Summer Update_2011_v4.indd

SUMMER UPDATE 2011
MEASURING RESULTS IN MALAWI
For the past ten years, the Global AIDS
Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) has had a clear
strategy to monitor the effectiveness of the
programs its donors have so generously
funded. Not satisfied with simple claims
of good work, GAIA strives to continue
demonstrating its commitment to trans-
parency, accountability, and effectiveness.
Monthly observation and data collection
at the individual, household, and community levels have thus far enabled GAIA to
assess the success of its programs and to
address weaknesses.
Currently, GAIA serves nearly 125,000
people in Malawi, where the average
household spends just US $17 on health
care per year. As the number of people
GAIA serves increases and the organization gains visibility, it becomes even more
critical to ensure that systematic evaluations of each of GAIA’s programs enable
it to gauge accurately whether its objectives have been met and how its programs
might be adjusted for maximum impact.
To that end, GAIA has hired Beth Geoffrey as its Monitoring and Evaluation
(M&E) Officer. She is working on, among
other things, decreasing the time between
data collection and the analysis thereof,
allowing for immediate necessary changes
to existing programs.
researchers are conducting studies of our
Mobile Health Clinics to measure the appropriateness of the treatments and the effectiveness of the services offered. Finally,
an impact assessment of the Microfinance
program is scheduled for later this year to
further evaluate the effect of GAIA’s loans
on the welfare of the recipients.
Even as GAIA grows, it will remain
focused on the best, most cost-effective
strategies to help the people of Malawi in
the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and
malaria. With these new M&E efforts,
GAIA hopes to continue earning the trust
of its loyal donors and become an even
more compelling charitable vehicle for
individual, government, and multinational
donors.
Several new M&E projects are under way.
One is the longitudinal study of the GAIA
Villages program in 60 villages to assess
whether the health education efforts there
have translated into health-promoting
behaviors. In another project, external
Nurse trainer correcting antiretroviral therapy
examinations in Mulanje district
Nurses learn how to fill out antiretroviral therapy
patient logs
NEW GAIA STAFF
Deborah Kull
Deborah is GAIA’s new full-time Southern California Development
Officer. Deborah received a master of arts in forced migration
from the University of Oxford and earned her bachelor of arts in
Africana studies and bachelor of science in environmental science
geology from North Carolina State University. Deborah has over five years of fundraising experience for international and humanitarian nonprofits. She is originally
from North Carolina and has lived with her husband for the past three years in Santa
Monica, California.
Beth Geoffroy
Beth, GAIA’s new Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, brings
her statistical knowledge to the team to measure the efficacy
and impact of our programs in Malawi. Prior to working at
GAIA, Beth managed two research studies in Malawi funded by
the World Bank, one aimed at reducing the incidence of HIV in Zomba District
and the other focusing on a land redistribution project in six districts including
Mulanje and Thyolo. She holds bachelor’s degrees in economics and international relations from Boston University and a master’s degree in international and
development economics from the University of San Francisco.
WOMAN REGAINS HEALTH WITH MOBILE CLINIC
TESTING AND TREATMENT
“Esther” is a 37-year-old woman from
Mwanakhu, a village in Malawi’s Mulanje
District. She has been seriously ill for
eighteen months. Her troubles began with
swelling in her left foot, which made walking difficult, then impossible. A few months
later, she noticed a small mass on the same
foot that eventually became ulcerated. And
she was losing weight.
GAIA Mobile Clinical Officer meets with a patient
at a GAIA Mobile Health Clinic stop
With no money for transportation and the
nearest health facility 20 kilometers away,
Esther turned to her village’s traditional
healer, who told her she had been bewitched
but, with his help, could be cured of her curse.
For several weeks thereafter, Esther took the
herbal treatments the healer prescribed, only
to see her health deteriorate further.
Fortunately for Esther, GAIA initiated an
outreach program in her community, informing villagers of the free health services being
offered through the Mobile Health Clinic
(MHC) in nearby Mkanda. During her first
visit to the clinic this past February, MHC
staff performed a physical examination and
took her medical history. Suspecting she was
in the advanced stages of HIV, they urged
Esther to be tested for the virus, which she
indeed has. She has Kaposi’s sarcoma, a
cancer associated with advanced HIV.
