A Little Effort
Trucaf Zimbabwe was formed by a group of students from the University of Zimbabwe's faculty of social studies.The students carried out a research survey on the development and treatment of the ARC diseases.Unfortunately , at the end of the research project one of the group members was diagnosed as having had been infected by the HIV virus. His name was Israel Desmond Kudya, and he died a little over ten years later after having become a full-blown Aids condition.
The death of a colleague and the daily experiences of having to witness the escalating losses of friends , families, and acquaintances motivated the group to do more for the children affected and or infected by the Aids virus. To begin with ,the death of a dear colleague , was both devastating as well as it was sobering to all of us. However, it became the stimulus we needed in order to do more for the disadvantaged children who were affected or infected by HIV/AIDS in our country. Therefore , The Rural Child Aids Foundation of Zimbabwe( Trucaf Zimbabwe) was formed , primarily to do the following:
-1.Assist the young rural folk affected directly or indirectly by HIV/Aids with food, shelter, clothing,and medicines.
-2.Carry out massive educatonal campaigns in the fight against AIDS and social behavior associated with or likely to lead to infection with the HIV virus.
-3.Provide educational, training and recreational facilities to victims of the pandemic.
-4. Set up rural community centers for the rehabilitation of Aids orphans and patients as well as providing the affected youths with survival skills to start and manage income-generating projects.
This was our little effort because we were desperate to the save lives of our fellow country people. Although Trucaf Zimbabwe recieved and continues to get increasing requests to provide in needy situations, the resources of the organization have dwindled and the few donors that were making grants and donations available to the foundation relocated to other countries owing to the unstable political environment in Zimbabwe over the past seven years. To this date Zimbabwe's political climate remains a sow talking point in the corridors of international human rights organizations. There is no end in sight to the problems bedevilling that once-economically- powerful African country.
Notwithstanding the above situations , the founders of Trucaf Zimbabwe decided to broaden the scope of the organization inorder to reach out to the world community. We started creating linkages and associations with other NGOs in the Southern African region. In Mozambique , for example , we merged with the Manica People's Society, a group whose mission and goals were fairly similar to those of Trucaf Zimbabwe, and we christened the charity entity, Trucaf Mozamabique in July 1999. In Malawi, in following November , we established a working partnership with the Zomba Umoja Organization (Z.O.U). Our association with ZOU meant that we had to recruit and train management to lead a modern non-profit organization to deal with the Aids pandemic in the southern districts of Malawi.The focus and goals of the organization were immediately changed from what was basically a burial society to becoming a properly managed anti-AIDS non-governmental organization. The name of the organization was ,subsequently, changed to reflect the new thrust in leadership and perspective and it became Trucaf Malawi led by Dr Julius Banda, a well-known paediatrician in Malawi. Similar developments are underway in Kenya, Swaziland and Uganda . As is expected , Trucaf will continue to expand into all of the African continent.
As a chosen strategy to reach out to the whole world, we decided to bring all the national branches under one continental grouping, The Rural Child Aids Foundation of Africa, (TRUCAF AFRICA).
We are convinced this vehicle will be better able to harness some of the few worldly resources available and put them to maximum use. Besides, we decided we had to brand our organization and its affiliates differently so that our efforts are clearly discernible to enable to anyone across the globe to see that Africans can harness,control and manage the process of social change without the long-documented historical pitfalls of inefficiency, impropriety, and corruption. To this end , TRUCAF AFRICA, will not meddle in the politics of the different geographicl polities we will be operating in. Our efforts must be construed only in the context of helping our neighbours on the continent to live and make their choices as we all fight the spread of Aids.Trucaf Africa's helping hand stops at the point when someone can live independent of our assistance, and we do not meddle in local , state or national politics by aiding or abetting their decision-making processes when it comes to political issues.
Whenever possible we attempt to work with the co-operation of local governments and we will always respect and abide by the laws of the different countries within which we operate.After all, ours is an organization led , operated and benefitting the African youths, in particular, and the African people in general.
A Shared History of Desire and Passion to Serve. |
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We look forward to a future when our mission will be successfully accomplished. It is clear Trucaf anticipates the roads to be bumpy and long-winding. However, to have reached this stage , on its own is a milestone, for no one including the founding members of this organization ever dreamt of our current situation considering the myriad of troubles we, as an organization ,went through.
