Kameron is 22 years old, he joined Baylor Uganda in 1999, when he was 4 years old. His mother said he was often sick with a fever and cough with body rashes. She brought him to the clinic to test his blood where she found out he was HIV+. Kameron was immediately admitted, but there were no ARVs at the time. His care was basically nutritional, psychological and prophylaxis (using Cotrimoxazole).
In 2003, Kameron started taking ARVs and Cotrimoxazole, one of the medications donated by the American Foundation for Children with AIDS. There was a point in time when the clinic didn’t have Cotrimoxazole, but AFCA intervened so clients like Kameron could benefit from this medication. Countless lives have been prolonged, saved and improved by this program.
Today, Kameron is a peer leader at the clinic. He encourages his peers to stay in care and continue to take their medications. Kameron also organizes peer support activities. Overall, he is doing so well and has a better quality of life. His message to AFCA is, "“Thanks to AFCA, for what they have done for me, if it was not for the Cotrimoxazole that you donated, maybe I wouldn’t be alive or achieving my goals.”
Our teams here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS and our partners in Africa thank you for supporting this project and the work we do for the children in in our programs. If you would like to learn even more about what we do or how you can meet some of the children you have helped, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org.
Robbi's daughter is 12 years old and has been in our care since 2006. Sara was a newborn at that time and Robbi had lost all hope of her surviving. Our team at Baylor labored hard to pull Sara out of danger, as the American Foundation for Children with AIDS supported the effort and provided the medication she needed. Sara's health is now well managed as she lives a normal life just like other children. Robbi spoke with tears in her eyes as she expressed her appreciation for her daughter's treatments over the years.
This story brings us great hope in addition to many more we hear about each day. We remember days when we didn't have this kind of positive feedback. Many young adults started as toddlers between 2007 and 2010 on the first line of treatments, which failed and were switched to second line treatments. Children failed to respond to even the second line and we almost lost them. Thankfully, we have been able to provide a third line treatment since 2015 which has been successful.
The team here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS thanks you for supporting this project and the work we do for the children in Africa. As you start to make decisions regarding your end of year giving, please keep us in mind so we can continue our good work into 2018 and beyond. We wish you a new year full of many blessings and as much hope as you have shared with us. If you would like to learn even more about what we do or how you can meet some of the children you have helped, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org.
Maggie entered our care in 2007. She is currently receiving care for HIV with three of her children. The youngest is an infant who has been receiving care to prevent mother to child transmission. Maggie and her children are well taken care of with us, and they have not missed scheduled medications. She tells us that the staff at the clinic has been very supportive and encouraged her to contact the father of her children so he could receive care. This has helped the family a lot as he had developed serious infections and was admitted. Had he not had the support of our partner or the medication provided by AFCA, dad would not have survived.
Mom and dad tell us that their family is very happy. The children are stabilized and are now attending school. The youngest, Joey, is now 18 months old and was recently tested after being weaned from breastfeeding. Everyone is thrilled that he is HIV negative!
Please know that your generosity is truly making a difference in the lives of this family and many more in our program. With our partners on the ground, the children and their families receive the support and monitoring they need to make this a very successful project. We are changing lives day after day. Maggie and her husband feel your love, and do we at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS.
If you have questions or are interested in learning more about this program or others, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@afcaids.org
Every time I see any of our kiddos, I am amazed by how much they've grown. When they were tiny tikes in 2005, I wondered how many would reach adulthood. Guess what? Many do! Indeed, as the years go by, the trend is that more and more of them live well and it is thanks to people like you.
Of course, this is not an easy feat. Most of our children are orphaned (both dad and mom), while some have one living parent and others are raised by a grandparents or are being raised by older siblings. Life is hard and many times, food is scarce. When food is not enough, kids drop out of school because they don’t have the energy to walk the distances required of them. When they drop out of school, many lose hope and stop taking their medicine because they don’t see the point on continuing on. The cycle is vicious and it is thanks to numerous counselors, nurses, doctors and community workers that this cycle can be broken.
The cycle is what propelled AFCA to treat food as medicine for kids. Without the food medicine is hard to take and the kids often get nauseous and have upset stomachs. So, Nutrition by Prescription was born and those who need it, receive complimentary food supplements at the same time they receive their monthly medications. This addition of food has changed the future of these children because they now take their medicine on time, on full bellies and they stay in school. Their morale picks up and they have a reason to move forward. Isn’t it incredible? A bowl of nutritious porridge, eggs, chicken, veggies, fruit, meat and milk are all part of their medical care, as needed! Sure, it is not cotrimoxazole or ARVs or malarone, but when paired with the medicine YOU provide, food is powerful.
Friends, you are providing medications for our children and we are forever grateful. We also want you to know that we take your donation of medication seriously. So seriously, in fact, that we added a sustainable food program to our medicine program and we have seen much success! The kids grow into adulthood, even against odds we have a hard time imagining. And, they don’t simply grow…they GROW! And they thrive. This is thanks to YOU, who provide them with the medicine they need to be healthy.
Thank YOU for giving life.
Thank YOU for caring.
From the bottom of my heart,
Tanya, for the children
It's always exciting to open an email with an update from one of our partners. Even better when it includes a photograph of a young man we first met 10 years ago!
Harry is a 23 year old young man who joined our program in 2007. As with many of the children we meet, his situation was difficult with limited income and little access to food or medical care. Harry has a sparkle in his eye as he tells about the medical care and medicine he has received from our program partner, knowing they are the reason he is what he is today. He continues to say, “the medicines I receive from here are excellent quality and I always get better even before completing the full course of treatment.” Harry understands and is grateful for these services which are far superior to what most receive from government hospitals, yet all this is for free. He compliments all the changes in service delivery which he has witnessed as a child. The support received from the American Foundation for Children with AIDS gives clients the confidence in knowing there is someone they can turn to for help in case any health related problem arise. This confidence itself, has built in Harry a strong will and stamina to focus on more important life needs than worrying about his health.
Please know that your generosity is truly making a difference in Harry's life, and many others in our program. With our partners on the ground, the children and their families receive the support and monitoring they need to make this a very successful project. We are changing lives day after day. Harry feels your love, and so do we at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS.
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