RFFA News & Events
Mountains of the Moon Climb
The enclosed picture represents a successful climb for the Mountains of the Moon expedition on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2011. RFFA Board member John Glassford, and others, set out to climb Margherita Peak, at 16,763 ft. the highest peak in Uganda. Making it to the top and proudly standing at the peak are Moses Kashumba from Arusha, the #1 Guide on the trip who has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro 178 times, and Fred Madden from Bathurst in Rotary District 9700 - hats off to these two who risked life and limb all in the name of the orphaned and vulnerable children of Africa. To date, contributions total $25,000 to RFFAs Orphan Rescue program in support of the climbers. A job well done by all and thanks to John Glassford for his absolute commitment to this task at hand - again, all in the name of the orphaned and vulnerable children of Africa.
Every Day is AIDS Day at RFFA
Each year December 1 kicks off with World AIDS Day, and millions of people worldwide unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and remember those who have died. The the Rotarian Action Group, Rotarians For Fighting AIDS (RFFA), every day is AIDS Day! RFFA was formed to educate and mobilize Rotarians to provide global leadership for the prevention, care and support of the 20 Million orphans who are the trailing consequence of HIV/AIDS. This year RFFA is supporting a mountain climb led by Rotarian and RFFA Board member, John Glassford, who will summit the Mountains of the Moon in Uganda on World AIDS Day. For more information, visit http://rffa.org/the-ork.php#mom.
Pictured to the Right: RFFA Board member (and Past Board Chair) Mark Doyle is always drawn to spend time with children.
Family Health Day 2011 Video
Watch our video from Family Health Day 2011.
Scarcity of condoms
14th Jul 2011
Stocks of free condoms in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh have, according to the state's health department, been non-existent for some months.
Having already pleaded with India's National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to step up its efforts to procure condoms for the state, the Himachal Pradesh health authorities have been forced to 'borrow' condoms from the neighbouring state of Punjab.
With 500,000 condoms soon to arrive from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh will be able to resume distributing free condoms at 150 petrol stations, via outreach by partner charities and at the state-run voluntary HIV counselling and testing centres. In this way Himachal Pradesh aims to encourage people who may be vulnerable to HIV infection to consider using a condom for every sexual act.
Condom use is a key part of HIV prevention strategies. Used consistently and correctly condoms are the only form of protection that can help to stop the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Learn why using a condom is always a great idea!
It is estimated that 2.4 million people in India are currently living with HIV. Read more about HIV in India, including who is most affected by HIV in India.
Source:The Times of India
Powerful video!
Be sure to check out the great little video produced by District 9200 covering Rotary Family Health Day in Kenya and Uganda - what a powerful reminder of the hope our combined efforts have given to so many! Also check out our Facebook page where the video is also posted but check back from time to time as interesting facts and articles are posted! RFFA is truly an ACTION Group!
RI Convention - New Orleans May 2011
RFFA had a great presence in the House of Friendshipat the RI Convention in New Orleans last month. Our booth was in a high volume traffic area and it was clear that people are interested and concerned about the plight of orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. The booth was manned non-stop for 4 days by CEO Marion Bunch, Board Chair Mark Doyle, Board Incoming Chair, Past RIVP Mike McGovern and other Board members from time to time. A number of new members signed up to belong to the Action Group and we appreciate their support.
In addition to the House of Friendship Booth, RFFA held its AGM with Marion Bunch providing a report on RFFA Programs, the confirmation of the Board of Directors and election of Officers and an update was presented on the HIV/AIDS pandemic by Dr. Laura Kann, Distinguished Scientist and Chief, CDC Surveillance and Evaluation Branch.
On Monday, May 23rd, CEO Marion Bunch sat on a panel of members from various Rotarian Action Groups and each presented information related to their particular group. Marion spoke about how clubs can benefit from using an Action Group to increase humanitarian service with the group, in this case RFFA, providing the link between clubs and Districts.
RFFA was alive and well at the RI Convention in New Orleans!
Interactive Map - Persons Living with an HIV Diagnosis - 2008
Interesting information by way of an interactive map. Go to http://aidsvu.org/map .