Since taking the free antiretroviral medications provided through a Malawian
government program, Esther’s condition
has improved. According to the MHC staff,
her left foot has healed enough to allow her
to resume walking, farming, and attending
to her household chores.
Esther believes that many villagers in her
area are infected but unaware of their status. She hopes that GAIA will continue its
intervention in the villages and provide the
lifesaving help she received.
“Esther” is in the center. (Used with permission)
FULBRIGHT FUNDS MALAWIAN HEALTH CARE
WORKERS VISIT TO THE U.S.
The University of California, San Francisco
(UCSF) School of Nursing and the Global
AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) have had
much fruitful collaboration throughout GAIA’s history. Most recently, Dr. Sally Rankin,
Professor at UCSF’s School of Nursing, working with Dr. Lynda Wilson of the University of
Alabama, wrote a successful proposal to fund
an educational and cultural exchange through
the prestigious Fulbright Program sponsored
by the United States Department of State.
The goal of the project is to promote global
health through educational programs that
prepare health-care professionals to provide
care for marginalized populations in Africa
and the United States.
In Malawi, GAIA Country Director Jones
Laviwa and GAIA-Malawi trustee Dr. Angela
Chimwaza selected the Malawi Fulbright
scholars and helped to construct the on-theground program. Under the program, four
Malawi nursing faculty, a health economist,
and GAIA Projects Officer Alice Bvumbwe
traveled to the United States in April. Each
Fulbright visitors in Chinatown, San Francisco.
From left to right: Spy Munthali, Rose Mazengera, Alice Bvumbwe, Enalla Thambozi, Maria Chikalipo, Angela Chimwaza.
member of the group was paired with a UCSF
Nursing faculty member working in his or her
area of interest. The fellows attended classes
and seminars at UCSF and observed innovative partnerships like Glide Health Services,
a clinic that provides free health care to the
homeless and indigent population in San
Francisco. The group’s cultural tour of the
city was highlighted by a visit to the National
AIDS Memorial in Golden Gate Park, where
a monument pays tribute to the lives lost to
AIDS in the United States. The scholars also
visited Birmingham, AL and Washington, DC.
This July, under the same program, UCSF
School of Nursing faculty traveled to Malawi
to learn about health care in the developing
world.
VILLAGE BY VILLAGE:
A GARDEN PARTY FOR GAIA RAISES $300,000
SEAN NOLAN PHOTOGRAPHY
The Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance raised
over $300,000 at its annual spring fundraiser on Sunday, May 15.
SEAN NOLAN PHOTOGRAPHY
Jones Laviwa and Dr. Michael Krasny
Host Erin Becker shows exhibits to her daughter
Event chair and GAIA trustee Joy Mistele
and her team of committed volunteers,
including but not limited to Nancy Chung
Hooper, P.K. Linke, Willow Niitsuma,
Hardie Cobbs, and Liz Zoba, helped to create a memorable afternoon in the stunning
garden of Erin and Rob Becker’s home in
Kentfield, California. Rob Becker, a supporter of GAIA, is the creator and writer
of the off-Broadway show, “Defending the
Caveman.”
Speeches by Dr. William Rankin, GAIA’s
president & CEO; Jones Laviwa, GAIA’s
country director; and Kaboni Gondwe, a
recipient of GAIA’s nursing scholarship and
Gondwe, in sharing her struggles and
triumphs, served as a powerful reminder
of the impact GAIA’s donors make in the
lives of Malawians. “I heard about GAIA
and how they were sponsoring women in
their education,” she said. “I promised
them that with their assistance, I was going
to make them proud, just as much as they
made me proud of myself. GAIA funded
the rest of my training and I graduated with
distinction. It was a very happy moment for
me because I accomplished something that
seemed absolutely impossible.”
