CAOF Quarterly

Summer 2004                                                                         Volume 2  Issue 3

Fundraising Update

As of July 21,2004, through the generosity of our donors, the China AIDS Orphan Fund has raised more than $71,000!  

$6,700 of this was in direct response to our first annual School Year Pledge Drive.  Thanks to the many generous people who responded so promptly to our mailing, as well as those who have contributed regularly throughout the year, we have been able to not only continue to sponsor all of the 146 children we sponsored last year, but will be able to enroll nearly 50% more for the coming school term! 

If you missed our mailing or still wish to contribute to the school sponsorship fund drive, it is not too late!  You can mail contributions to:

The China AIDS Orphan Fund
The Minneapolis Foundation
800 IDS Center
80 South Eighth St.
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Or make an online donation at http://www.chinaaidsorphanfund.org

If you did not receive a mailing and would like to be added to our snail mail list, please e-mail your address to Florence Wong at florenceandy@aol.com .

Two More Grants Awarded!

In July, we made our second grant to the Hong Kong based Chi Heng Foundation which has been meeting the needs of AIDS victims and their families in Henan province.  This second grant amounted to $15,000. 

In addition, we also made a grant of $5,000 to the well-established Amity Foundation.  Amity has been providing humanitarian aid in China since 1985 and has been working on AIDS related issues, public health services and education since the early 1990’s when AIDS was first identified in Yunnan Province.  Recently, Amity has also moved into the area of support and education for AIDS orphans in Henan province.   We are very pleased to team our efforts with such a well-respected organization.

Report from the International AIDS Conference

CAOF Board Advisor, Lois Herman participated in the July 2004 International AIDS Conference in Bangkok Thailand.  Her report of the conference follows:

 HIV/AIDS first appeared in China almost 20 years ago. The China National Plan on HIV/AIDS for 2001-2005 was the first document that publicly stated a national objective of keeping the annual increase in new AIDS infections below 10%. This objective has not been met. New HIV/AIDS infections are increasing in China by 30% a year.

Dr. Bernard Fabre-Teste of the World Health Organization indicated that while the estimated number of HIV/AIDS infections in China is 840,000 +, only about 60,000 - or 8% - have been reported. Lack of testing facilities and stigmatization of HIV/AIDS infected people are given as reasons for the low level of testing.

AIDS is the leading cause of death worldwide for people ages 15-49.

Millions of children have been orphaned or made vulnerable, by HIV/AIDS.

The large majority of orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS live with a surviving parent and siblings, or within their extended family. After losing parents and caregivers, children have an even greater need for stability, care, and protection.

From the Orphan Report 2004 from UNICEF, UN AIDS, and USAID: 

* Ensuring access for orphans and vulnerable children to essential services, including education, health care, birth registration, is vital.

*The Report chart indicates that for children from birth to age 17, in 2003, China had some 20,600,000 orphans, which is 6% of all children. There was no disaggregate given for AIDS Orphans in China.

The Prime Minister of China recently said on television that China is threatened by a major AIDS epidemic.

A research paper presented at the International AIDS Conference discussed a study on whether AIDS orphans were more likely to get AIDS as well. The study found that the vulnerability is more a factor of risk. AIDS orphans who are educated and given life support structures are not more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, but as orphans they are often exposed to more dysfunctional and marginal behaviors and experiences, which could make them more likely victims of HIV/AIDS.

Information/education about HIV/AIDS, and prevention, is so highly important, for all age levels.

The Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China has published:  CHINA HIV/AIDS ACTION BOOKLET.  CAOF now has a reference copy of this booklet.

The Chinese Foundation for the Prevention of STD/AIDS has a publication:  "HIV/AIDS Epidemic and its Countermeasures in China and NGO's Roles."

Dr. Peter Piot, Director of UN AIDS, indicated that the Chinese government was now taking concrete measures to address HIV/AIDS, based on international best practices.

For links to ongoing coverage of the China AIDS crisis, please see articles posted on our web page http://www.chinaaidsorphanfund.org/.

 Board Member Visits China

Board member Jun-Li Wang recently traveled to China with her husband, a Hamline University professor of anthropology, and 17 college students.  Jun-Li had not visited China since 2001, and remarked that there were significant changes to the landscape of the Chinese cities she visited.  Building construction is visible everywhere – whole neighborhoods replaced by new, modern skyscraper apartment and commercial buildings.  McDonald’s, KFCs, Starbucks, and Walmarts abound.  In many instances, cities seemed unrecognizable to Jun-Li: she got lost in places that she had lived just 5 years prior. 

