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Another place our club is donating to is
the Mufindi Highlands Orphanage Project,
in Tanzania, discovered by the Howards when Bill was teaching law school in that country.
Executive Director, Noelina Namukisa welcoming newly
orphaned child to Meeting Point
immediately beginning the process of nursing this TB infected HIV positive
child back to health
About the Mufindi Orphans project
The Mufindi Highlands Orphanage Project
addresses a small part of the gigantic problem in sub-Saharan Africa
created by the HIV/AIDS epidemic now rampaging through the region.
Estimates say that 9% of the region's adult population is infected with
the HIV/AIDS virus. The disease has prematurely struck down vast numbers
of young parents leaving 11 million orphans to fend for themselves.
Most African governments lack the
resources to provide help for these stricken children. Some governments
have tried to help their orphans with the financial assistance of large
international agencies such as the United Nations. However, these efforts
proved little more than stop-gap measures. Actions tended to be ad hoc
rather than planned. Governments and agencies differed in their respective
approaches to the problem. No long-term programs developed. There was
little coordination between governments or between governments and
agencies. Bureaucracy took its toll on effectiveness. Corruption drained
resources and morale. Most of the efforts were city-oriented, leaving
villages and remote areas in a state of neglect. There were small
successes, but no real progress made toward dealing with the massive
problems at hand.
Some governments refuse to recognize the
HIV/AIDS/Orphans problem due to stigmas attached to the disease and its
results. In these countries, next to no action has been taken by
governments or agencies. Normally, governments will ask funding agencies
for grants or loans to solve specific problems. However, when a government
does not recognize a problem, it cannot ask for financial help. This
leaves the large agencies helpless to render support.
Until a short time ago, Tanzania was one
of the countries that did not recognize their HIV/AIDS problem.
Thankfully, the government has now grasped the situation and holds regular
meetings to discuss the issue and make plans for a solution. However,
bureaucracies do take time to get moving. It will surely take some time
for the government to arrange for projects on the ground and the funding
needed to complete the projects. In the meantime, there is an opportunity
for the private sector to start projects that will help some orphans that
now need assistance and to pave the way for the larger effort that the
government intends launch in due course.
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Rotary
Club of Port Townsend
