School group to travel with local AIDS doctor in Africa
Posted on 27. Jun, 2011 by Abid in In The News
GUELPH — For the first time, Dr. Anne-Marie Zajdlik will not be working at the Tsepong clinic when she travels to Lesotho in July, and that has her a bit nervous.
“I wonder how much that will hurt,” the Guelph AIDS doctor said in weekend interview, admitting that although she’s developing a thick skin, transitioning operations of the clinic from the Ontario-based charity OHAfrica to the Lesotho government’s own board of health last year still feels like letting the kids drive the car by themselves for the first time.
“I’ve always worked in the clinic when I’ve been there. What will I do with myself this time?” she quipped.
Zajdlik is well-known in Guelph as the founder and impetus behind a million-dollar fundraising campaign known as Bracelet of Hope. Dollars raised here have helped fund the only AIDS clinic in Lesotho, which is the epicentre of the AIDS crisis in Africa.
Now that the clinic is in the hands of the Lesotho government, Bracelet of Hope, and Zajdlik herself, are forging a new path in the fight against AIDS.
Bracelet of Hope is now supporting organizations in Lesotho that are dealing with some of the other effects of AIDS, such as housing and education for children orphaned by AIDS, small-scale agricultural operations, support groups for AIDS patients, and transportation programs to ensure AIDS patients can get to the clinic.
In her heart, Zajdlik hopes to be able to open more AIDS clinics as well, so her days will be filled with meeting the key players in Lesotho, learning how their projects work and scoping out the need and possible locations for future clinics.
“I’m gearing up for a lot of talking in the fall,” she said. “This trip will let me hit the ground running in terms of directing support. There are 100,000 orphans in Lesotho. We want to get involved with projects to help these children become adults with productive lives.”
That’s not all Zajdlik is up to, however. She is a mentor to 12 students from the three public high schools in Guelph who are also taking the trip, along with two teachers and three community mentors as part of Reach Lesotho, a program of the Upper Grand District School Board. The students are also bringing a camera crew to help document the important elements of the trip.
“This was inspired by Anne-Marie’s work,” said Joel Barr, a Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute teacher of a course called issues in human rights. “And it all started in one of my civics classes.”
Barr had a student, Abid Virani, who was interested in international development and humanitarian causes, and while still a high school student, Virani started a charitable organization called Reach Lesotho.
Virani is now a student at the University of Guelph and the organization has been renamed I Have Hope in the Fight Against AIDS. But its goal is the same: to educate high school students about global issues in developing countries, to give them first-hand experience in the field, and to raise some leaders to champion the cause.
Virani went to Lesotho in 2009, and he and Barr began developing the curriculum for the issues in human rights course almost immediately upon his return. The course involves research, independent and group work, and extensive fundraising.
The 12 students will spend three weeks in Lesotho and will produce a documentary to raise awareness of the issues that go hand and hand with AIDS. Together, they must also raise $100,000 to cover the costs.
Barr said that because of insurance, the high cost of travel and other logistics, the course will not likely be offered again.
“Given the logistics, I don’t think it will be replicated. That makes this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Barr said.
However, it fits with the new direction of Bracelet of Hope — to get more people vested in the fight against AIDS, to develop more local leadership on the issue, to build partnerships with associated agencies in Lesotho, and to raise funds.
“It’s hard to raise money though,” Zajdlik said. “Our overall goal is to help these projects in Lesotho to become self-sustaining, so people can support themselves. It will take more than treatment to heal this country.”
The students are screening a 10-minute version of the documentary on Thursday, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Boathouse. Students will also speak about the program and what they’ve received from it so far.
The trip to Africa is from July 25 to Aug. 16. The full documentary will be screened at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day.