Jerry's Hero Award 2011
RFFA CEO Marion Bunch was pleased to present the 2011 'Jerry's Hero Award' to D9200 Governor Stephen Mwanje for his vision in orchestrating the first ever nationwide HIV Testing & Counseling Day at 125 sites throughout Kenya and Uganda, calling it a Rotary Family Health Day. The award is in honor of Marion's son Jerry who lost his life to AIDS in 1994.
For the full story on the highly successful Rotary Family Health Day, go to http://www.rffa.org/emailblasts/2011-05-12/RFFA%20HIVTestingDay.pdf.
AIDS in America
An interesting report on AIDS in America, 30 years after the first federal announcement on AIDS was released. The map includes an interactive map showing the number of people living with an HIV infection in the U.S. down to the county level. "CLICK HERE to open the PDF"
ANCHOR Project
An update to the ANCHOR Project (Africa Network for Children Orphaned and at Risk): this project was fully and successfully completed as of December 31, 2010. You can read about the project on our webpage at http://www.rffa.org/projects.php#anchor
Latest Statistics
We were fortunate to have Dr. Laura Kann make a presentation at the RFFA AGM at the recent Rotary International Convention in New Orleans. Dr. Kann, Distinguished Scientist and Chief, CDC Surveillance and Evaluation Branch, Division of Adolescent & School Health, provided updated statistics from WHO and UNAIDS and these can be perused at the following link: "CLICK HERE to open the PDF"
PREMIER NATIONAL HIV TESTING & COUNSELING DAY
Rotarians from 102 Rotary Clubs in the countries of Kenya and Uganda got together on April 30th, the Rotary-declared Rotarians At Work Day and did something that has never been done before in the history of Rotary – they held
a nationwide HIV Testing & Counseling Day at 125 sites throughout the two countries that included wraparound health services! They called it the Rotary Family Health Day!
This one to three day event was the vision of District Governor Stephen Mwanje, District 9200 in East Africa. He engaged the support and partnership of RFFA (Rotarians For Fighting AIDS), the Rotarian Action Group led by CEO Marion Bunch. DG Stephen asked RFFA to help him obtain partners and resources to bring this event to life. He asked each Rotary Club
to have ten representatives working at this event – or over 1,000 Rotary volunteers.
RFFA gained the pro bono services of its global partner, FHI (Family Health International) to help plan the overall project and to be the Primary Technical Partner in Kenya. AIDS Information Center was engaged as the Primary Technical Partner in Uganda. The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (a six year partner of RFFA) provided $100,000 in mobilization costs for this event. Rotary Clubs held fundraisers to support the event. Thirty or more other technical partners in each country provided pro bono technical/ medical support for this mission. RFFA leaders and the key partners worked with the Ministry of Health
in each country in planning this event.
Multi disciplinary health services were offered to attract the people to come to the event at over 125 locations that were either ‘static’ sites or outreach sites under tents. Door-to-door testing and counseling was also done on
a door-to-door basis in the Rift Valley by a legion of 80 FHI counselors with Rotarian administrative support.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY
Reflections on Rotary Family Health Day
Reflections by Rtn. Mike Eldon on the Rotary Family Health Day – April 30, 2011
I'm with the Bluestone football team in Cura village, as they are about to kick off against their opponents, the feared squad of Real Madrid. To qualify for the tournament in which they are to take part each player has had to be tested for his HIV status, as part of the Rotary Family Health Day. I ask one of the players if he would have gone for testing had it not been for this event. "No," he answers, entirely unsurprisingly. "Feel good that you have?" Of course he does.
The young unemployed man is typical of so many in this community. In the absence of job opportunities in rural Cura he has no way of using his time productively. So guess what, he uses it unproductively, hanging around the village, taking alcohol and drugs to help him pass away the idle days and finding illegitimate means of financing his habits. In the process, millions like him all around the country have cut themselves off from the mainstream of society. Or rather, society has allowed them to become alienated. It has allowed them to sink into angry hopelessness, easy prey to anti-social temptations.
The recently arrived Anglican vicar, Edwin Kinyanjui, has been tickling the young men of Cura into coming to church on Sundays. "The way we were worshiping was really boring to these young people," he confesses. "They want to hear lively music, they want to sing and dance," he says, and so he has transformed one of the services to offer just that – as a result of which more and more have for the first time been seeing the inside of a church.
