The Mulago Positive Women?s Network (MPWN) was started in Kampala, Uganda, in January 2004 to focus attention on the specific needs of HIV+ women and their families there. The MPWN?s mission is to assist these women in coping with the ramifications of their new "status". The MPWN works to empower its members by providing them with essential information regarding their health status and by helping the women obtain marketable job skills in order to better maintain their families? stability. Many of the members of the MPWN either have been stigmatized out of their former employment positions or have never been employed before. Some of the women have been widowed by HIV/AIDS and now must find a way to provide for their children. The women have started mak... Read more The Mulago Positive Women?s Network (MPWN) was started in Kampala, Uganda, in January 2004 to focus attention on the specific needs of HIV+ women and their families there. The MPWN?s mission is to assist these women in coping with the ramifications of their new "status". The MPWN works to empower its members by providing them with essential information regarding their health status and by helping the women obtain marketable job skills in order to better maintain their families? stability. Many of the members of the MPWN either have been stigmatized out of their former employment positions or have never been employed before. Some of the women have been widowed by HIV/AIDS and now must find a way to provide for their children. The women have started making and selling native Ugandan craft items and selling them to tourists and others for additional income. The MPWN already has a website which details their stories of personal courage and triumph in "living positively" with HIV/AIDS and which displays the various craft items that the MPWN make and sell in order to provide an income for their families. All the proceeds from the sale of the MPWN items go directly to the woman who made the item. The website is www.mpwn-uganda.org. Please visit us there too!
HAVE A HEART : EMPOWERING HIV+ WOMEN IN AFRICA
Topic: Empowering Producers | Rating: 0
Posted by: Debbie Kreuser Mar 30, 2008 | 8:57:38 PM
Posted by:
Debbie Kreuser |
Apr 6, 2008 8:39 PM
I just wanted to say that I had a terrific time yesterday as I attended several events at the Fair Trade Federation's national conference in the city where I live - Austin TX.
I started down this road alomst a year ago out of a sense of responsibility that I felt as a social activist to help out my friend, Agnes Nyamayarwo, and the women that she works with (MPWN), to find a way to provide more sustainally for themselves and their families.
As a person who always loved traditional crafts from all over the world, this was an easy choice for me and I have enjoyed every step of the way down this road.
But I can always do more for these wonderful women which is why I attended the FTF conference activities and networked with some AWESOME people!
Thank you to all that I met. I feel a real sense of community with you and will continue our communications. I hope that my efforts on behalf of my friend and the women's group that she works with will ultimately succeed.
Any help / encouragement that I can receive here is greatly appreciated. ~
LIVING POSITIVELY, debbie
www.mpwn-uganda.org
Posted by:
Debbie Kreuser |
Apr 10, 2008 7:53 PM
Hi EveryONE,
I hope that you will become a part of this action to bring positive change to those struggle with HIV/AIDS in their lives.
Thank you for caring about the world's poorest people.
AS ONE, debbie
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My name is Agnes Nyamayarwo. I'm a nurse, a mother and an activist living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda.
It has been more than a decade since I lost my husband, Augustine, and youngest child, Christopher, to AIDS; another son, Charles, ran away from home to escape the stigma of this disease.
Now I honor their memory through my work with an organization called TASO (The AIDS Support Organization) here in Kampala, Uganda. At TASO, I work with HIV/AIDS patients, orphans and mothers to try and save others from experiencing the pain I have.
I am also a member of the TASO Board of Trustees, representing the views of people living with HIV/AIDS in all the 11 centers of TASO across the country. You can learn more about TASO here.
Your work at ONE to make global AIDS an American priority has touched my heart. Last week, you asked your members of Congress to support the reauthorization of PEPFAR and fund the fight against AIDS, TB, and malaria and you won.
Now PEPFAR goes to the U.S. Senate and I'm asking you to please sign ONE's petition and urge your senators to co-sponsor this lifesaving bill.http://www.one.org/pepfarsenate?id=286-221534-NbmgRw&t=3
Tell your senators that a vote for this bill is a vote to provide TASO and other groups like ours with anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs and to help us in the all the work we do at the clinic and in neighborhoods across Kampala.
Two pills that cost only a few dollars a day can save a life. I know, because I take ARVs and I remember how sick I was before and am amazed at how strong I am now.
