Summer 2008

The Presidio of San Francisco
PO Box 29110
San Francisco, CA 94129-0110
Tel: (415) 461-7196 Fax: (415) 461-9681
[email protected] www.thegaia.org
Summer 2008 Update
U.S. Trustees:
Ivan Weinberg, Chair
Charles B. Wilson, Chair Emeritus
William W. Rankin, President and CEO
Richard A. Schiller, Treasurer
Susan Brodesser
Haile T. Debas
Etta Eskridge
David Gilmour
Michael Gottlieb
Jennifer Kepner
Mimi Kepner
Daniel King
Carole Levine
Michael Lockhart
Grant Norris
Gordon Radley
Azmat Siddiqi
Sharon Youmans
Single Mother’s Life Saved
by New GAIA Village Intervention
Malawi Trustees:
Her Caregiver saw that she
needed assistance and
promptly offered life-saving
food, medicine, supplies,
care, and friendship.
Angela Chimwaza
Mary Kalaile
Jones Laviwa
Rachel Nyagondwe Fiedler
Barnabas Salaka
Ellen Schell
Gertrude Chipungu, standing, meets with Caregivers.
We salute the
GAIA MTC,
which is right
at the heart
of our grassroots approach
to developing
an effective
response to
the AIDS
crisis in Africa.
Malawai Technical Committee
Promotes Self Sufficiency
Forty-five minutes down a long and bumpy dirt road in Malawi’s rural western Zomba
District, is a brave group of HIV positive people who formed an organization, Tikondane,
to help each other and the sick among them. With the distribution of anti-retroviral
medications (anti-AIDS drugs) and more testing centers, the group grew, and now has 225
members from nearby villages. Of this number, 142 are now on anti-retroviral therapy. The
group wanted to become self-sufficient by earning money through tailoring and growing
produce to feed the weaker members. They learned about GAIA and submitted a proposal.
Every three months, the GAIA Malawi Technical Committee (MTC), comprised of
our three senior staff members, Jones Laviwa, Gertrude Chipungu, and Alice Bvumbwe
reviews proposals from groups like Tikondane. The process is rigorous. In a typical session
they may examine over 20 applications and recommend only 3 or 4 for funding to the U.S.
Board. They study each application carefully, looking for soundness and feasibility and the
potential to carry out the proposed activities. They check for a reasonable and appropriate
budget, and most of all, for evidence of community ownership and support of the project.
They learn about the reputation of the organization in the community.
Once their recommendations are approved by the GAIA U.S. Board and the funds
released, they assign a GAIA staff member to visit the organization and follow up. Our
staff assists these groups to build their capacity, helping them with everything from record
keeping and report writing to developing sound committees and vibrant shared leadership.
We salute the GAIA MTC, which is right at the heart of our grass-roots approach to
developing an effective response to the AIDS crisis in Africa.
GAIA’s mission is to partner with organizations in resource poor countries for community-based HIV prevention and care.
Meet “Ann”, a 39
year-old HIV positive,
single mother with five
children. Ann lives
in Mphusu village,
located in the country’s
southern Mulanje
district where we
introduced our GAIA
Village intervention last
January.
Mphusu has been
hit hard by AIDS,
losing many productive
adults who are also the
mothers and fathers
of large families. The
mixture of poverty, transactional sex, and a weak healthcare
infrastructure makes the women and girls in Mphusu extremely
vulnerable to HIV.
Ann and her family benefit from the workshops, goods,
and daily visits by her Community Caregiver, a local woman
employed by GAIA.
“Look at Ann. She
i s s o h e a l t h y n o w, ”
whispers her Caregiver.
A n n , a s h y, p e t i t e
woman with bright
eyes, recounts how
she became sick, went
to the local hospital,
15 kilometers from her
home, and when the
doctors suspected HIV,
she agreed to be tested.
After testing positive
for HIV, Ann discovered
she had tuberculosis.
Too afraid to tell her
friends and family, and too sick to work, she became so frail that
she was unable to care for herself or her children. Her Caregiver
saw that she needed assistance and promptly offered lifesaving food, medicine, supplies, care and friendship. This, Ann
explained in hushed tones, was the reason she was still alive.
2 Garden Parties Raise Over $700,000 For Gaia
Malawian women perform a traditional song.
Committee Members Jennifer and Chris Kostanecki
GAIA’s Central Regions Program Manager Gertrude
with Guest Speaker Ann Lamott
Comedian Rainn Wilson Emcees the Live Auction
Event Chairman David Gilmour and Benefit Host Linda Gruber.
Laela Wilding accepts gift for her grandmother, Dame Elizabeth Taylor,
from Dr. Michael Gottlieb, benefit Co-chair.
BAY AREA
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
340 guests attended the “Village by Village: A Garden Party
for GAIA” at the Marin County home of Linda and Jon Gruber
on April 27. Over $400,000 was raised through the help of
author Anne Lamott and SF Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll.
Trustee David Gilmour was the event chairman.
Anne Lamott read from her book Traveling Mercies and
Jon Carroll emceed a live “fund the need” auction to support
GAIA’s services for children, women, and men affected by
AIDS. Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu was
Honorary Chair; California’s First Lady Maria Shriver was
Honorary Co-chair.