As we look back to the diificult times, we hold in very high esteem the bravery, commitment and dedication of some of our fallen founders without whose keen and unwaivering support and direction this organization would not have made it this far. Mr Robert Tandi , our founding Chairman who passed away in April, 2003,as a victim of Aids, in Harare will be sadly missed. May the Lord be with you.
Trucaf is also deeply indebted to the Britten family, particularly to John, the father, Michael John, the son, and Magnon Jane, the wife of the latter, who worked tirelessly for the grassroots which became the bedrock of our foundation. Their deep commitment to the sharing of HIV/AIDS information resources through their international information service, IRIS, was the unchosen springboard for Trucaf. We thank you for your stewardship and benevolence.
We also want to thank the following persons and organizations for the huge support they gave to our efforts sincetho formation of Trucaf:
1) Econet Wirelss Zimbabwe Limited
2)Weiser Holdings Limited, Harare, Zimbabwe
3) Vision Technologies (Pvt) Limited, Zimbabwe
4)Kingdom Financial Holdings Limited, Zimbabwe
5)Philips Electrical (Pty) Ltd , South Africa
6) Standard Bank of South Africa (Pty) Ltd, RSA
7) Sanlam , JHB, RSA
8)Mr J. Chinyanga, Open Computing Systems Ltd, Harare, Zimbabwe
9)Mr L.M. Martinson (MD.,PHd,) Surrey, UK
10) Dr Michael Campbell, London, England
11) Dr Everisto Marowa, Director, National Aids Control Program, Harare
12) Ministries of Health in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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| Population (millions), mid-2002 |
nd |
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| Adults age 15-49 with HIV/AIDS, 2001 |
460,000 |
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| New HIV infections, 2001 |
83,000 |
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| Adult HIV prevalence (%), 2001 |
0.30 |
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| Women age 15-49 with HIV/AIDS, 2001 |
250,000 |
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| Children with HIV/AIDS, 2001 |
35,000 |
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| AIDS orphans (ages 0-14), 2001 |
65,000 |
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| AIDS deaths, 2001 |
37,000 |
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| nd = No data |
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| Source: Population Reference Bureau & UNAIDS | |
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| View full indicator report |
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These pages will be updated regularly. To suggest a document for inclusion on this page, please send an email to countries@chi.ucsf.edu. |
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| Regional Overview |
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Abstracted from Fact Sheet 2002: Middle East and North Africa, UNAIDS, December 2002.
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| Epidemiology and Trends |
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Despite the late arrival of HIV/AIDS in the region, and very low levels of HIV infection in most countries, the overall trend in the Middle East and North Africa appears to be towards increasing HIV infection rates. Systematic surveillance, however, remains inadequate, making it very difficult to deduce accurate trends. UNAIDS estimates that 83,000 people acquired HIV in 2002, bringing to 550,000 the estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS. The epidemic claimed about 37,000 lives in 2002.
About half the countries in the region have experienced significant outbreaks of HIV infections among injecting drug users, notably in North Africa. Other groups showing signs of vulnerability include men who have sex with men, sex workers, and their clients. In Morocco, the National AIDS Control Programme has noted the relatively high prevalence of other sexually transmitted infections--a sign that unsafe sex is more common than routinely assumed. |
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| Response and Socioeconomic Impact |
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Overall, recognition of the need for more effective and far-reaching prevention efforts has grown in this region. Some countries are fashioning potentially effective responses. Examples include the mobilization of nongovernmental organizations around prevention programs in Lebanon.
However, lingering denial among both social and political leaders in some countries provides the epidemic with an ideal environment for continued growth. An inclination to exaggerate the protective effects of social and cultural conservatism continues to hamper an adequate response.
Better surveillance systems, such as those introduced in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, will enable more countries to accurately track the development of the epidemic and mount effective responses.
Unless countries promptly introduce harm-reduction and other prevention services for injecting drug users, the epidemic could grow dramatically and spread into the wider population. | |
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| Selected Documents and Links |
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| Documents and Reports |
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| Core Documents |
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