I use my strength to raise awareness among women about the risks of mother-to-child transmission so they can be tested and protect their children. I also talk to young people in my community about HIV/AIDS to help end the stigma and to teach about testing and prevention.
American generosity supports what I and so many other people are doing here to try and end the suffering caused by AIDS. PEPFAR has already provided women with treatment during ten million pregnancies and helped 30 million people get access to voluntary counseling and testing.
You can ask your senators to co-sponsor PEPFAR reauthorization and bring hope to a new generation here in Uganda.
http://www.one.org/pepfarsenate?id=286-221534-NbmgRw&t=4
Being able to make a difference in this war against HIV/AIDS is the cause of my life and fills me with joy. I hope you can feel the same way about the work you do as ONE members. Together, our voices and our actions can win the struggle against global AIDS and save lives.
Thank you for joining me,
Agnes Nyamayarwo, ONE Member
Posted by:
Debbie Kreuser |
May 3, 2008 6:37 PM
Just to thank those of you who have either already bought some of the MPWN craft items or are in the process of doing so because your continued efforts for these women ARE bearing fruit.
The other night after work, I was able to send to Uganda the latest amount of money raised for these women in the last month.
Although compared to our standards here in the rich world, the several hundred dollars is not that much money, for these women the money is a life-saver.
It allows them to send their children to school (and buy them the clothes necessary to go to school), especially the girls, which all these women want to do so that their girls grow up to be independent, self-sufficient and happy people and so that they have a better chance of living a long and productive life.
Thank you on behalf of the women. Please continue to support them in their efforts to help their families.
ONE HEART, ONE HOPE, ONE LOVE - debbie
www.mpwn-uganda.org
Posted by:
Debbie Kreuser |
May 16, 2008 7:48 AM
Hi EveryONE,
There is currently an ATROCITY on the verge of taking place in the U.S. Senate. A small group of Republican Senators are attempting to stop the re-authorization of the PEPFAR program - the program that Bono and DATA were so instrumental in getting passed into U.S. law in 2003 and the program which has literally saved MILLIONS of lives in Africa.
If PEPFAR is not re-authorized in Congress, it will cease to exist and put at risk those MILLIONS of people's lives who have been helped by PEPFAR!
This SIMPLY CAN NOT HAPPEN and we're ASKING FOR YOUR VOICE to stop this travesty.
PLEASE GO TO WWW. ONE. ORG & SIGN THE PETITION TO MAKE SURE THAT PEPFAR CONTINUES.
Here's the link:
http://www.one.org/pepfarsenate/
And if you'd like some more info on the SUCCESS OF PEPFAR, please click here:
http://one.org/pepfar/
I'll have more on this issue in a few days but please take this small step today to help save millions of people's lives in Africa which are currently at risk in the U.S. Senate.
Thank you for your concern for the world's poorest people.Fair trade means nothing if all the people in the country you are operating in are either sick or dying from HIV/AIDS.
ALWAYS FOREVER, ONE - debbie
www. mpwn-uganda. org
Posted by:
Debbie Kreuser |
Jun 16, 2008 6:22 PM
Despite the fact that the reauthorization of PEPFAR has been held up by seven senators since March, it is disappointing that there doesn?t seem to be enough awareness or outrage to spur action. The necessary public, political, and international perception of the fact that we are about to lose PEPFAR just hasn?t seemed to emerge. We must raise awareness!!! Without reauthorization, literally millions of lives in Africa and around the world will be lost.
LIVING POSITIVELY, debbie
www.mpwn-uganda.org
Posted by:
Debbie Kreuser |
Jul 5, 2008 3:22 PM
I have some very worrying news to share with all of you regarding the effort to get PEPFAR re-authorized.
Take very good care, my friends. Thank you for your concern of the world's poorest people. Blessings abound.
ALWAYS FOREVER, ONE - debbie
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U.S. SENATE HOLDS UP THE PASSAGE OF PEPFAR LEGISLATION
Friday, June 27, 2008
Politics and Policy Senate Attempts To Pass PEPFAR Measure, Faces Continued Block Over Cost; PEPFAR Issues Annual Report
Senators on Thursday attempted to pass measures (HR 5501, S 2731) that would reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, but Republican opponents of the legislation vowed to continue to block it because of its cost, Reuters reports. Wesley Denton, a spokesperson for Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said, "Senator DeMint objects to a huge increase in deficit spending and the lack of real oversight to ensure funds are going for medical purposes to help those in need."
