horne

Our partners make the world go round

The key to success is finding the right partners to be able to have the strongest effect for the villagers that we work with. We are thankful to work with some great organizations.

Malawi Children's Village

MCV enhances the lives of orphans by providing health, social and educational resources in 38 villages.

Baylor University, Tingathe

The Baylor University Tingathe Program is the governments official HIV tester in the Mangochi District. 

Koche Health Center

Koche provides healthcare services to Malawians. From HIV testing to a maternal ward.

Financials

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Together! ACT Now has received Guidestars Platinum Seal of Transparency, which is the highest level they give an organization.

Because our annual budget is under $50,000 we fill out the IRS 990-N e-postcard. We welcome you to look at them on the IRS website here.

We are completely transparent on where your money goes. Here are a few key points:

• We have no paid American staff.
• We have one full time Malawian staff member.
• Our Malawian volunteers receive a food and transport stipend, in line with Malawian law, on the days that they volunteer.
• Our overhead cost, on average, is 3.5% and is covered by a corporate donation, so your money can go to Malawi.