Malawian staffer Gertrude Chipungu, who traveled around
the U.S. to share stories of GAIA’s work, spoke of a 13-year old
boy single-handedly caring for his mother who was dying of
AIDS-related illnesses. With GAIA’s help, she received HIV
testing and counseling, anti-retroviral medications, and a new
lease on life. Her son received financial assistance to purchase
a school uniform, supplies, and tuition to attend school. In
Gertrude’s words, “GAIA was there.”
Jane and Ron Olson of Pasadena hosted a Garden Party for
GAIA on May 4. The festive event, attended by over 200 guests,
raised over $300,000. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the event’s
Honorary Chair. GAIA trustee Dr. Michael Gottlieb and Lyla
White served as benefit co-chairs.
Emmy-nominated Actor Rainn Wilson handled Emcee
duties for the afternoon’s festivities. Rainn currently stars as the
neurotic Dwight Schrute in the award-winning series The Office
on NBC.
Dr. Gottlieb, who as a young doctor at UCLA identified
the first cases of AIDS in 1981, paid tribute to Dame Elizabeth
Taylor for her pioneering work on behalf of those affected by
HIV and AIDS. GAIA’s newest initiative—two mobile clinics
providing HIV, TB and malaria testing and treatment in Malawi
villages—started with Dame Elizabeth Taylor's support. Her
granddaughter, Laela Wilding, accepted an award on her behalf.
GAIA Supporters Joe and Diane Webb
MEET LEA WOOD
Grace: A Young Girl Makes
Her Dreams A Reality
“Grace” is a teenager pursuing her life’s dream: to graduate from high
school, attend medical school, and become a doctor. In America, such dreams
are commonplace, but in Malawi this is a big dream. Many orphaned girls are
encouraged to drop out of school to take care of younger siblings and some
are pushed into marriage early. This helps explain why women’s literacy rates
are a dismal 49.8% compared to 72% for men. Women are disproportionately
affected by HIV: 59% of adult infections in Malawi occur in women.
With GAIA’s help, Grace is working to beat the odds and pursue her
dreams—she is at the top of her class at the Lilongwe Girls Secondary School.
Her accomplishments are significant given the many obstacles she has faced
in her short life: as an African girl, an AIDS orphan and a refugee—she
grew up in a Malawian refugee camp for Burundians. Through the Orphan
Education Fund, GAIA supports orphans like Grace providing them with
tuition assistance, school supplies and uniforms, at an annual cost of $125 per
student. Recently, Grace wrote a poem about her life entitled “Whom Else
Could I Concern.” In it, she chronicles the tough situations she has overcome:
“The time both my father and my mother died, I was left helpless and
hopeless. I couldn’t go further with my education. I asked myself as to whom
could it concern . . . By that time, I cried day in and day out. My voice was
broken and my eyes turned red. I wished I had never been born . . . You
[GAIA] removed me from the shame of living a dependent life. I appreciate
your charity and promise to thank you with my performance.”
In January, Lea became GAIA’s Development
Associate writing grants and assisting with eventplanning and outreach to U.S.
supporters. She has worked
for and volunteered with
grass-roots organizations
and women’s empowerment
projects since her college
years. In 2001, she began
a career in fundraising,
working with several Bay
Area organizations focused on serving and empowering
vulnerable people and communities. According to Lea,
working for GAIA is her “dream job” because “GAIA’s
holistic programs have an immediate and measurable
impact on Malawi’s citizens, particularly women and girls,
providing them with the support they need to be healthy,
educated and financially independent.”
Lea can be reached at: 415-461-7196; [email protected]
New Trustees and GAIA Staff
Represent East Coast
We are excited to announce GAIA’s expanded
presence on the East Coast where six new Trustees and
our new Congregational Relations Officer, David Ames,
are hard at work cultivating strong working relationships
with volunteers and donors. The Trustees: Grant Norris,
Susan Brodesser, Mimi Kepner, and Michael Lockhart in
Pennsylvania, Etta Eskridge in New York, and Jennifer
Kepner in Connecticut, are working closely with David,
and their efforts will greatly assist GAIA in responding to
the devastating impact of the AIDS epidemic, as well as
implementing UN Millennium Development Goals. This
amazing team of individuals will help mobilize hundreds
of donors and volunteers in the Mid-Atlantic corridor,
playing a key role in ramping up support for GAIA’s lifesaving services in Malawi.
David Ames joined GAIA’s Staff this spring. This
summer he is traveling in Malawi, and upon return,
he will meet with clergy and congregational outreach
coordinators on the East Coast, preaching and making
Actress Teri Garr and Honorary Committee Member
Sheldon Epps.
With GAIA’s help, she received HIV testing and counseling, anti-retroviral medications,
and a new lease on life.
presentations at forums. David is an Episcopal minister,
teacher, and consultant to non-profit organizations. He
served as Episcopal Chaplain at Brown University for 29
years and is now an Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at
Rhode Island College. We are thrilled to have David on
board. David currently lives in Providence and can be
reached at [email protected] and 401-578-0961.