Donations to this project
are eligible for a 50% match
as part of
the
September 2023 Little by Little campaign!
until September 22, 2023, at 23:59:59 EDT
FSP Program Update Fall 2011
Our continued thanks to all of our supporters for making the AIDS Patients Family Support Program ( FSP) possible! 2011 has been an exciting year!
The FSP continues to support a group of 70-75 families comprised mainly of homeless mothers suffering from mid to late stage AIDS. Within this group we care for approximately 125-130 dependent children of whom about 20% themselves are afflicted with AIDS. We also provide permanent full support for 11 orphaned children whose parents passed away in our program some years ago.
In November,2011 Mark completed his quarterly visit to Cambodia to review the status of each family in the FSP and to conduct a line item budget review with our FSP program coordinator. The type of support given depends on the specific needs of each family, but regardless, the basic structure is that families receive housing support, a semi-monthly food allowance, basic medicines ( not antiviral) and transportation to medical appointments. When surgery re other major medical expenses are needed, we also cover that. We work to connect our families with various HIV/AIDS support programs so that their illness can be properly managed.
What’s new ?
We have committed to provide modest assistance to the children at the Phnom Penh municipal orphanage – The National Borey for Infants and Children. It is home to 120 orphaned or abandoned children, all of whom suffer from serious physical or emotional conditions. About 30% of the kids have AIDS while others have cerebral palsy, life threatening cancer or other serious problems including autism and severe birth defects.
From January 2012 we will fully fund the room where the most severely malnourished and handicapped kids live and which functions as sort of a basic intensive care room which will insure that these kids get at least a basic standard of care and nutrition regardless of the chronic unavailability of government funding.
The orphanage is grossly under funded and so we will also help out by offering enrichment classes on weekends for these shut in kids and occasional outings funding.
We cover school expenses for all dependent children grade 1 ~ 12 in our 75 FSP families. Our current school age enrollment for the FSP is 91 students and we are thrilled to say that we are also supporting 4 of our long time FSP kids in their first year in university studies ! This is so exciting for us, 4 kids, who despite incredible odds, have “ made it” to university.
Reaching this achievement is in large part a result of our continuing emphasis on education. Our FSP staff of 5 includes one accredited primary school teacher whose main responsibility is to monitor the progress of each student, help keep the student current on assignments and identify any student who may need extra help or who shows evidence of truancy.
Our school package of support for each student includes a “ school kit” of two uniforms, a pair of shoes, a monthly allowance for each student to pay his public school teacher the small daily required cash lesson fees without which progress in school is nearly impossible. FSP kids also have enough to eat- a key part of any educational effort.
Although the primary objective of the FSP is to preserve family unity and assist women with AIDS the means to survive and care for their children with dignity, our ongoing goal and dream is to help the children to break the cycle of inherited poverty.
It costs approximately $ 125 dollars per month per family when all direct and administrative costs are
We are deeply grateful for your continued support! Think of it- together we have not only assisted these families and kept them together as families, but our ability to provide long term assistance and oversight has enabled 4 students from the FSP to reach university. We have 2 other students who last year also entered university. Put differently, from our universe of about 135 children in our FSP related care, we now have 6 in university , their tuition of roughly $ 500 per year per student covered through dedicated donations by generous donors.
Together we can make a difference. Our deepest thanks to you all for your continued support of our efforts and our best wishes for a wonderful new year in 2012
Barbara & Mark Rosasco
Mark completed his quarterly trip to Cambodia in June 2011 where he reviewed all operational aspects of the IDS Patient Family Support Program. Although no significant exceptions were noted, FSP families continue to be impacted by the effects of high local inflation ( double digits ) , rising rents, rising fuel and food prices and costs of medical care. Our goal remains constant: to provide comprehensive compassionate care to mothers and children impacted by extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS , with resources directed toward keeping families together and helping children to break the cycle of inherited poverty.
Program highlights: 5 FSP students graduate from high school
Great news awaited Mark, where he learned that 5 FSP ( 4 girls, 1 boy) children had graduated from high school. Graduation form high school is a commendable achievement in Cambodia, which only a low percentage of students achieve. It is a remarkable achievement for these four FSP students, who come from backgrounds willed with significant impediments such as extreme poverty and the impact that HIV has had on their families, such as the loss of a parent, and the remaining parent suffering from HIV.
