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Leading
local AIDS activist struggles for her life
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ)
October 24, 2002
For more than 16 years, Lynde Francis
has been the peer group model and greatest inspiration for all of
us living with or affected by HIV or AIDS. We
have all been encouraged by her iron will and passion to make a
difference in the face of this terrible disease and she has given
us the knowledge and the determination that we can survive.
In the early 1990s, Lynde set up the
HIV and AIDS Centre in Harare and through councelling, workshops
on healthy living and other activities, she has made an enormous
positive impact on the lives of thousands of people not just in
Zimbabwe but throughout the African region and in the rest of the
world. Very many of us have, at one time or another, have sought
help from The Centre either because we wanted to go for an HIV test,
needed information about survival skills or had a loved one who
was HIV positive or living with AIDS. Lynde and the rest of her
team have always been there to help and provide hope and comfort.
Her Wellness philosophy has been the corner stone of thinking within
the HIV and AIDS movement in Zimbabwe and this approach has had
a major impact on the struggle against HIV and AIDS.
A few weeks ago, Lynde was bitten by
a poisonous spider and is now critically ill in the Intensive Care
Unit of the Avenues Clinic. The health system in this country is
in a state of collapse and so the wide range of drugs she needs
(ARVs which do not damage the kidneys, concentrated vitamin supplements,
albumin and others) are not available locally and have to be obtained
at great cost from South Africa and elsewhere. In addition, Lynde
has reached the ceiling of her medical aid cover and her medical
aid society cannot afford to subsidise the millions of Zimbabwe
dollars needed to keep her in hospital.
In the past, Lynde has always been there
for us. Shortly before she went into hospital, she was organising
food relief packages to go to people living with HIV in areas where
famine is rife. This urgently needed programme is now on hold.
We are asking that everyone who has been
touched by Lynde and her work to pull together and help. She may
be critically ill but she is fighting with all she has got and we
cannot afford to lose her. The
following bank account has been made available by Lynde's daughter,
Ondine Francis, to receive funds.
Four Square Consultants Limited
Lloyds TSB
Blackheath London Branch
15 Blackheath Village
Blackheath
London SE3 9LH
Branch number: 30 9089
Account number: 0786149 02
Even small donations of £10 or £20 or
USD50 will pay for a day's supply of drugs. Over USD 5000 has been
raised so far but we need much more than that.
For information about local donations,
please contact Ondine Francis - artcafe@zol.co.zw
for the account details of the Lynde Francis Trust which has been
set up to receive funds for her urgently needed treatment.
Please pass on this and other appeals
to all those who might be able to help.
For updates on Lynde's progress, contact
Ondine or GALZ - galz@mweb.co.zw
Many thanks
Keith Goddard
Director for Programming/GALZ
Visit the GALZ fact
sheet
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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