Please Join Me

Hello dear friends,

Thank you for visiting! Life and work continue to be busy, but terrific, mostly in part because of wonderful clients and visitors like you. I appreciate you!

I wanted to share something with you that has touched my heart on the deepest of levels - the plight of the children in Africa. If you're not aware of the staggering statistics, here are just an eye-opening few:

• Over 70% of the world's HIV/AIDS patients live in sub-Saharan Africa. 80 - 90% of malaria deaths also occur in this region.
• Over 80,000 die from HIV/AIDS in Malawi alone. This pandemic is leaving behind scores of orphans who try desperately to raise themselves, often in nothing more than an open-air tent with a dirt floor. Imagine being 8 years old, orphaned, and raising your 5-year old sister and 4-year old brother. Now imagine that both of your siblings are HIV positive. This is a common crisis in Africa.
• 41% of the world's population live in areas where malaria is transmitted. Malaria is one of the world's most deadly diseases; it is spread by mosquitoes.
• By 2010, an estimated 25 million African children under the age of 15 will be orphaned by AIDS.
• The crisis in Africa often hits children the hardest. Many times, if the parents are living, they are HIV-infected. Additionally, many homes have taken in other orphans, thus creating even more poverty in what are already unthinkable living situations.
• According to a report by UNAIDS/Unicef (see below for link), half of the street children living in Zimbabwe are orphans, the majority due to AIDS.

What is needed are funds and resources delivered directly to communities throughout this ravaged country. I ask you today to do what you can to help ease the suffering. There are several respected child welfare organizations that enable you to sponsor children around the world. If you are interested, please visit the Web sites for World Vision, Save the Children, Christian Children's Fund, and Compassion International (links are provided below). For only $20 - $30 a month, you can dramatically change the life of a suffering child. I can't fathom a better - or more fulfilling - way to invest that money. Think about it: $20 is half a tank of gas to you and me. But to a hungry child, it is a month of nourishing food, health care, education and compassion. They need you and they need me. Let's not let them down!

The little boy I sponsor is 8 years old and lives in Mali, Africa. Thankfully, his parents are alive and he lives with them and his sister. Mali is one of the least developed countries in the world, ranking 174th out of 177 countries on the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Index. It is landlocked, with few resources—much of its land area consists of desert or semi-desert, and it is heavily dependent on donor support. 73 percent of this African country’s 11.7 million people live on a dollar a day or less. Life expectancy is only 49, so the population is dominated by young people; 47 percent of the country’s 11.7 million people are 15 years old or younger. In most cases, emergency treatment is not readily available.

I believe awareness is the first step to making profound change. It was not until about two years ago that I became truly and deeply aware of the crisis in Africa. Once my eyes were opened to the level of catastrophic suffering, this issue has become a passion - and a life mission. In fact, we are in the process of forming a foundation called the "A-List Project" which will raise money for this critically important cause. We will have links on our Web sites which will enable visitors to donate online and become "A-List" members. We will also provide regular announcements sharing with you where your donations have gone and how they have dramatically helped those in need.

I'm excited about our current projects and will keep you posted about news and developments. In the meantime, I welcome your comments and thoughts.

Please pray for our African friends and do whatever you can to help.

Peace and blessings,

Dr. Debra

Resources:

Please visit this link to download the .pdf report, "Children on the Brink," published by UNAIDS and Unicef. The report is dated 2002 and the statistics have only gotten worse since.

http://www.worldvision.org/

http://www.compassion.com/

http://www.savethechildren.org/

http://www.christianchildrensfund.org/