Two children, a brother and sister, are the only two surviving family members of a 5 member family. Both father and mother passed away while in the FSP, as did another sibling. These two children are original members of our FSP, and represent a wonderful example of how the longer term assistance of the FSP can help children break the cycle of inherited poverty.
The FSP currently supports the education of 88 children.
Our five high school graduates have dreams of continuing on to college, with annual tuition costs per student of under $1000 . However, as the average monthly budget for supporting an FSP family is currently $118 , a college tuition is currently beyond reach unless we can find additional funding resources for these four students. Dreams include studying law and nursing. Please contact us if you would like to support these efforts or know of financial resources.
Other news: Seisen International School, Tokyo Japan Student Volunteers
Seisen International School, Tokyo, Japan sent 17 high school students and 2 teachers to assist the FSP in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in June 2011 through 12 days of intensive volunteer activities.
Students were divided into two groups. One group of students volunteered at an AIDS Hospice and the second group of students volunteered at the Phnom Penh municipal orphanage. Student volunteers assisted caregivers by providing caring companionship to orphaned, frail and bed bound children through play, singing and individualized companionship and touch.
Some student volunteers initially fought back tears as they learned of the significant and permanent limitations of frail and bed-bound children. However, they immediately took on their challenges with good humor and great kindness and grace, putting forward maximum effort to make a positive impact.
Although children in these institutions receive care, staff members cannot take time to provide more individualized personal attention to young residents. For frail and bed bound children, simple touch and companionship, such as is achieved by simply sitting or rocking a child is a wonderful experience . Our student volunteers were a wonderfully welcome addition to the care team for these children.
Upcoming events:Wild Life Alliance Partners with Kasumisou Foundation
The Wild Life Alliance in partnership with Kasumisou Foundation’s FSP, has arranged for trips for two groups of children to visit a wild life rescue center run by Cambodia’s Ministry of Forestry. These two groups of children, 80 students from our FSP and 60 children from the Phnom Penh Municipal Orphanage, will take a bus trips on September 14 and 16 to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center, an area outside of Phnom Penh, to learn more about Cambodia’s endangered species and how they can help to protect them.
As always, we remain grateful for your continued support of our AIDS Patient Family Support Program. Together, truly, we make a difference.
Barbara & Mark Rosasco
Links:
May 2011 AIDS Patient Family Support Program Update
Please support GlobalGiving’s Recurring Donation Program and the FSP
Mark visited Cambodia in February 2011 where he met with our Home Care Coordinator and Team to review the status of each family in the FSP. All operational aspects of the FSP remain as described in the program description .The educational progress of the children was discussed along with other issues that need attention, such as the recent imposition of costs for previously fee medical services.
In December, Mark had learned of a significant development that will seriously impact the FSP families and program. Due to recent policy changes by Cambodia/s NPO medical providers, all patients, including the very poorest will now be required to pay fees for medical services which were previously free, such as blood tests and doctor visits. For families living on a razor’s edge of survival, an additional expenditure of $ 5 to $ 10 per month may create life threatening choices for patients. Unless the FSP provides additional funding, it is likely that previously stable patients may skip visits and medication leading to a decline in health and a possibility of developing drug resistant strains of HIV and TB.
For FSP families medicals fees will confront them with a choice of seeking the medical care essential to their continuing survival or of feeding their children.
Food and energy price inflation already threatens the stability of many families and their ability to maintain a level nutrition necessary for survival. At a time when our FSP budget is already gravely strained by a difficult fundraising environment, we must project a possible increase in the allocation to our FSP families of an additional $10,000 for 2011 to our current on site expenditure budget to pay these medical fees or face the simple fact that hungry poor families will choose food over medical care. At the present time we projected the 2011 FSP budget at $ 107,240 and have raised $49,000 from various donors leaving us with substantial funding needs for the second half of 2011.
We urge you to consider making a recurring donation to support our FSP. Just $ 27.50 will support one family for one week. Stable funding is essential for our continued effort to help the FSP families and to give the children in these families the opportunity to break the cycle of inherited poverty.
We are very grateful for your continued support of the AIDS Patient Family Support Program.
Barbara and Mark Rosasco
2011 First Quarter Update
Mark visited Cambodia in November 2010 where he met with our Home Care Coordinator and Team to review the status of each family in the FSP. All operational aspects of the FSP remain as described in the program description . As a part of his visit, Mark also visited almost all of the families currently enrolled in the FSP. This quarterly visit by Mark is a standard practice and it is done in addition to the weekly visits that the Home Care Team makes to each family. Each family’s status is reviewed and the educational progress of the children is discussed along with any other issues that may need additional attention.