On Wednesday, "progress toward passing the bill in the Senate" came after negotiators reached an agreement on funding allocation (Cowan, Reuters, 6/26). Under the agreement, "more than half" of PEPFAR funding would go to treatment. The agreement also requires that antiretrovirals used in PEPFAR programs be approved by FDA or another approved regulator agency. In addition, the agreement prevents PEPFAR funding for wealthier developing nations, such as China and Russia (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 6/26).
The bill's supporters sought to pass the legislation before President Bush leaves for the Group of Eight industrialized nations summit, which begins July 7 in Japan. The House passed its version of PEPFAR reauthorization in April (Reuters, 6/26). Bush has said he would like it to pass in Congress so he can use it at the summit to call for increased contributions from other countries (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 6/26).
PEPFAR Report
In related news, PEPFAR on Thursday released a report that found the program is helping to supply antiretroviral drugs to 1.73 million people worldwide, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, up from 50,000 in the region when the program began in 2003 (Reuters, 6/26). "Only a few years ago, many doubted whether prevention, treatment and care could ever successfully be provided in resource-limited settings, where HIV was a death sentence," Ambassador Mark Dybul, who administers PEPFAR, said. He added, "Today, while much remains to be done, the skeptics have been proven wrong. Millions of people are on life-saving antiretroviral treatment in developing countries, and many millions more have benefited from prevention and care programs ." Since the program's inception, PEPFAR has supported prevention of mother-to child-transmission for women during more than 12.7 million pregnancies. For pregnant women found to be HIV-positive, it has provided antiretroviral prophylaxis in more than one million pregnancies, preventing transmission of HIV to an estimated 194,000 infants. (PEPFAR release, 6/26).
The report is available online (.pdf).
Related Editorial
"It will be irresponsible if PEPFAR isn't reauthorized, and successful life-saving health programs and treatments are disrupted, before the current legislation expires," a Contra Costa Times editorial says. "We urge the Senate to approve" the legislation "before its July 4 break or Aug. 11 recess," the editorial says (Contra Costa Times, 6/26).
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=52993
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FYI:
Senators Sessions, Vitter (R-LA), and DeMint (R-SC) are the recalcitrant senators blocking the PEPFAR bill.
This is an inconscienable action by the U.S. Senate and could lead to the deaths of millions of African People if this legislation is not passed SOON!
If you would like to contact the three Senators mentioned above and let them know how you feel about their actions to stop PEPFAR, please exercise your democratic right to voice your opinions to them, especially if you live in South Carolina, Louisiana and Alabama.
Posted by:
Debbie Kreuser |
Aug 1, 2008 6:18 PM
There is some VERY GOOD NEWS in regards to PEPFAR.
Thanks to all of you who contacted your Senators to let them know of your support of this VITAL program for Africa's Future!
LIVING POSITIVELY, debbie:)
www.mpwn-uganda.org
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=53336
Politics and Policy | Senate Passes PEPFAR Reauthorization Legislation
Jul 17, 2008
The Senate on Wednesday voted 80-16 to approve legislation that would reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief at almost $50 billion over the next five years, "rejecting efforts to pare down the bill's" spending levels, the Washington Post reports (Kane, Washington Post, 7/17). The measure would replace and expand the current program, which was passed by Congress in 2003 at $15 billion and will expire at the end of September (Abrams, AP/Google.com, 7/17).
According to the Los Angeles Times, although passage of the measure had stalled in recent weeks over objections from some Republicans concerning its cost, how the money would be spent and the role of abstinence education, most Senate Republicans joined Democrats in backing the measure, which the Bush administration also supports. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) said, "It's one of the strongest ways the U.S. has made an impact on a number of countries where our diplomacy hasn't been effective in the past," adding that one of the bill's goals is "the alleviation of extraordinary suffering on Earth" (Patel, Los Angeles Times, 7/17).
Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, praised Bush's "bold" support for AIDS funding, calling it his greatest achievement as president. "We've made tremendous strides, but our work is not nearly finished," Biden said, adding, "Two million people died last year of HIV/AIDS. Over two and a half million people died of malaria" and tuberculosis. According to the Post, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who is a "staunch opponent of most government spending," said PEPFAR "is by far the only true foreign policy program that's working. The dollars are actually making a difference" (Washington Post, 7/17). In a statement, Bush said, "With passage of today's bill, we are one step closer to ensuring that this excellent program continues to help those in need. I encourage the full Congress to move quickly to send me final legislation that I can sign" (Cowan, Reuters, 7/16).
