WORLD AIDS DAY

We would like to bring to your attention the article "After the Quake: Looming AIDS Crisis in Haiti" by award-winning journalist Lisa Armstrong.  After the improvements that Haiti has made in controlling the spread of AIDS in the past years, it is devastating to know that after the earthquake, homes and buildings will not be the only things in need of reconstruction.
The article takes a look at the growing AIDS crisis in Haiti as a result of the devastating effects of the earthquake. Haiti used to be a model for combating AIDS. Before the earthquake, experts thought the epidemic might wipe out a third of the population. But instead Haiti became a surprising success story: With significant financial support from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief as well as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria prevalence rates fell from 9.4 percent in 1993 to 2.2 percent in 2008. January's earthquake, however, destroyed many health facilities, and experts fear that with the high rates of rape, prostitution, and promiscuity in the camps, there will be an explosive increase in the number of new HIV infections.

Safety Kits Project

We are passionate about empowering women in Haiti and eradicating the sexual violence that they are experiencing. Women and girls in Haiti are at high risk of being sexually victimized especially after the devastating earthquake. They must use latrines without lights, bathe in public, and sleep amongst strangers. Sexual violence will lead to more HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancies, motherless children, as well as further poverty and violence. 

One approach that we envision to empower these women and girls is by providing them with the tools and training that will empower them to protect themselves, seek help, and be heard. We would like to make Safety Kits that will contain products that they can carry on their person and/or have in the tents to protect themselves from potential attacks or use as a resource to get help immediately. The Safety Kit will be a simple pouch with a battery free flashlight, a whistle, a key alarm, a key ring disguised knuckle poker, and information on local support services (if any). We would like to work with an agency that has a strong presence in Haiti. We plan to raise funds to finance our operations which includes developing and assembling the Safety Kits, mass marketing, and delivering the Safety Kits to our Partners who will distribute them in Haiti.

Stay tuned for further information on this project!