In December, after the completion of this trip, Mark learned of a significant development that will seriously impact the FSP families and program.
Due to a recent policy change by the UN’s Global Fund ( for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria) and the large medical NGOs which administer Global Fund services in Cambodia , patients, including the poorest, will now be required to pay small fees for services which were previously free, such as required blood tests and doctor visits. This a serious development for patients for whom an additional unplanned expense of even $ 5 to $ 10 per month could prevent their continued participation in the Global Fund’s program to obtain life saving anti-retroviral medications.
For FSP families, living on the very edge of survival, without increased financial support from our program, these small fees will confront them with a choice of seeking the medical care essential to their continuing survival or of feeding their children.
This alarming development could not have come at a worse time. Food price inflation in the developing world already threatens the ability of many families to maintain a level adequate nutrition necessary for survival.
At a time when our FSP budget is already strained by rising inflation and the difficult fundraising environment, we will need to increase the monthly allocation to our FSP families to pay these medical fees or face the simple fact that hungry poor families will choose food over medical care, an action which will inevitably lead to a rise in mortality and orphaned children. Consequently, you will note that our program support amounts have increased.
The FSP 2010 budget year has been completed, but the GlobalGiving site does not offer an easy way for us to distinguish from 2010 budget needs vs 2011 unless we repost our project.
The 2011 annual budget for the FSP is now projected at $ 106,000 ( $118 per patient family.) At the present time we have raised $32,000 from various donors, leaving us with substantial funding needs.
When including a portion of the costs of fundraising via the GlobalGiving site, this means we will now assume a monthly cost of $ 125 per patient family.
We are most grateful for your continued support of the AIDS Patient Family Support Program.
Check out our most recent press report Dated Sept 2, 2010 online at:
http://inmenlo.com/2010/09/04/barbara-and-mark-rosasco-working-to-better-the-lives-of-southeast-asia-women-and-children/
Mark visited Cambodia in late September where according to plan he met with our Home Care Coordinator and Team to review the quarterly status of each family in the FSP. As a part of his visit, Mark also visited almost all of the families currently enrolled in the FSP. During Mark's visits with each family, family status is reviewed and the educational progress of the children is discussed along with any other issues that may need additional attention. At present we now 95 children enrolled in school, up from our previous total of 85.
All operational aspects of the FSP continue as described in the program description without any significant exceptions. The one exception is that our program funding continues to be available unpredictably and only on a month by month basis, causing considerable worries about our ability to maintain non-stop continuation of this program.
Despite these grave funding concerns, we continue to focus on the importance of education in our efforts to encourage children to strive for academic excellence. As many of the parents in the FSP are illiterate, this additional social support which stresses the importance of education is of great importance.
Funding update October 2010
We are grateful to GlobalGiving for its recent Matching Funds event on October 12. Three donors gave a total of $ 6,000 which should earned a 50% funds match of $3,000 . The grand total after paying fees of $900 to Global, this campaign will net a total result of $8,100.
Donations to the FSP from all other sources, excluding GlobalGiving, now total $66,385, leaving a balance of approximately $ 18,000 yet to fund in order to achieve essential minimal program funding for the FSP's 75 families. Total of projected essential program costs remain at $ 88,000 per year, or a cost of $ 1118 per family, but owing to increased local costs this will rise moderately in the near future .
Kasumisou Foundation FSP operates and funds itself month-to-month. The continuing economic climate continues to impact all charities with total donations recently reported to have declined by approximately 11% for 2009. Kasumisou Foundation continues to seek funding to continue essential programs without interruption and to try to restore emergency reserve funds expended in 2008 and 2009 to make up for donor shortfalls. Many donors are experiencing donor fatigue and it is increasingly difficult to secure funding commitments and donations.
Although we are blessed to receive continued support for our projects, at the present time, we are keenly aware that any significant shortfall in funding would mean that we would immediately be forced to stop our support of these 75 families and causing these mothers and their children become homeless within the month. Our top priority continues to be to raise funds to support of our existing program commitments and to try to restore our reserve funds once immediate funding commitments are met.
Thank you all very much for your generous and continued support! We cannot do this without you !
Barbara Rosasco
Kasumisou Foundation
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
