Our Challenge: at least 50 gifts from 50 unique supporters to raise at least $4,000 to continue our successful Peer Education program in Northern Cameroon and provide HIV services to 1,000 young people. Read about what EFA’s Peer Educators from the Class of 2010 had to say about this year’s program.

Click here to support EFA on the Global Giving website. Yes, this means you! Every little bit helps: a $10 contribution will provide the health services and diagnostic tests necessary for an HIV+ youth to stay on life-saving AIDS treatment.

It is your contribution that gives hope to HIV-affected young men and women, those on whom Africa’s future depends.
Thank you for your generosity and support of EFA in the Global Giving Open Challenge this September!
On est ensemble! We are together!

Julienne, EFA Peer Educator Class of 2010, has the skills to live positively and the knowledge to protect her family from HIV. (c) Caitlyn Bradburn

MAROUA, CAMEROON — HIV is not the death-sentence it once was.  Anti-retroviral medications (ARVs) are free to those who qualify and recent research shows that young people, especially, in Cameroon have changed their behaviors to avoid HIV infection.  Yet, for the members of the EFA associations, life with HIV continues to be a challenge.  While he ARVs are “free”, they are not always widely available to the half-million people living with HIV in Cameroon, in fact, only 25% of people living with HIV in Cameroon are actually taking medication to treat it!  Many HIV+ individuals face significant barriers to receiving care.  Women and youth, in particular, often do not have the social power and standing to advocate for themselves; they often live their lives at the will of another.  Poverty and the lack of financial resources account for another barrier. The average Cameroonian lives on about $2 a day.  When transport and fees for the basic diagnostic tests can run $10, it is no wonder that basic medication does not receive a higher prioritization than food, shelter, and water.

When Laurel Doody and Kate Newton came to Cameroon to visit in April 2010, they were amazed at the beauties and wonders of Cameroon.  But, more so, they were endlessly impressed by the resolve and pluck of the members of the EFA associations they got to meet.  After spending a day making a quilt, The Circle of Love, with the female members of three of the EFA associations, the differences between the young Cameroonian women living with HIV and Laurel, Kate, and me all but disappeared.  It became obvious that we could do something to help the association members obtain the basic health care that they desperately need.

Without hesitation, Laurel and Kate mounted a great fundraising effort: The Circle of Love.  Through this campaign, you can be assured that your donation will go towards the diagnostic tests and necessary transport to obtain the tests for the youth in our associations who are living with HIV.  Imagine, in the United States, $5 can buy you a fancy coffee, but here, it can be used for a CD4 test to enroll someone in the free ARV program.  $20 in the United States can take you and a friend to the movies, $20 here can send someone to the doctor for an entire year.

When I think of my close friend, the Godola association president, Mairamou, I am frequently overwhelmed, often to tears, by my feelings of admiration for her.  She is a young, only 32 years old, single mother of five.  The father of her children left her when he discovered his HIV+ status.  Even though she was completely faithful throughout their marriage, he blamed her for their shared illness.  Instead of playing the easy role of victim, Mairamou rose up and, in the last several years, has become an influential person in her community. She tirelessly advocates for the infected and affected members of her association.  But, advocacy only goes so far.  This project help to assure that Mairamou, and the hundreds like her, can get the health care they need to live a positive life, support their families, and continue to fight this disease.

Mairamou

DONATE

Don’t forget to include “Circle of Love” in the designation box!

A peer educator-in-training demonstrates the strength of a condom during an EFA training in May 2009.

The efforts of Cameroonian youth to prevent new HIV infections through safer sex is showing results!  A recent UNAIDS study reports that both males and females in Cameroon are using condoms more frequently with their partners.

EFA's 2010 peer education training started in January

MAROUA, CAMEROON – Peer educators trained in an EFA International-sponsored program have educated more than 6,000 people in Cameroon’s Far North region about HIV transmission and prevention. The January-June training involved 14 HIV-positive youth in a course about the virus’s biology, as well as how to prevent, transmit and live positively with HIV.

The program’s combination of education and follow-up evaluation empowered volunteers to speak openly about the virus in seven communities, in turn reducing stigma for themselves and HIV-positive persons in the future.

Of the training’s 14 graduates, 12 now are able to educate about and demonstrate how to properly use a condom without any guidance. While only about four trainees could define the meaning of HIV and AIDS at the program’s start, now nearly 11 are able to accurately describe the basics of the virus and disease.

