TrustAfrica Blog

Far from the Capital, a Hard and Quiet Struggle

nospam@example.com (Praveen Prasad) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:39:40 -0400

Each day we continue to be pleasantly surprised by the beauty of rural Haiti. There is a story to be told in every face we pass along the way. The air is fresh and crisp, the donkeys are overloaded with bananas, cassava and sugarcane, and the women riding them to market wear bright floral skirts.

We are on our way to the city of Jean-Rabel, which lies 37 km west-southwest of Port-de-Paix and 250 km north of Port-au-Prince. The city shares its name with a nearby river that runs between the Saint Nicolas and Jean-Rabel mountains before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

Yet the smiling faces and warm greetings of peasant communities living here mask the grave and urgent food security issues facing rural Haiti.

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Haiti: A story of free slave descendants

nospam@example.com (Praveen Prasad) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 16:14:00 -0400

Ricot Jean Pierre's eyes lit up, his face brimming with warmth as he invited the Africa for Haiti delegation into his neat, small office in downtown Port au Prince. Ricot is the Programme Director of PAPDA, a leading Haitian civil society organisation that has been campaigning for the rights of the poor and marginalised sectors of Haitian society since 1995.

"We invented the concept of freedom by leading the first (and only) successful slave rebellion in the history of mankind. We did it in 1804 and we will do it again."

He started to explain the complex socio-economic make-up of Haitian society, and how the history of this colourful Caribbean island directly influenced the scale of devastation caused by the 12 January earthquake. It is a well known fact within the NGO community that earthquakes don't actually kill people. Rather, it is the lack of proper building codes and practices that cause the fatalities. That's why a country like Japan can survive extremely powerful quakes without major death tolls.
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Africa for Haiti delegation arrives in Port-au-Prince

nospam@example.com (Praveen Prasad) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:03:34 -0400

The Africa for Haiti delegation arrived on August 11th to a very warm Port-au-Prince. At the arrivals terminal at the airport, a band greets us with local music. It is a wonderful welcome! The musicians are dressed in bright colors and are brimming with smiles. I am comforted by this warmth. Within a few minutes one realizes that Haitians are warm and resilient people. They are full of life, enthusiasm and a strong belief in freedom.
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Campaign Urges AU Summit to Uphold Abuja 15% Pledge

nospam@example.com (Arlynn Revell) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:27:32 -0400

African and international civil society organizations mounted an advocacy campaign in Kampala, Uganda, a few days before the start of the 2010 African Union (AU) Summit. The main objective the campaign, which took place from 19–25 July, was to remind African leaders to keep their promises made in Abuja, Nigeria, at the 2001 AU Summit 2001 and reinforced in 2006. The campaign also urged world leaders to fully fund and replenish the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. At a meeting held early this year in Malawi by African ministers of finance, a proposal was made to drop the Abuja 15% budget commitment, arguing that it was arbitrary. The main issues on the agenda for the 2010 AU Summit are maternal, child and infant mortality; sexual and gender-based violence; and women and children in conflict areas.
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AIDS 2010: Reflections on Day 4

nospam@example.com (Harris Ayuk-Takor) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 09:02:00 -0400

“Men Who Have Sex With Men: Homophobia and HIV in Africa” was the topic of the first session I attended today. The three African panelists who spoke were from Malawi, Cameroon, and Zambia. One of the issues they addressed concerned legal provisions being used in some African countries to criminalize men wrongly. When LGBT people get arrested, few lawyers are willing to represent them because society frowns on. Two examples used noted: Alim Mongoche, one 11 Cameroonian men who spent more than a year in prison awaiting trial under a law that punishes sex between men; and the crackdown against a gay rights organization in Senegal, where nine men were sentenced last year to eight years’ imprisonment. Another focus of the seminar was the influence of Western ideologies on Africa’s policy on LGBT and MSM rights. Speakers pointed to Scott Lively in Uganda and how most of his anti-gay talking points were visibly apparent in Uganda’s anti-gay mandate.
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AIDS 2010: Reflections on Day 3

nospam@example.com (Harris Ayuk-Takor) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 08:36:00 -0400

Tuesday started off with a performance presented by Ms. Owoola-Adeojo Goldmark, a Nigerian who became an HIV/AIDS activist at the age of 7 and by the age of 15 was running her own foundation. The performance was comprised of a poetry session followed by African dance and drama. The main questions Ms. Goldmark asked us to think about were: (1) Who has the right to access art? 2) Who has the right to be educated after losing both parents to AIDS? and 3) Who has a right to be loved and not to be stigmatized?

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AIDS 2010: Reflections from Africans

nospam@example.com (Arlynn Revell) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:44:08 -0400

TrustAfrica provided support for nearly a dozen African civil society figures to attend the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna. We asked them to share their thoughts and reflections as the week progresses.

Caroline Bowley, Gender DynamiX, South Africa:

Transgender Networking:
"A networking meeting for transgender people was held at the MSM networking zone in the Global Village. The meeting focused on how transgender people can ensure that their needs will not be overlooked by being included in MSM studies and programs and overshadowed by the focus on MSM. It was agreed that a network of transgender activists and researchers focusing on transgender issues should collaborate to ensure that transgender issues get greater visibility at the 2012 AIDS conference in Washington."
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AIDS 2010: Reflections on Day 3

nospam@example.com (Arlynn Revell) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:38:00 -0400

News of the ground-breaking research to develop a microbicide in South Africa triggered applause at AIDS 2010, the XVIII International AIDS Conference, which is being held this week in Vienna, Austria. The microbicide reduces the risk of HIV infection by 39%, and up to a maximum of 54%, and provides a window of opportunity for further preventive tools. It is clear that delegates were very pleased—this is what people want to see and hear. Read the press release.

