Eric Carlson & Jeremy Ginsburg

Professor Thomas Brandner

ILS 252

November 23, 2011

The Introduction

There are countless problems challenging the health and safety of people living in Africa, but chief among them is the spread of HIV/AIDS. According to a 2010 UN report on the epidemic, Africa is home to 68% of all people living with HIV. In 2009, nearly 2 million people were newly infected with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa, while nearly 1.5 million people in the same region died due to AIDS-related illnesses (United Nations 2010). One of the more unfortunate consequences of the epidemic is the number of children who lose both their parents due to HIV. In fact, the increasing numbers of orphaned and vulnerable children due to HIV/AIDS has been described as one of Africa’s “silent ‘ticking bombs’” (Lund & Agyei-Mensah 2011). Despite a modest decrease in the prevalence of HIV in adults worldwide, the number of children who have been orphaned by HIV has increased from 14.6 million in 2005 to 16.6 million in 2009 (United Nations 2010). Nearly 90% of these orphans live in Sub-Saharan Africa, where support is often times difficult to come by.

Ghana, located in West Africa, has been especially affected by the African HIV/AIDS epidemic. The rate of HIV/AIDS infection in Ghana reached a whopping 3.5% in 2002; this number doesn’t even capture the entirety of HIV/AIDS cases as a majority of victims ignore traditional health institutions out fear of stigma and discrimination (Ansa Boafo 2002). The very fabric of Ghanaian society is being torn apart by this savage disease: more than 160,000 have Ghanaian children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS (Ansa Boafo 2002). Most of these orphans are ignored by adults in society, who refuse to teach them the appropriate social and life skills they will need to break Ghana’s cycle of economic stagnation and rejuvenate the economy. A 2002 study by the Global AIDS program (a branch of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention) found that the health of local economies, political leadership, formal and informal education opportunity, and social and health service systems would suffer as a consequence of increasing numbers of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS (Bicego, Johnson, & Rutstein 2003). HIV/AIDS orphans also stand a much smaller chance of being at the appropriate grade level for their age (Bicego, Johnson, & Rutstein 2003).

Because the immense number of children orphaned by the epidemic threatens the viability of Africa’s future, there have been remarkable contributions made to establish formal and informal systems of support to provide improved care for orphans and ensure that they receive sufficient educational and nutritional support. The below graph (which unfortunately does not include data from Ghana) is taken from the United Nations’ 2010 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, and represents the huge strides various organizations have made in delivering a better quality of life to orphans. This support does not come without a cost, however. Non-profits and Non-governmental organizations that establish infrastructure to support HIV/AIDS orphans require both economic and human resources to continue their good work. Even the local communities and families that extend support to orphaned children eventually require some measure of support for themselves. HIV/AIDS orphans frequently have too few adult-age relatives around to give the kind of support that enables a productive future, putting the burden on local communities and international organizations to reach out and offer assistance.

One such organization is New Seed International. A self-described “community orientated, non-Governmental, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, based in the capital of the Volta Region, Ho, in Ghana, West Africa,” New Seed provides care and support living with HIV/AIDS, with special attention given to children infected, or affect by the epidemic. New Seed’s orphanage consists of 177 students, 77 of whom live there full-time. Founded in 1996 by Livinus Acquah-Jackson and his family, NSI’s mission is to ensure that all people living in the area with HIV/AIDS have access to adequate medical and nutritional needs. Additionally, NSI seeks to reduce the discrimination and stigmatization that those infected with HIV/AIDS face on a regular basis, as well as educated the hundreds of orphans who face a bleak future. The New Seed compound features six classrooms, a clinic, and a living quarters, but is currently in the process of building additional dormitories to house more orphans. Many of the children at NSI are in need of dire financial and less tangible assistance; between school fees, medication, doctor visits, clothes, and food, it costs approximately $32 to sponsor a child for an entire month (New Seed).

