Golf Fore Africa
Member's International Charity Initiative
of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA)
AIDS is already the leading cause of death worldwide for people aged 15 to 49. When an impoverished, HIV-and AIDS-afflicted community is missing an unprecedented number of adults, who is able to provide food, clothing, education, health care, guidance nurture, and love to the vastly-growing number of orphaned and vulnerable children?
Golf Fore Africa, a members' charity initiative of the LPGA, will provide this care and support for one African community in Rwanda.
Life in Mudasomwa, Rwanda
Mudasomwa, located in southwestern Rwanda, is home to over 70,000 people. This community is located in one of the poorest districts in the country, with over 75% of the population living below the poverty line. Only two health clinics serve the needs of the residents and most of the schools are old, destroyed by warfare and unequipped. Because of the lack of educational support, many of the children in this community are illiterate, gravely impacting their hope for a brighter future. In a steep and mountainous land where 98% of the population earns their living through agriculture, life is hard.
The impact of the 1994 war and genocide in Rwanda, along with the devastating effects of the AIDS pandemic, has created so many orphans in Mudasomwa that the community is unable to address the issues related to this dilemma. Boys and girls orphaned by AIDS suffer in a number of ways. Many are forced to drop out of school to care for younger siblings or family members who are critically ill. These children suffer from a lack of income, malnutrition, poor health and psychosocial problems. Currently, there are over 13,800 identified orphans and vulnerable children who are in desperate need of care and support.
The Impact of HIV/AIDS
Without intervention, the impact of the AIDS crisis will be felt by communities for decades as the number of impoverished children increases, education and work opportunities decline, and social, economic and support systems erode. More than 15 million children younger than 18 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, most of them in Africa. Household resources are often stretched to the breaking point when orphans are taken in by relatives or neighbors. In some cases, orphaned children create families comprised solely of children (siblings, cousins, friends) in child-headed households. How do we meet such an overwhelming need? One child—and one community--at a time.
The Golf Fore Africa Community Partnership
Through Golf Fore Africa, there is lifeline of hope for the future of these children. LPGA players, through a partnership with World Vision will help bring an effective community-based approach to providing the Mudasomwa community with the resources they need to plan, implement, and develop workable, sustainable solutions for their community.
Goals and Activities for Mudasomwa
This community partnership will focus on supporting orphans, vulnerable children and those living with AIDS through the following interventions:
- Community care Coalitions (CCCs), which provide individual, compassionate care and emotional support.
- Child-focused, community-based activities, which will improve the lives of orphans, vulnerable children and community members living with AIDS.
Specific Project Goals Include:
- Recruit 30 CCC members and train them in orphan and vulnerable children care and support activities. Provide them with medical kits and bicycles for transportation.
- Train older orphans and vulnerable children in vocational skills.
- Provide mattresses, school materials, uniforms and fees for 50 school-going children.
- Register 100 orphans and vulnerable children and 30 people living with HIV or AIDS in health insurance.
- Provide families caring for orphans and vulnerable children with food assistance, seeds and agricultural support.
- Sensitize and mobilize churches and community-based organizations to advocate for the rights of orphans, vulnerable children, and people living with HIV or AIDS.