Today Harris and I interviewed Mary Ann Burris, the founding director of the Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (TICAH) in Kenya. The organisation was established in 2003 and seeks to understand and use the positive links between health and cultural beliefs, practices, expression and knowledge to improve health. TICAH has adopted its own definitions of heath and culture—culture meaning gender norms, which are very challenging and which can be redefined, and health meaning well-being, safety, respect, equity, intimacy and community and free from disease. The interview was very informative, and today we be interviewing Mary Akoth Elias, a community worker at TICAH.
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AIDS 2010: Reflections from Africans

nospam@example.com (Arlynn Revell) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:13:00 -0400

TrustAfrica provided support for nearly a dozen African civil society figures to attend the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna. We asked them to share their thoughts and reflections as the week progresses.

Nombasa Gxuluwe, World AIDS Campaign (WAC), South Africa:

18 July 2010
It was an opening of AIDS 2010 conference. What was outstanding for me was the message of support given by UN Secretary Ban Ki Moon, speeches delivered by young women representing youth and woman living with HIV, and researcher who was presenting on HIV cure.
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AIDS 2010: Reflections from Africans

nospam@example.com (Arlynn Revell) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:44:00 -0400

TrustAfrica provided support for nearly a dozen African civil society figures to attend the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna. We asked them to share their thoughts and reflections as the week progresses. Here are some of their initial responses:

Allan Maleche, Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS:

"My day was great. I had a chance to present my poster and attend one session on human rights responses. I am looking forward to the march. I will send you more photos tomorrow. I will keep you updated."
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AIDS 2010: Reflecting on Day 2

nospam@example.com (Harris Ayuk-Takor) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:23:00 -0400

The second day of the XVIII International AIDS Conference went even better. I got a warm feeling seeing all these people from all over the world, different races, ethnic groups, sexual backgrounds, identities, youth and elders, under one banner of unity. As I was going into the conference building, I saw someone with a t-shirt that read, “Free Hugs”. I don’t know if he was a victim of the disease or just a volunteer, but when he asked me for a hug I did. A great way to start off the day.

Today, I decided to spend some time looking at the different exhibition presentations of the various organizations and companies working to eliminate AIDS, spread knowledge of the disease, and share ideas for preventing it. From AIDES to UNAIDS to Nigeria's National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, to Kenya’s TICAH – the Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health, to the South African National AIDS Council, there was an abundance of information to learn and re-learn from every area of the disease: political, advocacy, health, pharmaceutical.
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AIDS 2010: Human Rights March

nospam@example.com (Arlynn Revell) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:57:00 -0400

Today in Vienna, there will be a human rights march, rally and live performance by singer Annie Lennox in connection with the XVIII International AIDS Conference. The March will start at 18h30. The rally will commence at 20h00, followed by a live performance by Annie Lennox.

All conference paraticipants, activists, advocates, people living with HIV and the public are invited to join. Everybody is asked to wear the orange VIENNA AIDS 2010 T-shirt. This forms part of the Human Rights and HIV/AIDS "Now More Than Ever" campaign.

AIDS 2010: Reflecting on Day 1

nospam@example.com (Harris Ayuk-Takor) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:18:00 -0400

Yesterday, as I walked into one of the entrance halls, I was overwhelmed with the sounds and sights of chattering citizens, advocates and activists. Multitudes of greens, reds, “Yes”, “Say No!”, “HIV/AIDS”, splashing into my eyes and eardrums. Enticed, I managed to get my registration card and catch the opening ceremony where, at the entrance, a protest was being held. You could see huge balloons floating, displaying pictures of world leaders: President Barack Obama, Sarkozy, Jonathan from Nigeria, and many others.
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AIDS 2010: The opening ceremony in Vienna

nospam@example.com (Arlynn Revell) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:47:59 -0400

The XVIII International AIDS Conference opened last night in Vienna, Austria. Over the next five days, approximately 25,000 delegates from all over the world will attend the conference and partake in various conference sessions and satellite meetings under the theme “Rights Here, Right Now”.

HIV/AIDS activists and individuals living with HIV and AIDS marched through the Messe Wien conference center, the site of this year's conference. They blocked the entrance to the main hall and staged a mass “die-in”. They intended to delay the opening ceremony to illustrate how governments around the world are slowing and scaling back their commitments toward universal access to HIV care, treatment and prevention.
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Empowering Women in Liberia

nospam@example.com (Christopher Reardon) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:56:14 -0400

One of TrustAfrica's signature projects is an initiative to strengthen civil society in Liberia as it rebuilds from a long civil war. With our support, women in communities like Bambala — a village near the border with Sierra Leone — are learning to read, write and play a more prominent role in civic life. In January 2010, we spoke with Bendu Kamara, who has taken part in literacy courses sponsored by the United Muslim Women's Advocacy and Empowerment Organization (UMWAEO) and taught by local imams.

What was it that made women get together to start this group?
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