Why You Should Donate
I have been deeply influenced by the talks of Stephen Lewis
and was moved to develop a call to action based on some ideas
he has raised. The following are my opinions and not that of
the Foundation or Stephen Lewis.
Corporations/Employers
I want to suggest that companies contribute 0.7% of pre-tax
profits annually to the Global Fund. To maintain the symmetry
with governments and the Millennium Development Goals, they
should phase the money in and reach the full target by 2015.
Which corporations? Pretty obviously, I think, the big multinational
corporations that have exacted such huge wealth from Africa’s
mineral, diamond, oil and other resources over the decades,
and certainly the pharmaceutical industry, which resisted the
lowering of drug prices for an unconscionable length of time.
Excerpt from Statement by Stephen Lewis on World AIDS Day
- December 1, 2005
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You represent the entire workforce. You are the face of Canada
in the global economy.
Show us that you
are responsible and committed to the lives, hopes and dreams
of those who work for you.
Show us that you want to do more by committing
at least 0.7 percent of your gross profit [*1].
Step up to the
challenge[*2].
After all, what are you without a strong and healthy workforce?
Your generous donations will help fund projects for African grandmothers in need.
... Gisèle Lalonde Mansfield
To learn more:
[*1] Lewis appeals to miners' conscience
[*2] Statement by Stephen Lewis on World AIDS Day
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Politicians
Canada's contribution to the AIDS vaccine initiative, to the Microbicide
Partnership, to the Global Fund, was exemplary. Where we fell down lamentably,
inexcusably, was our refusal to set a timetable to reach the target of 0.7% of
gross national product as foreign aid. We were viewed increasingly as hypocrites
by the international community because we suggested the target and then refused
to set a timetable.
Excerpt from Canadian Government Executive Magazine (April 2006),
by Paul Crookall
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You are our voices to the world leaders. Listen to your constituents,
listen to your hearts and hear the voices of the women and children all
over the world suffering and
dying of AIDS every day [*3].
Use the voices that we’ve given you to fix this terrible
wrong that your indifference over the last two decades has created.
Renew your commitments to the
Millennium Development Goals
focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa where 10 of the 15 measurable targets have seen no
progress, or a deterioration or reversal [**], the
Convention on the Right of
the Child and to
Foreign Aid,
such as the
Action
Canada for Population and Development.
... Gisèle Lalonde Mansfield
To learn more:
[*3]
Parliaments urged to protect children affected by HIV/AIDS
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Grandmothers/Grandfathers
The grandmothers have emerged as the unsung heroes of Africa. They go
through the agony of burying their own adult children, and then, at
the age of 50, 60, 70, they return to parenting again, often looking
after five or ten or more orphan grandchildren.
Excerpt from Global Future (No. 1, 2006), by Stephen Lewis
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You enjoy and cherish the precious time spent with your grandchildren.
Imagine doing it without money, food, water or even a roof over your heads.
Imagine now burying your children and seeing the faces of their offspring
as they say goodbye for the last time. Imagine now that your grandchild has
the HIV/AIDS virus and there is no medicine available or affordable that you
can give them. That’s the cross that grandmothers in Africa must bear.
When you sit down to have dinner with your family THINK about the African
grandmothers who have to go without food so that their grandchildren can
have at least one meal today.
Your generous donations will help fund projects for African grandmothers in need.
... Gisèle Lalonde Mansfield |
Parents
It is estimated that globally, 15 million children have been orphaned by AIDS,
out of which over 12 million are in sub-Saharan Africa. Lewis said lack of
treatment for HIV-positive children "amounts to a death sentence".
"Without treatment, half of these children will die before their second birthday,
80 per cent before they reach the age of five," he said.
Excerpt from The East African Standard (Nairobi), by Alex Ndegwa
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How much joy do your children bring to your life? Imagine not being able to
provide them with the basic necessities of life. Imagine serving them a bowl
of steamed bananas for supper. Imagine watching them die as they suffer a
minor ailment for which you cannot get the proper medication. Imagine never
seeing them graduate or reach their full potential. That’s the life of parents
in Africa.
When you get your favorite coffee at your favorite coffee spot THINK
about the millions of Africans who have to survive on less than $1US a day.
Your generous donations will help fund projects for African grandmothers in need.
... Gisèle Lalonde Mansfield |
Women/Mothers
And then there's perhaps the most repugnant reality of all: the absence
of facilities to prevent transmission of the virus from mother to child;
it's known as “pMTCT”. Believe it or not, fewer than 10% of all the
pregnant women in Africa have access to pMTCT. Yet, by administering the
wonder drug Nevirapine to the mother during the birthing process, and
providing the liquid equivalent to the newborn baby within 72 hours of
birth, transmission of HIV can be cut in half.
