Features
U of G's Masai Project Raises Funds for Africa
Campus community donning red-and-white bracelets to help fight AIDS, poverty in Africa
BY LORI BONA HUNT
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| Members of the Inina Craft Agency at work on the beaded bracelets. |
Claire Alexander wants to see a red-and-white beaded bracelet on the wrist of every Guelph student, faculty and staff member. She wears several at a time herself.
Students Deanna Chin and Romesh Hettiarachchi have at least one on every day - no matter what outfits they're wearing to school.
President Alastair Summerlee wears a trio of them, even with business suits.
And James VanderBerg, a minister with the Multi-Faith Resource Team, has two sets of bracelets - one for home and one for work - and wears up to 10 at a time.
It's not a fashion statement. Rather, the bracelets are helping to raise both funds and awareness for the University's Masai Project: For Africa, for AIDS, for Hope.
U of G aims to raise $100,000 within the University community, primarily by selling the bracelets for $5 and by holding a fundraising dinner Oct. 12.
"We have about 20,000 people on campus," says Alexander, a special projects co-ordinator in the President's Office who serves on the Masai Project committee with Chin, VanderBerg, Summerlee and others. "So that's $5 per person at the University - the cost of about two cups of coffee."
The bracelets are handmade by the Inina Craft Agency, a co-operative in Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal. The co-op started as a poverty relief initiative, and its members are women who manufacture their products at home. It's supported by the Centre for Environment, Agriculture and Development based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
"By donating $5, you are supporting the fight against AIDS in Africa and helping to alleviate the poverty of women there," says Alexander. "The bracelets also help raise awareness for the project and are a visible way for members of our community to show their support."
Bracelets are available at the Information Desk in the University Centre and in the President's Office. They can also be purchased from committee members, another reason they wear them in multiples on their wrists.
"I've been surprised by how many I've sold simply by having them available," says VanderBerg.
The University's Masai Project is part of a larger community effort to raise $1 million for an AIDS clinic in Lesotho, the epicentre of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. The Guelph-wide initiative is being spearheaded by local doctor Anne-Marie Zajdlik, who has said she was inspired by Stephen Lewis's challenge to join the fight against AIDS.
The million-dollar Guelph project is also being supported by the Masai Centre for Local, Regional and Global Health, which Zajdlik founded. The centre provides care, education and research for people affected by AIDS and HIV patients in Guelph, Waterloo and Grey-Bruce counties.
"Anne-Marie's project is close to the hearts of the Guelph community," says Summerlee. "The University wants not only to acknowledge her efforts and the ongoing work of the Masai Centre but also to actively participate. This is our opportunity to work towards a common goal, partner locally and make a difference where a difference is needed."
The Oct. 12 fundraising dinner for the Masai Project is called "Celebrate Africa" and begins at 6 p.m. in Peter Clark Hall. Tickets are $50 each, $25 for students, and are available at the University Bookstore. The event will include an ethnic meal, African drumming and dancing, and a talk by Zajdlik.
VanderBerg, who was instrumental in starting the University's Masai Project, says he was inspired to get involved after hearing Zajdlik speak.
"She captured more than just my attention - she captured my imagination. Before we knew it, we were gathering campus partners with the President's Office, attempting to promote awareness and raise funds."
Various other groups and communities have committed their support to the project, he says, and student involvement continues to grow.
"The Masai Project on campus is of utmost importance for two reasons," he adds. "It's an opportunity to seek justice and an opportunity to build bridges among student groups, faculty associations, faith communities and the University administration and staff. But I continue to work on it each and every day because it's a matter of justice. Each and every person on the face of the Earth is of such value that we simply cannot sit by and watch the decimation of an entire continent by a single disease."
For her part, Chin says she's always been interested in the effort to combat the AIDS pandemic. A fourth-year biological sciences student, she became aware of the Masai Centre and its campaign through volunteering at the campus Wellness Centre.
"When the opportunity arose to help the cause from within the University, I immediately wanted to be involved," she says. "It was only natural that the Masai for Africa campaign include the involvement of an institution that reflects the core values of the city that surrounds it. It has become the responsibility of the University to bring awareness to our communities."
Hettiarachchi, a fourth-year political science student, agrees. "I am very excited about having a small part in a project that truly demonstrates the University of Guelph's commitment to its community and to internationalism."
He says he would like to see U of G surpass the $100,000 fundraising goal.
Chin adds that the committee has been approached by numerous students who want to help with the project by volunteering, promoting awareness and fundraising.
"It delights me to see that so many Guelph students have taken advantage of this opportunity to help others," she says.
For more information about the Masai Project, contact VanderBerg at Ext. 52392 or vjavander@uoguelph.ca or visit the website www.uoguelph.ca/president/masai.