June 20, 2007

Notice having been circulated, The Fourth Annual meeting of the Rotarians For Fighting AIDS, Inc. (RFFA) was held at the convention center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 2 p.m. In attendance were approximately 50 Rotarians from all over the world as well as the following RFFA Board members:

The Annual PEPFAR HIV Implementer's Meeting on "Scaling Up Through Partnerships" in Kigali, Rwanda in June 2007 was a great success for HOPE worldwide and the ANCHOR partners. Dr. Marc Aguirre and Dr. Mark Ottenweller of HOPE worldwide (HWW) attended the conference with over 1500 delegates from the US and sites across Africa. Leaders of the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC), the Global AIDS Program of Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Global Fund, the World Health Organization, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) also attended the meeting.

The London Financial Times recently ranked the top Non Government Organizations (NGOs) for corporate partnerships in the world, and Rotary was ranked number five. In their report which analyzes Rotary and gives reasons why it was ranked so high, RFFA was stated to be one of RI's top (next to Polio) Corporate Partnership programs. The Times report said:

At the 2007 Rotary International Convention in Salt Lake City in June, RI President Bill Boyd recognized the work of Marion Bunch and Rotarians for Fighting AIDS -- RFFA. Click on the arrow below to view the video. (courtesy of YouTube.com)

NOTE, if you experience a jerky stop-and-go video, then the downloading speed is not matching your viewing speed. So do the following: On the bottom left of the video screen press the stop button (two parallel lines). The video will keep downloading. You can watch its progression by following the red bar move across on the bottom. When the red bar is most of the way across, hit the (now) arrow button, and the video will play smoothly. If you have a dial-up Internet connection, the download could take up to 20 minutes or longer.

• RI Interactive video and article, March 6, 2007.
• Read their blog as they hiked across Africa. December 20, 2006 to January 4, 2007.

Rotary AIDS Hike in South Africa
from Johannsburg to Cape Town

By 2010 it is estimated there will be more than 20 million AIDS orphans globally. Yet, less than 5% of orphans and vulnerable children in Africa are currently receiving assistance.

The 2006-2007 theme for Rotary International is "Lead the Way." In that spirit, five international students studying in South Africa will hike 2010 kilometres - from Johannesburg to Cape Town - to highlight the needs of AIDS orphans and raise critical funds for children left homeless and at risk by the pandemic.

The Ivory Coast of Africa has many impoverished communities and HOPE worldwide is actively helping orphans and vulnerable children thanks to Rotarians for Fighting AIDS and the ANCHOR program. In the closing months of 2006, 353 children were directly touched by the generosity of Rotarians. For 37 of these children, RFFA funds paid school fees or apprenticeship costs. Another 228 received school kits containing text books, supplies and bags. And 25 young girls (all under the age of 17) are studying dressmaking with the help of RFFA funded sewing kits and notebooks.

The Rotary Club of Dunwoody, Georgia (District 6900), home club of RFFA Chair Marion Bunch, recently presented her with a $1,500(US) check for Orphan Rescue. The Club has honored each of its speakers this year with a donation to Orphan Rescue in their names. Dunwoody Rotary 2006-2007 President Anne Glenn also presented a check from the Harris County Rotary Club, Georgia (District 6900) in the amount of $200(US), representing the first international contribution by the Harris County Club which has 26 members.

The Anchor and Kenya Kids program in Kenya was very pleased to receive Ksh 208,730 which was credited to the Orphan Rescue account. Six families with over 20 children had been identified as the pioneer beneficiaries of this fund in Kenya. The selected families have various material needs but it was decided that assistance with tuition fee would be of greatest immediate help to them all. The recipients of the funds will be able to attend uninterrupted schooling for at least one full year. The care givers with the assistance of the programs will be able to work out how to meet the other needs which are not as financially demanding. The tuition fees, meals and uniform needs total Ksh 222,000.

...of hope for the future thanks to RFFA and Orphan Rescue, Hope worldwide and the Rotarians in Nigeria. These are just a few of the stories we received directly from the children you are helping.

In February, 2006, Rotarians for Fighting AIDS (RFFA) sent $4,500 to Hope worldwide Zambia to help orphans and vulnerable children. To put the amount in perspective, that is less than a family of four would spend on a 6 day vacation at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. But when invested with RFFA, that same $4,500 provided direct education support (uniforms, school fees, books) to 328 children and indirect support (primarily nutrition) to 488 orphans and vulnerable children.