Before, there was very little contact with these alienated boys. They lived a separate life, separate from their parents and separate from the community at large. Now someone was reaching out to them, unthreateningly and unpatronizingly. And today, Rotary is tickling them back into society too. They have come in good numbers, enticed by the challenge of an enjoyable soccer competition and the offer of a trophy for the winning team.
Rotary had also brought together a team of AIDS counselors, professional nurses from the nearby Wangigi government health facility, to counsel those who had volunteered to be tested, and throughout the day they patiently took their clients through the sensitive conversations that preceded the tests. Meanwhile in the village clinic nurse Margaret Mungai dispensed doses of Vitamin A (to boost immunities), and deworming tablets. Insecticide treated bed nets and sanitary pads were also made available, together with advice on other health issues.
This initiative, in which Rotary Clubs around Kenya and Uganda – and all around the world – are participating, is supported by Rotary's global AIDS initiative, Rotarians for Fighting AIDS (RFFA), whose funding comes from a variety of sources, on this occasion Coca Cola. The prime target of RFFA is precisely the kind of young people we saw in Cura. RFFA goes further than worrying about AIDS testing, or helping with the care of AIDS orphans. RFFA's bigger goal is to prevent AIDS among youth, including through programmes that see them find useful and healthy ways of spending their lives.
Which brings us back to Reverend Edwin. So OK, he's getting the angry restless young men of Cura to attend his church. What next? In his previous parish he managed to get small sums of money with which to launch a merry-go-round loan system, and he wants to replicate that here. One step at a time, says this patient but determined man – a successful farmer in his own right. "Don't let the opportunities that come your way pass you by," he tells his flock... and he doesn't just sit back and pray that such opportunities will simply materialize out of thin air. The process of upliftment requires an enabler, a champion, someone who is there on the ground, day after day. And who better than a pastor to fulfill such a role?
So on to the next question: how many pastors take such roles upon themselves? How many around them, from their superiors to the communities in which they minister, to the broader society, see them as this potentially extraordinary resource for promoting development? As perhaps with representatives of the Provincial Administration (the Assistant Chief for Cura formed part of the Health Day team), to a large extent everyone is allowed to find their own level, with wide variations between best practice... and worst.
Nest question: to the extent that priests do see themselves as agents of development, what support is available to enable them to make the most of their potential? What encouragement comes from the churches (and mosques) for them to engage in the social and economic upliftment of their area? Are they helped to understand what development is all about, and how one moves from stagnation to lift off? Do they have the skills to network with other stakeholders so as to synergize joint efforts – including inter-faith and inter-ethnic ones?
In Cura, a community of 6,000 people, Rotarians have partnered with the community and its leaders to improve education and health, and to introduce revenue generating activities that move the people beyond subsistence farming to generating surpluses, all of which has allowed them to increase their standard and quality of life.
In a previous column I urged more Kenyans to adopt a village and to support its development, and I do so again now, fresh from my latest visit to Cura. Not just to expand a church, or to build a new one (the commonest initiative), but also to enrich the lives of the community in other ways, complementary to the enhancement of their spiritual wellbeing. Above all, to worry about all those unemployed young men, our source of great despair... our unfulfilled potential.
THE COCA-COLA AFRICA FOUNDATION COMMITS FUNDS TO DISTRICT 9200/RFFA ROTARY FAMILY HEALTH DAY
The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF) has committed $100,000 USD in support of the Rotary Family Health Day initiative. These funds will be used for mobilization costs by Rotarians in the countries of Kenya and Uganda for the April 30th HIV Testing & Counseling event. TCCAF has been a six year partner of Rotarians For Fighting AIDS on the continent of Africa. We thank the Board of Trustees of TCCAF and William Asiko, President of the Foundation, for this generous support!
DELTA/KLM SUPPORTS RFFA IN ROTARY FAMILY HEALTH DAY EVENT
RFFA is pleased to announce the support of DELTA and KLM as travel partners to East Africa for the Health Day event. THANK YOU to both of these major airlines for supporting RFFA in our mission to make a difference in the lives of African families affected by HIV/AIDS.
NEW PARTNERS COME ON BOARD TO SUPPORT
THE ROTARY FAMILY HEALTH DAY IN UGANDA
RFFA is pleased to announce the addition of several partners in this event:
- AIDS INFORMATION CENTER (AIC) will be the overall Primary Technical Partner responsible for managing and implementing the testing and counseling, follow through to networks of care, and monitoring and evaluation of results.