Excerpt from Global Future (No. 1, 2006), by Stephen Lewis
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You have an education, career, independence, soul mate or life partner.
Maybe you even hope to have children some day. Imagine a world where you
had no legal rights, no voice,
no freedom to choose who uses your body [*4].
Imagine then that you’ve been beaten, raped, infected and pregnant.
Now imagine planning your own funeral and making a ‘Memory Book’ so
your child can know who you were. That’s what women and mothers in
Africa suffering from AIDS have to endure.
When you get into your car (or even if you have to take the bus)
to go to the shopping mall THINK about the HIV positive children
and those suffering from AIDS in Africa who have to walk to school
barefoot.
Your generous donations will help fund projects for African grandmothers in need.
... Gisèle Lalonde Mansfield
To learn more:
[*4]
Stephen Lewis: Women's rights and Africa's pandemic
“My daughter left the town for work and didn’t come back for months.
When she did, she came back with a child and HIV-positive herself.
When she got the government grant money, she used all of it for her
child, nothing for herself. She died in December. I have begged all
of my children to come home. ‘Please come back home,’ I begged them.
But instead, they are all coming back to me in coffins.”
Grandmother from the Ekupholeni Adult Bereavement Group, South Africa
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HIV/AIDS sufferers
You understand, you live it, you survive. But imagine not having access
to medication, medical and social support. Imagine never having been
diagnosed or finding out to late to be treated. Imagine not being able
to tell anyone of your situation. That’s the life of HIV/AIDS sufferers
in Africa.
If HIV/AIDS sufferers in Africa can give their last bit of energy
to help fellow sufferers [*5],
THINK how glad they will be for your support for knowing
that they are not alone.
... Gisèle Lalonde Mansfield
To learn more:
[*5]
HIV patients care for others who have virus
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Teenagers
And then, when the grandmothers die, the children are often left
to survive in child-headed households, where the age of the child
heading the household, and looking after the siblings, can be as
young as eight.
Except from Global Future (No. 1, 2006), by Stephen Lewis
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How fortunate you are to have been born in Canada. Imagine life
without a computer, cell phone, internet, television, Ipods,
beautiful clothes, makeup, cars, movie theatres, fast food
restaurants, an education, and the list goes on.
Newmarket's
Sir William Mulock Secondary School [*6]
has raised thousands of dollars 2 years running!
Imagine instead having to raise your siblings on your own,
cook their meals, wash their clothes, work to earn enough money
to bring food home, take care of them when they’re sick, and the
list goes on. Too much you say; that’s the life of teenagers in Africa.
David Blumenfeld reports on the visit of Stephen Lewis to
Sinclair Secondary School [*7].
THINK how good you’ll feel when you hand over a cheque to the Foundation
from your school fundraiser. Is there a better high than that?
... Gisèle Lalonde Mansfield
To learn more:
[*6]
Students praised for work on HIV
[*7]
Stephen Lewis a true inspiration
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Children/Grandchildren
What distinguishes orphans whose parents have died of AIDS is
the sheer torment of their childhood experience: they don't become
orphans when the parents die, they become orphans while the parents
are dying. They administer to sick mothers and fathers, over long
periods of time – months, sometimes years – and then they stand in
the huts and watch their parents die. How do they ever get over the
trauma? How do they ever regain their emotional equanimity? It is
estimated that there are now 14 million children in sub-Saharan Africa
orphaned by AIDS, expected to rise to 18 million by 2010.
Excerpt from Global Future (No. 1, 2006), by Stephen Lewis
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This is the best time of your life and you get to enjoy it without
trials or tribulations. But many children in Africa aren't so lucky.
Many are orphans [*8]
and are malnourished, wearing frayed and tattered uniforms.
But imagine if you had to go to work every day instead of going to school,
where you simply
struggle
to survive. And imagine if you were sick and mommy or daddy weren’t
there to comfort you or give you that medicine that you hate so much.
Imagine seeing your friends become orphans one by one and knowing that
someday soon that will be your fate too.
Imagine waking up in the morning and not knowing who, if anyone will be
there to take care of you. Imagine not being able to go out to play your
favorite sport, read a book, or watch a movie.
And those of you who are so unfortunate to have been diagnosed with a
disease such as cancer, diabetes, tuberculosis, imagine not having any
hope for survival because there’s no medicine available to you. Those
are some of the trials and tribulations suffered by children in Africa
everyday.
Tell your grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, teachers, coaches that
children in Africa need their help. Speak on their behalf and don’t let
anyone forget until every child in Africa is as happy as you are.
... Gisèle Lalonde Mansfield
To learn more:
[*8]
The Ugly Truth of the HIV Pandemic
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