In addition to the formal due diligence process, we at CAOF feel that having a representative personally able to meet with the people responsible for in-China service delivery is invaluable in assuring that our donated dollars effect the maximum good. Our goal is not to throw money at a problem, but to build relationships with those who serve the needs we hope to address. 

While the students did take up most of her time, Jun-Li was able to meet with some of the key people who work with AIDS orphans in China.  Here is a brief summary of her conversations with Kate Wedgewood, Executive Director of Save the Children – UK, Nick Young, Executive Director of China Development Brief (an NGO newsletter), and Odilon Couzin, Executive Director of China AIDS Info (online AIDS information clearinghouse):

With the growing acknowledgement of the AIDS crisis by the Chinese government, programs that address AIDS victims and families are expanding.  Numerous grassroots individual and small group efforts exist in addition to the larger international and national agency programs, but these have not all been identified.  Many of the small “under the radar” programs are valuable, site-specific, and would greatly benefit from outside support.  Relevant Chinese ministries have been strong partners, and there appears to be positive gain in addressing AIDS orphan issues.

Some of the current issues and priorities are:

• Improved treatment – better access, care, treatment, and quality of medicines (including home visit monitoring system of one healthier patient checking in with other patients to make sure they have been taking their medication, eating well, etc.) 
• Small group home orphan care (instead of institutionalization, which further stigmatizes and demeans the children, plus takes them away from extended family ties in their home village),
• Family and village livelihood support (develop small enterprises that suit the family context, such as piece-work instead of hourly work so if someone is sick temporarily, they do not loose their source of income),
• Children’s participation (in recent children’s forums, children have self-identified their interests, concerns, and desires – such as sometimes, they just wanted to be children and have fun, or the difficulty coping when they were moved away from the support of their home village into an institution in another location)
• Identifying all of the different groups who are working on AIDS causes (to coordinate efforts, share information, share resources, prevent redundancies, etc.)

Jun-Li hopes to return to China next summer, and will try to visit some program sites.

CAOF Founder, Steve Wang Addresses the Asia Society in NYC:

On May 12, 2004, the Asia Society held a conference titled: Silent Victims: AIDS Orphans in Asia and the World. The conference was held in their headquarters in
NYC. Aimed to educate the US public about the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Asia, the event organizers hoped to also facilitate partnerships among key national and internationalorganizations to address this crisis. The event was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

CAOF Founder and President, Dr. Steven Wang was invited to speak and discuss the progress of the China Aids Orphan Fund. He shared the stage with Peter McDermott (UNICEF), Sara Sievers (Association Francois-Xavier), Chung To (Chi Heng Foundation), David Gartner (Global AIDS Alliance). Our art/documentary exhibit, entitled Living Dreams in aDying Village, was displayed at the Asia Society.

The meeting was both educational and fruitful, creating an excellent opportunity to establish collaborative efforts with multiple other organizations.

Thomas Ting Joins the CAOF Effort

Before going on maternity leave, Rebecca DelCarmen, recruited her enthusiastic colleague Thomas Ting to assist the CAOF Board as legal consul.  A recent transplant to Minnesota, Tom hails from Richmond, VA.  A corporate attorney with the Minneapolis law firm of Henson & Efron, P.A.,  Thomas received his undergraduate degree in Medical Ethics from Davidson College (N.C.) and his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Thomas' corporate practice has involved both domestic and international matters. 

Tom enthusiastically jumped onboard and immediately began the process to have the name, China AIDS Orphan Fund trademarked with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

On the Road With the AIDS Orphan Art Exhibit

 Due to the enthusiasm of a great number of Volunteers, the exhibit of AIDS orphans art works and essays; Living Dreams in a Dying Village will soon take to the road. The exhibit features 25 drawings by the Orphans from the AIDS affected villages with essays that speak of their hopes for the future.  The essays are written in both Chinese and English.  

The exhibit will travel to Austin Minnesota in August and to various locations in New York City, Philadelphia and the Puget Sound area of Alaska this autumn.  Other locations are also in the works.  Be sure to check our web page www.chinaaidsorphanfund.org for dates and locations of upcoming events and encourage your friends and colleagues in those cities to make an effort to visit the exhibit.   

If your school or organization would like to host a showing of the exhibit, please contact Peg Helminski at PegHelminski@aol.com to book a date.

Babies on Board 

We are tickled pink to announce that two CAOF Committee Members have recently delivered beautiful, healthy daughters.  Legal Consul Rebecca DelCarmen gave birth to the lovely Mina on 3/11/04, and Board member Dawn Lindquist quite appropriately delivered twins, Ava and Grace on Mother’s Day.  Both mothers and all three babies are all doing well!

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