Peace Corps Volunteer and EFA International’s Technical Advisor Caitlyn Bradburn implemented the training with the financial support of donors Amy Chesser and Nate Lewis. Their generous donation also allowed the program’s participants a chance to start small income-generating projects, including condom sales. One trainee even sold his 720 condoms in a single afternoon.

With the support of generous donors, engaged volunteers and motivated participants, EFA International is continually able to implement trainings that empower HIV-positive youth. The generally marginalized population now has a chance to come together in solidarity and educate their communities, fighting the HIV and AIDS epidemics each day.

Photo credit: Caitlyn Bradburn, 2010.

I am proud to present to you our 2009 Annual Report describing our major accomplishments in the past year. Though this report captures the main quantitative results of our work in Cameroon and Rwanda to promote the successful future of African children and youth infected with and/or affected by HIV and AIDS, the voices of our beneficiaries speak louder than any numbers or figures you’ll find in this report.You’ll find examples of their testimonials as you read through this report.

In 2009 we introduced the peer education program to EFA’s Youth Empowerment Network, which provided ten HIV+ youth from five different communities in northern Cameroon with the knowledge and skills to serve as HIV educators in their communities.

In Rwanda, the Child Support Center in Kigali continued to serve orphans and other vulnerable children in the district of Kicukiro.The center provided school fees for over seventy vulnerable children in the community in addition to other support services such as nutritional assistance, homework assistance, and supplemental English classes.The children in the center also received moral support from communities in the US, including the Congregational Church (UCC) of Weston, Massachusetts, through letter-writing campaigns with the congregation’s young members and CSC beneficiaries.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to all of our outstanding volunteers who donated their time and expertise to our operations. Our volunteers were essential to our achievements this year and provided us with substantial assistance in revising our website, applying for new grant opportunities and maintaining contact with our network of donors and supporters. Special thanks in particular go to Dana Allen-Greil,Whitney Eisenhower, and Stephanie Don for their contributions. Our partnership with the Peace Corps in Cameroon continues to provide our regional office with significant technical assistance through Peace Corps Volunteer Caitlyn Bradburn, who serves as our HIV Technical Advisor in Maroua, and several other Peace Corps volunteers who work with our HIV+ Youth Network associations.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this report.We encourage you to share any feedback you may have by sending us a message at info@efainternational.org. Thanks to all for a successful year. Here’s to our continued collaborations in 2010 and beyond!

We are together! On est ensemble!

Respectfully,

Andrew P. Koleros, MPH

EFA Founder and Executive Director

Cameroon’s 50th Anniversary of Independence
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
May 19, 2010

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/05/142016.htm
________________________________________
On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I congratulate the people of Cameroon as you celebrate your fiftieth anniversary of independence on May 20. This is an opportunity to salute the people of Cameroon’s many accomplishments. Our two nations share a broad partnership that reflects a long history of friendship and engagement.

The United States remains committed to working with the Cameroonian Government as it seeks to strengthen democracy, governance, and rule of law. The ties between our countries are also strengthened by our ongoing military and security cooperation. We commend Cameroon for its support of the UN Mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH, and for its vital role in addressing regional maritime security threats as part of the Economic Community for Central African States. We commend Cameroon’s cooperation with Nigeria and the historic steps to demark the Cameroon-Nigeria border.

As the single largest investor in Cameroon, the United States values our economic partnership that has fostered investment and created new jobs and opportunities for both Cameroonians and Americans.

Cameroon has warmly welcomed our Peace Corps volunteers for nearly forty-nine years. We are proud of the more than 3,000 Americans who have partnered with the people of Cameroon to improve the quality of their lives by building cultural bridges, and strengthening capacity and development.

On this historic occasion, I offer the best wishes of the American people for a safe and joyous Fiftieth Anniversary, and I reaffirm the commitment of the United States to our enduring friendship.

With a generalised HIV epidemic (prevalence of 5.5% in adults aged 15-49 years old), the conference host country of Cameroon has led the way in decentralizing its AIDS response. Now almost all health districts are equipped to manage mother-to-child HIV transmission. Around 46% of people with an advanced stage of HIV infection were receiving antiretroviral therapy in 2009 compared to 39% in 2008.

Read the full article here.

Friends of EFA at the Eighteenth Street Lounge

Nearly 100 Washington, D.C.-area residents gathered in the Eighteenth Street Lounge’s warmly lit Gold Room on the evening of April 29. Attendees were present for a fundraiser supporting Education Fights AIDS (EFA) International, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that empowers African youth infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS in Cameroon and Rwanda. Alim Ousmanou, EFA International’s Cameroon country representative, spoke at the fundraiser—one stop on a visit marking his first time in the U.S. Invited to participate in the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program from April 3-23, Ousmanou remained in the country for two weeks after the program to visit supporters of EFA International’s work carried out in Cameroon.

