ATHENS, Ohio -- A benefit dinner and raffle to raise funds for the Kenyan Children's Fund will take place Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. in room 119, Irvine Hall, on the Ohio University campus. The Kenyan Children's Fund is a group of students and faculty organizations dedicated to supporting children affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Kenya.
"The funds raised will be used to complete a new dormitory for the 42 children that live at Jaber Orphanage and School in the Muhoroni Division of Kenya. The orphanage provides them with food, shelter, health-care services, education and clothing. The collapse of a dormitory left these children homeless. They were sent to a village to stay with whoever was available. Children without family often live on their own in the streets or in a child-headed household," said Gillian Ice, Ph.D., assistant professor of social medicine at Ohio University's College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Kenya is one of the nine countries most affected by the epidemic, according to UNAIDS/WHO (the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and World Health Organization). A report by UNAIDS/WHO in 2000 estimated there were 2.1 million Kenyans infected and that more than one-half million children had been orphaned as a result of deaths from AIDS.
"Without the schooling and shelter that the Jaber Orphanage and others like it provide, many children in Kenya face a pretty bleak future. The fundraising goal for the evening is $2,000."
"The raffle is a great way to contribute to the building of the orphanage while also being able to reap a reward that night as well," she said.
Ice, who traveled extensively in Kenya, over the last several months has lectured at Ohio University and at an American Osteopathic Association convention on the profound effect the pandemic crisis has had on economic and social life in the African country. The health-care systems and older adults who care for the children - usually their grandchildren - are under a very dangerous duress, said Ice.
"The annual health-care budgets of most sub-Saharan African countries represent less than (a per capita) $10. AIDS costs are overwhelming these countries. Resources have been shifted away from fighting other health problems to dealing with HIV," said Ice.
"Older adults may have decreased access to resources, decreased health status and an increased vulnerability to stress. Since stress impacts physical and mental health, older adults are at increased risk for death and disability."
Also at the benefit, Steven Howard, Ph.D., director of the university's Institute for the African Child, will discuss the impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa - projected to claim 55 million lives on the continent by 2020 - and how the crisis might be ended.
Tickets for the dinner are $5 for students and $10 for faculty, staff and community members and can be purchased in advance by contacting Ice at (740) 593-2128 or from Cheri McFee, 304 Grosvenor Hall. Tickets will also be available from noon to 1 p.m. on Feb. 17, 18 and 19 in the Irvine Hall lobby.
The dinner and raffle are cosponsored by the fund, National Osteopathic Women Physicians Association, Student Osteopathic Medical Association, International Medicine Club, Department of Social Medicine and the Institute for the African Child. Raffle prizes are provided by local businesses.
