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Reaching
out to the world
Alison Prentice, The Star (Canada)
November 13, 2006
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar
During the International
AIDS Conference in Toronto this summer, some critics asked why so
much was spent to bring thousands of delegates here when the money
could have supported grassroots programs in their native countries.
Betty Makoni, for example,
founded the Girl
Child Network in Zimbabwe to help young girls escape physical
and sexual abuse in their homes and schools — abuse that often results
in the girls being infected with HIV/AIDS. Through the network,
girls can learn their rights, receive counselling and learn about
reproductive issues, HIV/AIDS and leadership. The organization has
also started rescue missions for girls who have been raped.
The $3,000 (U.S.) cost
of her flight to Toronto (paid for by an AIDS International Scholarship)
would have allowed her to keep dozens of children in school for
a year, including uniform and fees. So why didn't Makoni just ask
for the money and stay home? She says it was not an easy decision.
But the rewards of international exposure have been huge. Makoni,
the first award winner at the inaugural Red Ribbon Gala in Toronto,
says she has felt the impact worldwide.
After she returned to
Zimbabwe, Makoni's organization was featured on a BBC program, funding
came in for the first time from the British Embassy and from the
European Union, she has been interviewed by the Voice of America
and has been covered in Zimbabwe newspaper stories as well as on
the radio. Makoni says the number of international visitors has
increased (as have donations) and email volume has climbed from
six a day to more than 80.
Donors in the Netherlands
have now guaranteed funds for the next three years. Makoni's network
has even been included as a case study for community organization.
None of this would have happened without her coming to Toronto,
she says.
Makoni was back in Toronto
last week (at the invitation of donors) for speaking engagements
and fundraising events for her network. The knowledge and experiences
that she gained from the conference will be translated into practical
local projects, she says.
Mary Balikungeri, who
represented the Village of Hope in Rwanda, says women who were victims
of rape and other violent crimes can live and work in the village
in safety. It provides services and housing to more than 4,000 women
and young people from the village and surrounding communities. More
than half the women in the program are living with HIV/AIDS.
Since returning to Rwanda,
Balikungeri has corresponded with contacts made in Toronto. Possible
partnerships are being explored and she is looking into expanding
the program. As well, the Stephen Lewis Foundation has agreed to
replicate the work of the Rwandan Women's Network in other parts
of Rwanda, and they have moved from one-year project support to
two-year support. Balikungeri says this alone made the trip to Toronto
worthwhile.
Balikungeri sees international
conferences as ways of coming together, team building, sharing ideas
and accomplishments that people can take back to their own communities.
For years men were in charge, she says, and little changed. Now
she sees programs started and run by women, for women — and the
difference they are making in people's lives.
Rose lives in Mathare,
one of the largest slums of Nairobi, Kenya, and Joyce lives near
the slopes of Mount Kenya. Both belong to GROOTS Kenya (Grassroots
Organizations Operating Together in Sisterhood).
With 42 different tribes
in Kenya, each with their own dialect, Rose is particularly proud
that the women in Mathare are able to reach out to everyone and
reinforce the idea that HIV/AIDS is not caused by a curse or a myth.
They educate the different communities about what it is, how it
is transmitted and how infection can be prevented.
Joyce and Rose say they
have a renewed sense of confidence in the information they are sharing,
new strategies discovered through other groups at the conference,
the move to have people living with HIV/AIDS more self-reliant rather
than depending on handouts. They were pleased to learn they can
contact donor groups directly. It was also important for them to
discover that HIV/AIDS was not just a Kenyan or African issue.
However, misery and death
visited the Mathare community last week — and this time AIDS was
not the scourge. The co-ordinator of GROOTS Kenya says gang violence
has resulted in many people losing their shelter and a number of
people, including children, have died from the violence and disease.
GROOTS Kenya organized
a meeting of women at a church, Esther Mwaura wrote in an email.
Activists "brought food and clothing and let the women share experiences
of what has been going on." The team has been protesting to government
officials, Mwaura wrote.
*Alison Prentice is
a registered nurse and a freelance medical writer based in Oshawa.
Email: life@thestar.ca
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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