Alim Ousmanou

“It was wonderful to see how young Americans are helping the community of youth living with HIV and AIDS in Cameroon,” Ousmanou said of the Washington event. EFA International’s efforts focus on creating associations for individuals infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS in Cameroon and supporting a center for orphans and vulnerable children in Rwanda. The organization began when Ousmanou and Andrew Koleros, then a Peace Corps Volunteer in Maroua, Cameroon, identified dozens of HIV-positive youth in the city who lacked the psychosocial, educational and financial support to live positively with the virus. Along with Koleros, returned Peace Corps Volunteers Rachel Hoy, Michael Nilon, Erin Nilon and Nicole Sheldon-Desjardins officially incorporated the organization in 2006 to continue this work. Koleros, who currently sits on EFA International’s Board of Directors, said Ousmanou’s visit deepened members’ commitment to the organization, which advocates the Peace Corps’ Third Goal. “It’s really motivated the board and volunteers,” Koleros said of Ousmanou’s presence at EFA International events in the U.S. “It reminded us of why we all got involved in this organization in the first place.” For EFA International’s benefactors, Ousmanou’s presence at the fundraiser made the organization’s mission more resonant, clarifying what their involvement means for the youth the nonprofit enables to live positively. “It was nice to hear somebody from the area where it’s being helped speak,” said Michael Causey, a Washington-based lawyer who attended the fundraiser. “It’s easy for Americans to say, ‘Look at the great work I’m doing.’”

AJEPS, member of EFA's Youth Empowerment Network

EFA International currently supports eight independent groups in the Extreme North province of Cameroon. Income-generating activities to advance members in their communities and peer education programs to raise awareness about HIV transmission and prevention have empowered more than 120 young men and women. Doumtigai Guibai, member of an EFA International-sponsored association in Mokolo, Cameroon, said her participation in peer education training motivated her to speak openly about HIV. “People come up to me to congratulate me for my courage to speak about HIV in the community,” Guibai said in EFA International’s 2009 Annual Report. “At school, students call me the ‘mama’ for teaching them about HIV.” During his visit, Ousmanou also attended fundraising events in Massachusetts and spoke at a Harvard Divinity School panel discussion on development and HIV in Africa. He said he was extremely affected by returned volunteers’ commitment to both EFA International and Cameroon. “I saw so many people during my time in the U.S.,” Ousmanou said. “Seeing former Cameroon Peace Corps Volunteers was the most significant to me.” – By Whitney Isenhower Photos courtesy of Live It Out Photography, LLC

See more photos from the event on Facebook.

PEPFAR’s VAST program is a funding resource for small-scale HIV/AIDS projects initiated by communities and organizations partnered with Peace Corps Volunteers. The program is funded by PEPFAR on an annual basis. The VAST program provides PEPFAR funds to support HIV/AIDS outreach and training in communities where Peace Corps Volunteers live and work.

From the field, Caitlyn reports that they will do one elongated session per month throughout July, August and September.  We will be able to reduce transportation because there are fewer (longer) sessions. In addition, the Maroua youth group trainees are contributing to reducing lodging expenses by hosting the out-of-town trainees. We tried that for Men as Partners [training, held in February 2010] and with the more recent Peer Education sessions and found great success.

Congratulations to Caitlyn and the Cameroon Regional Office!

PARTNERS FOR LIVING POSITIVELY

A panel discussion on HIV and development in Africa

Tuesday, May 4th  -  5 – 7 pm

Harvard University – Divinity School

Center for the Study of World Religions Common Room

Featuring panelists:

David Amponsah, PhD candidate, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Adamu Mousa, Harvard Kennedy School

Alim Ousmanou, Education Fights AIDS International

Introduction by Dr. Jacob Olupona

_{This panel discussion will address the interrelation of religious faith and practice (D. Amponsah), development in public health (A. Ousmanou), and the media and the creation of public knowledge (A. Mousa) in terms of what is known in Cameroon and much of Central and West African francophone countries as “la lutte contre le SIDA”. The mechanisms of each of these three fields can potentially provide people living with HIV in Cameroon, both personally and in community, with resources to help them live positively with HIV. They also present distinct challenges to those living healthily with the virus.}

Refreshments will be served following.

Sponsored by the Harvard Divinity School Diversity Fund