SEAN NOLAN PHOTOGRAPHY
SEAN NOLAN PHOTOGRAPHY
Hardie Cobbs, David Gilmour, Joy Mistele,
and Dr. Charles Cobb
The event, emceed by Dr. Michael Krasny,
host of KQED’s Forum, drew 300 guests,
who browsed educational exhibits about
GAIA’s work in Malawi, including a lifesize bicycle ambulance. They also sampled
African wines from San Francisco-based
importer Cape Ardor and enjoyed a live
musical performance by Samba, Samba
Back to Africa.
current Fulbright Scholar, captivated the
crowd, who responded generously to the
Fund-A-Need appeal. Money raised will
support various GAIA programs.
GAIA nursing scholar Kaboni Gondwe with D.A. Gros
NEW GAIA TRUSTEES
Joy Mistele
Joy is a teacher, administrator, passionate community
volunteer, and champion of women in sports. She is also the
proud mother of three children. Joy’s obvious energy and
enthusiasm for GAIA’s work was demonstrated in her strong
leadership in chairing GAIA’s successful Garden Party in May.
Gordon Keen
Gordon and his wife, Janice, live most of the year in Bryn
Mawr, Pennsylvania and spend their winters in La Quinta,
California. Gordon, a retired attorney, is researching the lives of
19th century lawyers and businessmen for a possible collective
biography. He also enjoys books, golf, and hiking.
D.A. Gros
David-Alexandre (“D.A.”) joined GAIA’s board in 2010.
He is a physician turned investment banker focused on life
sciences and medical technology companies. His interests
include medical history, wine and wine making, travel, and
playing squash.
Carrie LeRoy
Carrie is an intellectual property attorney and a mother of three
boys. She is active in local organizing efforts and founded a
nonprofit dedicated to educational purposes. Carrie’s husband
is from France, all three of their children speak French, and she
is a proud Francophile.
The Presidio of San Francisco
PO Box 29110
San Francisco, CA 94129-0110
Telephone: (415) 461-7196 • Fax: (415) 785-7389
[email protected] • www.thegaia.org
NON-PROFIT
US POSTAGE
PAID
AD-VANTAGE
GAIA Board of Trustees
U.S. Trustees
Malawi Trustees
Marty Arscott, Board Chair
Bennett Chavula (Chair)
Kim Baltzell
Angela Chimwaza
Eva Banda
Jones Laviwa
Susan Brodesser
Barnabas Salaka
Jocelyn Cortese
Ellen Schell
Haile Debas, Emeritus
Etta M. Eskridge
David Gilmour
Michael Gottlieb
Agnes Grohs
D.A. Gros
Virginia Joffe
Gordon Keen
Jennifer Kepner
Daniel King
Carrie LeRoy
Michael Lockhart
Bob McCaskill
Joy Mistele
Lisa Park
Andy Pflaum
William W. Rankin
Ivan Weinberg, Legal Counsel
Charles B. Wilson, Co-Founder & Chair Emeritus
Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) provides basic health services,
targeting prevention, care, and support in communities affected by HIV,
AIDS, TB and malaria in Africa.
WHAT’S NEW AT GAIA:
STUDENTS READ TO SAVE LIVES
At St. Matthew’s Parish School in Pacific Palisades, California,
reading does more than just train the brain: it saves lives. As
part of their study on Africa, third graders hold a read-a-thon to
raise money for mosquito nets. This year the class raised $3,560,
enabling GAIA to provide 356 nets to the people of Malawi.
Jocelyn Cortese, a GAIA trustee and a parent at the school,
teaches the students about malaria—it is the number one killer
of children under the age of five in Malawi—and the difference
an insecticide-treated bed net can make to a family. Evidently,
this lesson is not lost on the children. “The kids get it. I’m
always impressed by how quickly they see the inequity of the
elimination of malaria in other parts of the world, but not in
sub-Saharan Africa,” says Cortese. “One little girl said, ‘I think
we should raise $15,000 extra so that every new baby that gets
born in Malawi can go home with a malaria net.’”
To join the Net by Net campaign, please visit
http://www.thegaia.org/involved/netbynet.html or contact us at
[email protected] to organize your own school fundraiser.
SAVE THE DATES
Join us for
Leadership Celebrations: Tributes to Bill Rankin
this Fall!
SEPT.
SEPT.
NOV.
Pasadena
CA
San
Francisco
CA
Purchase
NY
25 27 5
Learn more and purchase tickets at:
www.thegaia.org