New Seed International is currently trying to improve its infrastructure so as to help curb the rise of HIV/AIDS and assist orphans who benefit tremendously from this level of support. Current projects include: completing the boys and girls dormitories (a total of three buildings will be built), purchasing beds, mattresses, sturdy desks and chairs (the current chairs are made of plastic and break on a regular basis), expanding the poultry and vegetable farm to support long term feeding (food is difficult to come by), and purchasing new uniforms for the children. Together, these projects will cost approximately $25,000.

(http://www.solaceinternational.org/ghana/)

Although Madison is so far away from Ghana, we’re still doing what we can here to help the cause over seas. On campus, our student organization, Newseed Interntional UW-Madison, has been working hard all semester to raise money and as much awareness as possible. We hold biweekly meetings and have about ten active members. The focus of this student organization is to raise awareness on campus while fundraising for New Seed International.

Thus far, we’ve held four successful events. The first two were house parties where we sold cups while explaining to everyone where the collected money went. Our theme was “Party for a Purpose”. At first, people were hesitant to cough up money. But, once they learned about where the money was going, most were happy to contribute to a good cause while having a good time.

The third fundraising event was a street bake sale. Each of the members baked delicious treats (some of the treats were made in lab for ILS!) and we set up a table on State Street one night and sold the food to the intoxicated college students craving late night sweets as they passed by. That was a successful event as well, even though we struggled to keep warm towards the end of the night. The last event was a fundraiser at Campus Candy. We worked out a deal with them that in exchange for bringing them business, 15% of their earned would go to New Seed International sales when people said “Ghana” with their purchase. That was a huge success! We raised over $250 that night! That meant that over $1,600 was spent by costumers that also said “Ghana” with their purchase. Say the average purchase was $5, that’s over 250 people that said “Ghana” with their purchase! Through all four of these events, we’ve raised close to $700.

At our last meeting, Alec Lichtenberg came and told us his story of how he became involved with New Seed. After his freshman year, he volunteered at New Seed in the summer and loved it. When he returned, he started a student organization on campus and began recruiting members and raising both money and awareness. After he graduated, he had kept New Seed in the back of his head and still wanted to help, but he was living in New York and had a job. When he received a call from the Founder of New Seed International (In Ghana), he learned that they were in a deep crises and needed his help immediately. He spoke about his story.

I took a deep look at myself in the days following that conversation. I remember carrying the awareness of the children’s hunger with me at each meal and everywhere I went. It soon became clear what I needed to do. I began reaching out to every organization and individual I could connect with to build a new base of support for New Seed, and to build the strategic plan to not only bring us from our current crisis, but [to] put us on the path towards long-term sustainability.

. Alec in Ghana

After the group members heard his story, everyone sat around stunned as they took in the magnitude of his efforts to help these kids. Having him speak to us definitely motivated the group to continue with our projects and help New Seed as much as possible. Next semester, we will be losing a few members who will be studying abroad for the semester (Jeremy will be in Ghana), and it is important to stay mighty! We’ve reserved a spot in the Student Org Fair in January where we will set a booth in hopes to recruit more members so we can do big things!

We’ve also been working on securing an internship for credit between UW-Madison and New Seed International in Ghana. We met with several counselors and administrators here at UW, and the process is almost complete. It’s practically set up; all we need is someone who wants to embark on the journey! Jeremy wants to do the internship, but he’s unsure whether or not he will be able to since it might interfere with his intended graduation timing. The internship doesn’t accept applicants until March, so it is still too early to finalize any decision.

Works Cited

Ansah-Koi, Alice A. “Care of Orphans: Fostering Interventions for Children Whose Parents Die of AIDS in Ghana.” Families in Society, 87.4 (2006): 555-564.

Bicego, George, Rutstein, Shea, and Johnson, Kiersten. “Dimensions of the emerging orphan crisis in sub-Saharan Africa,” Social Science & Medicine, Volume 56, Issue 6, March 2003, Pages 1235-1247, ISSN 0277-9536, 10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00125-9. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953602001259)

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Lund, Ragnhild, and Samuel Agyei-mensah. “Queens as Mothers: The Role of the

Traditional Safety Net of Care and Support for HIV/AIDS Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Ghana.” GeoJournal 71.2-3 (2008): 93-106. ProQuest. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.