I can remember like it was yesterday about my first trip to Africa.   A fellow Rotarian from my Rotary Club of Dunwoody (Atlanta, GA) asked me in 2001 if I would be interested in going to Africa with a couple of other Rotarians.  They were planning to go to Burundi (a small very poor country in Africa) to follow up the delivery of hospital equipment there.  I was surprised to be asked, but also so excited about the potential of what I could learn about HIV/AIDS at the Epicenter of the disease.   They said they could expand the trip to other African countries on the continent.   So after consulting my husband, Austin, I said yes!

If one has never traveled to a developing country, it is really difficult to appreciate the disparity between them and us (U.S. or Europe, etc.)  There are such extremes in the world – not only in terms of poverty levels, but also health care infrastructure, literacy, stable/or unstable governments and especially the rights of women!  The women in the developing world have NO rights, especially when it comes to negotiating safer sex, regardless of whether the partner is her husband and/or is HIV Positive!  That was really a surprise to me and has continued to be a very concerning issue.

On that first trip, I learned so much.  And I also had a particularly memorable experience.    You have to remember that I am only a Mom that lost a child to AIDS – not a Public Health Expert nor a World Traveler.

When we were in Kampala, Uganda, the Rotarians there wanted to take us to a rural area about an hour’s drive from the capitol city.  They wanted us to meet a Grandmother of ten grandchildren whose parents had ALL died of AIDS – and she ended up being responsible for raising these ten children.   The Kampala Rotarians were very proud of the fact that they had built her a much better “hut” for her to live in with the children.

We arrived at her humble hut, and she was so surprised that she had visitors.  Three of her grandchildren were hanging on her skirts, very shy of strangers.  We explained (through translators) that we were from the United States and that we were hoping that many Rotarians would be able to help her and others like her.  She became quite animated, and she told us that she wanted to begin a business whereby she would earn money by buying/and then re-selling coal to the people in the community.  We casually asked her “how much would it cost to begin this business?”  She answered “Maybe $100 USD. ”  My fellow Rotarian from the U.S. and I looked at each other and said:  $50.00 a piece?”  — We both nodded Yes, pulled out our wallets and handed her the money.   She got down on her knees and cried, grabbing our hands in appreciation – and we all dissolved in tears.   To this day, we remember this Grandmother and the fact that we are part of an entrepreneurial enterprise in Uganda!!

I will never forget that moment and feel so lucky to have experienced it.

Best to all,

Marion

It amazes me when I think of the wonderful, smart and powerful people I have met from all over the world because of this journey I have been on for 12 years.  I am just one Rotarian among a Million!  And although I’m a business woman, I’m just a Mom who lost a child to AIDS – not a public health expert!  On the plus side, however, was the fact that I was propelled by a higher power to do something, and I could/can feel it every day since Jerry tapped me on the shoulder.

One key moment in my journey was in 2002.   I was speaking at a Rotary Zone Institute to about 500 Rotarians, and in the front row was the President of Rotary International – Bhichai Rattakul of Thailand (former Deputy Prime Minister of that country).  When I was done with my speech, he led a standing ovation, then came up and reached for my hands across the podium and said:  “Marion, will you help me put together a plan to help the victims of AIDS, especially the children of Africa?”  I gulped, and said, “Yes Sir, of course.”  But inwardly I thought “what am I going to do and will I be able to do it?”

I went back to the concept, once again, of partnership.  I knew Rotarians’ role would be that of volunteer support.  I needed an AIDS expert organization once again, and I called upon HOPE worldwide whose Regional Director of Africa I had met in 2001.  I also thought it would be great if we could get a multinational corporation involved that worked in Africa.  I began talking to The Coca Cola Company, both here in Atlanta headquarters as well as in Africa.  It took awhile to get to the right decision makers (that’s for another chapter), and Coca Cola finally agreed to help us.

I learned that we would need a “Monitoring and Evaluating” partner if we were going to do a large multi-country AIDS program in Africa.  I asked Dr. Jim Curran, Dean of the School of Public Health, if Emory University would take on that role – and he said yes.  Finally, we needed a lot of money (!), and a new friend, Sandy Thurman, called and asked me if she could help.  I quickly said yes, and she suggested that we all go after PEPFAR funds (President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief).  (Sandy is the former White House AIDS Czar appointed by President Bill Clinton).  We met in her offices to plan out a program for helping 146,000 Orphans and Vulnerable Children in six countries in Africa.  We wrote a proposal and after two tries, we won a grant in the amount of $8.1 Million USD.

As I’ve said many times – the people I’ve met, the places I’ve been and the things I have learned are amazing and such a blessing…..

Please write me your thoughts……

Marion

Back in 1997 when I felt propelled to do something about the AIDS issue working through Rotary, I was particularly interested in getting an HIV/AIDS awareness program started in the schools in Georgia.  Yes, the students in middle and high schools were learning about HIV in their health classes, but they only really “got it” at an intellectual level, not a “gut” level!  They, like all teenagers, felt invincible.  They figured that HIV would be contracted by “the other guy,” not them!

I also realized that Rotarians were not “AIDS experts.”  Rotary’s biggest asset is its human resource capacity.  There are 1.2 Million Rotarians in over 200 countries in the world who choose to do volunteer work in their local communities.  In Georgia there are 70 Rotary Clubs and thousands of Rotarians.   So I believed partnership between Rotarians in Georgia with a group that could design an AIDS Awareness program for the school children was the answer.

I therefore cold-called the Executive Director of AID Atlanta (Tony Braswell) and presented my idea of partnership to him and his management team.  Remember, this was 1997, and very few people in mainstream society were openly discussing AIDS.  Well, the AID Atlanta group looked at me like I was half-crazy and said, “We’ve tried to get into the schools, but they have turned us down.”  I said “You don’t understand something – Rotary “IS THE SCHOOLS”  – we are the superintendents, the school board members and so on.   If YOU design a program, WE will get it approved.”    And we did!  We got it approved in 28 County and City school systems.

AID Atlanta created a program whereby young adults that live with HIV speak openly about their personal story to the teenagers in the middle and high schools of Georgia.  They meet in a general assembly setting for one hour.  Rotarians introduce the program, AID Atlanta speakers talk, and then there is a general question/answer period.  The speakers are given a stipend by Rotary Clubs to make this effort.  It is a powerful and sobering message to the students.

Today (2010) over 354,000 students in Georgia have attended the Rotary District 6900 AIDS Awareness program.  It began with “one small step”, lots of passion to make an impact on children’s lives, and Jerry urging me on – saying “you Go, Mom.  ”