- PEPFAR/USAID programs will be doing testing and counseling in support of the Rotary Day in three regions of the country via their STAR program (Strengthening TB and AIDS Response), and NUMAT.
- ELIZABETH GLASER PEDIATRIC AIDS FOUNDATION will be doing testing and counseling in the southern region of Uganda.
- Other partners include TASO, BAYLOR, UGANDA CARES, MJAP (Joint program of Makerere and Mbarara Universities).
- Local and National Ministries of Health of Uganda.
THANKS to all of these organizations in working with the hundreds of Rotarian volunteers on this massive, nationwide Rotary Family Health Day.
CONGRATULATIONS TO RFFA BOARD CHAIR, MARK DOYLE
Mark Doyle, RFFA’s Board Chair, has been invited by RI President-Elect, Kalyan Banerjee, to serve as a member of the Rotarian Action Groups Committee commencing July 1, 2011 and ending June 30, 2012. This committee shall provide guidance and advice to the Board on all aspects of the Rotary Action Groups program. It will assist groups wishing to receive official Rotarian Action Group status with the application process. They will consider requests from Rotarian Action Groups for alternative funding models for referral to the RI Board.
What is Rotary Family Health Day?
Rotary District 9200 Governor, Stephen Mwanje, in coordination with Marion Bunch, global leader of RFFA, decided that the District’s Rotarians At Work Day project held on Saturday, April 30, 2011 should address the critically important issue of HIV/AIDS in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. Prevalence rates for HIV are high in these countries and many people do not know their HIV status. Rotary’s brand will make this a high profile event, thereby attracting the public to attend.
In addition to HIV Testing and Counseling, a broad range of health services will be provided to motivate whole families to attend – including family planning education, diabetes testing, and provision of commodities such as insecticide treated bed nets, de-worming tablets, sanitary pads, and information on other health issues.
Where Is It? (National in scope)
UGANDA: 300 sites
KENYA: 200 sites;
ETHIOPIA: 20 sites (Addis Ababa only)
When Is It?
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Who is Involved and What Will They Do?
District 9200: Peters Musoke: Rotarians at Work District Chair, and Eric Krystal: District HIV/AIDS Officer. Each country will have a RFFA Chair/Committee, and a Rotarians at Work Chair/Committee, who will mobilize and train the Rotary Clubs on the project. Each Rotary Club is asked to have at least ten Rotarians involved in this project. Rotaractors, Interactors and Rotary Community Corps youth will also be encouraged to join this effort. RFFA (Rotarians For Fighting AIDS) is a Rotarian Action Group approved by the Rotary International Board of Directors in 2003. RFFA has been fighting HIV/AIDS in eight countries in Africa for the past five years, responding to the needs of Rotary Clubs/Districts, and working in partnership with NGOs, private foundations and Ministries of Health to create large scale, sustainable solutions. District 9200 Rotarians, RFFA Country Teams and RFFA U.S. will mobilize the community into coming to the testing sites on April 30, 2011. They will obtain local donors and resources, be responsible for publicizing the event, and do the administrative work on that day. Rotaractors, Interactors and RCCs can reach out into the informal settlements to spread the word about the event. FHI is a global health and development organization that has been improving lives since 1971. Their rigorous, science-based approach builds programs that create lasting change. FHI will be responsible for all technical guidance, support for HIV counselors and follow-on services. Together, these partners are working in coordination and with the agreement of the Ministries of Health in each country.
RFFA 2011 PARTNER OF THE YEAR AWARD
PRESENTED TO HOPE WORLDWIDE
The 2011 RFFA Partner of the Year Award was presented to Drs. Mark Ottenweller and Marc Aguirre of HOPE worldwide. Marion Bunch, CEO of RFFA, presented the award at The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation’s Community Affairs Forum in Accra, Ghana, on February 9, 2011. RFFA wished to honor the HOPE organization for their outstanding service for the care and support provided to 122,000 Orphans and Vulnerable Children of Africa. HOPE worldwide, RFFA and The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation created the African Network For Children Orphaned and at Risk (ANCHOR) in 2005. Joining them during the presentation and pictured below is William Asiko, President of The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation.
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