The Ihangane Project Ihangane is Patience Our First Newsletter!
Novemb er 1, 2008 Vol u me 1, Issue 1
TIP at the International AIDS Conference This past August, board members Dr. Wendy Leonard and Sharon Leonard had the wonderful opportunity to join Dr. Ngirabega, the medical director of Ruli Sector Hospital in Rwanda, in Mexico City for the International AIDS Conference (IAC). The IAC meets every two years and is a unique gathering of activists, scientists, people living with HIV/AIDS, and community organizations from around the world. These groups come together to learn the latest in HIV research, network and exchange ideas, listen to the voices of those suffering from the burden of HIV and learn how people are rising to fight this terrible disease and the factors that lead to increased risk of infection. The Ihangane Project had the honor of being chosen to have a booth in the Global Village. The TIP booth was flanked on its left by a group of young Canadians from Youth
TIP board members with media at IAC
Challenge and on its right by the Thai National AIDS Foundation. Across the aisle from our booth was Red, an Argentineanbased organization of Latin American and Caribbean Sex Workers. We were also joined in our aisle by an organization of United States sex workers and organizations from Kenya and Ghana who are dedicated to working with at-risk street youth. We met so many incredibly dedicated people- and most inspiring were the people from developing countries who were in search of solutions to the problems within their communities. We met two Kenyan women who
are working with HIV infected women who are deaf. We met another woman who works with high risk teenagers in Tijuana, Mexico. We also saw that the tide is shifting within the international communities hardest hit by HIV. There was a definite tone at the conference- that of strength and determination by developing countries and high risk groups to stand up and demand what they need rather than just what they are offered.
Ihangane board member, Sharon Leonard, at our Global Village booth in Mexico City
Inside this issue: Letter from the President
2
Lessons Learned, Mexico City
2
Solar Power Update
2
HIV & Children
3
Women’s Assoc.
3
How to Get Involved
4
2
Letter from the President Welcome to The Ihangane Project! We are so excited to report that we have had a particularly productive summer. We became an official 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, managed a booth in the Global Village at The International AIDS Conference, successfully implemented our Women’s Association reinvestment project, established new partnerships to support our Solar Electricity project, and began work on two projects addressing malnutrition and HIV-exposed children. As
you can see, it has been an extremely busy time! Please read on to learn more about these exciting strides.
We could not do any of this without the incredible support of our Board of Directors and other supporters. Thanks to all of you who are providing the much needed tools the Ruli community feels that they need to fend off the vicious relationship between poverty and HIV disease. -Wendy Leonard, MD, AAHIVS
Dr. Leonard at the TIP booth in Mexico City
President, The Ihangane
The Personal Side of The International AIDS Conference One of the highlights of this conference was to see Dr. Ngirabega’s eyes light up with each new experience. As a Rwandan physician, he has not had the opportunity to attend conferences such as this before. He studied every research poster, visited each booth, and savored every lecture. He took over 500 photographs in an attempt to bring the story of his experiences back to his wife and children in Rwanda, and was able to have a firsthand look at the global impact of HIV infection. We had the opportunity to visit the Albuerques de Mexico hospice on
the outskirts of the city. Albuerques was built at the onset of the AIDS epidemic by Renee Garcia, a prominent gay rights activist in Mexico. Although Mexico continues to struggle with homophobia, gay men and women are able to enjoy
much more openness than is afforded in African countries such as Rwanda. Dr. Ngirabega was engaged and excited about his diverse range of experiences in Mexico, and will bring the lessons learned back to his community in Ruli. It was such an honor that we at The Ihangane Project were able to assist Dr. Ngirabega in attending this important conference.
Solar Electricity is Coming to Ruli! The Ihangane Project is now teaming up with Catapult Design, an initiative of Engineers Without Borders, to establish upgraded solar electricity to outdated systems and to provide first time equipment to the health centers that have no electricity. We are very excited to add their engineering expertise to this important project! Catapult
Design and TIP are also beginning discussions about providing solar powered water filtration to the Ruli area. This will help support our
The Ihangane Project is teaming up with Catapult Design, and initiative of Engineers Without Borders.
efforts to provide safe feeding alternatives to the young children of HIV infected mothers. These projects are an incredible opportunity for a growing community to learn for our mistakes and build an infrastructure that is environmentally friendly from the grass roots on up!
3
Malnutrition and HIV-Exposed Children Dr. Ngirabega, the medical director of Ruli Sector Hospital and all health centers in that area, is working on two different proposals that will address the nutritional needs of children in Ruli, Rwanda. The first project is a unique means of providing sustainable nutritional improvements by utilizing resources that are readily available to most families in Rwanda through a development approach called Positive Deviance (PD). PD is based on the premise that solutions to community problems already exist within the community. Dr. Ngirabega’s project will unite community members who have access to similar food products and will ask the question “if we are all in the same condition, why
do my children have malnutrition and yours do not?”. Community health workers will teach families how to make better nutritional decisions with the limited resources available to them. The second project is well outlined
TIP board member, Eddie Brandow, with children in Ruli, Rwanda.
in our Current Projects section on malnutrition. The goal of this project is to provide safe feeding alternatives for HIV infected women who have been advised to stop breastfeeding when their children are 6 months old. To successfully implement this program, we must be able to provide safe water to mix with formula. For this reason, The Ihangane Project and Catapult Design are investigating various options, such as homebased vs. health centerbased water filtration systems.
The Women’s Association & Reinvestment Project In many developing countries, lack of food security is an independent risk factor for HIV infection. In Ruli, Rwanda, HIV-infected women and those at high risk of HIV infection have come together to form the Ihangane Women’s Association to improve their lives and the lives of their families. The Ihangane Project’s program provides a much needed market for the baskets, cards and other crafts produced by these women, as well as a reinvestment fund that is available to them for other socioeconomic supports. The Ihangane Project is proud to say that our Reinvestment Fund is now
filling up, and we have been able to provide the cost of rent and supplies for the Association in Ruli for the next six months. We have found that the baskets and other crafts are in very high demand, and we look forward to continued success. We will be selling these items online in the very near future. We will also be selling baskets and other crafts at the Alternative Gift Market at the First Congregational Church at 900 High Street in Santa Cruz, CA on November 22 (9am4pm) and November 23 (12pm3pm). As always, 100% of all profits are reinvested into the needs of the
association in Ruli, Rwanda.
Madeleine, coordinator of the Ihangane Women’s Association
The Ihangane Project
E-mail: theihanganeproject@yahoo.com Website: www.theihanganeproject.com
The mission of The Ihangane Project is to provide funding and technical support for project proposals that are generated from those living in underserved communities. The project stems from the belief that empowerment is the strongest tool in the efforts against poverty and preventable diseases, and that reaching a hand across the divide between those who have and those who do not must involve mutual respect, compassion and cultural understanding.
We’re on the Web! www.theihanganeproject.com
Want to get involved? Everyone is Welcome!! The Ihangane Project recognizes that we all have unique gifts to offer. We are a grassroots organization that is completely supported by volunteers. Whether you would like to be a consultant to one of our projects, work on fundraising or marketing, throw a basket party, or help with various odds and ends, we would love to hear from you! Please visit our website to complete our online volunteer form so that we can provide you with the type of volunteer experience you are looking for. Of course, we always appreciate donations, and encourage you to consider
monthly donations through our website. If you would like us to designate your donation to a particular project, please indicate this on your donation or in an email to us. Looking for meaningful
holiday gifts? Please join us at The Alternative Gift Market nd rd on November 22 and 23 . It will be held at: First Congregational Church 900 High Street Santa Cruz November 22 from 9am-4pm November 23 from 12pm-3pm