Leading opponents of the measure earlier on Wednesday continued to express concern about the bill's price tag. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), whose amendment to reduce the program's funding to $35 billion was rejected by a 32-63 vote, said, "Why, at a time when our country is in debt as far as we can see, why would we as a country create the biggest foreign aid bill in history and borrow more money, $50 billion, and send it all around the world?" (Graham-Silverman, CQ Today, 7/16). Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said the funding should have been reduced to $35 billion over five years. "There should be a limit," he said, adding, "It's one thing to say you'll support it at $15 billion; it's another thing to say you'll support it at $35 billion. To me, it's entirely another thing to support it at $50 billion" (Washington Post, 7/17).
According to CQ Today, the only "sizeable change" adopted by the Senate was to trim the original $50 billion authorization to $48 billion and to include $2 billion for American Indian issues. The chamber also adopted an amendment intended to increase oversight of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and encourage cost-sharing and transition strategies as part of agreements with countries that receive PEPFAR aid (CQ Today, 7/16). Although some Republicans objected to a provision in the bill that would ease U.S. HIV/AIDS travel restrictions, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) dropped his amendment to challenge the provision (Reuters, 7/16). The Senate also defeated an amendment by Cornyn to establish a "sunset" commission to propose legislation that would abolish any global HIV/AIDS program Congress did not explicitly reauthorize. In addition, an amendment by Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) to set up an inspector general for the program, and another by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) that would have limited spending in the program's final year to $10 billion, also were rejected (CQ Today, 7/16).
The House version of the legislation, which would allocate $50 billion for PEPFAR, passed in April (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 7/16). According to Biden, there are small differences between the two versions of the legislation. The Post reports that one "key" difference between the House and Senate versions is that the House bill would permit funding for family planning programs in developing countries (Washington Post, 7/17). The House version would allow groups to use PEPFAR funding for HIV testing and education in family planning clinics but not for contraception or abortion services (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/3). In addition, the House version includes some spending mandates that are not in the Senate bill, including a requirement that 20% of PEPFAR funding be allocated to prevention.
The Senate version includes a provision that more than half of the program's aid go toward HIV/AIDS treatment and care. Both versions would overturn an existing law that requires one-third of prevention funds be spent on abstinence and fidelity programs, instead requiring a report to Congress if countries do not spend half of prevention money on such programs (CQ Today, 7/16). Biden said that he has been working with House leaders and that he is confident they can come up with a final version "within a matter of days" (AP/Google.com, 7/17).
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Posted by: Debbie Kreuser | Mar 30, 2008 9:23 PMWhy the MPWN Exists (by Agnes Nyamayarwo)
In Uganda, like in most of the developing countries, women are considerably disadvantaged economically, socially and psychologically. Coupled with physical vulnerability, this usually leads to higher rates of infection among women than men, particularly among young women and children.The AIDS support organization (TASO) in Uganda, has done a lot in expanding access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. As a result many of us who need treatment have accessed it, but there are many more others who need to start on the treatment because TASO never closes its doors, new patients keep registering all the time.from Debbie Kreuser
Mulago Positive Women?s Network (MPWN) is a group of HIV positive women who are on treatment. Most of the members are widows whose health has improved. However they are very poor and some are uneducated. The hard truth is that, whatever their economic status or their being uneducated, they acquired HIV from someone they trusted, either in their marriage beds or from a long term partner. Many factors affect our taking of drugs everyday in the specified dose and at the specified time(adherence). Some women find it difficult to take drugs with clean water. In some homes, there are food shortages, women worry so much about their children?s education, some can?t even afford books and school-uniforms for their kids attending free primary education.With these problems our members are facing, we tried to look for solutions, because TASO cannot provide for everything. We make handcrafts to earn an income, but there are so many other people in Uganda making the same crafts, hence the market in our country is very small and competitive.
We also want to train our members in farming skills, and may be give them a start-off for example, in piggery, fish farming, poultry, among other things. For those without land, we want to give them skills in tailoring, knitting, food processing, while others want to go back to school. Being computer literate could also take us along way.
The group owns land where we need to put a bigger building as compared to our small craft shop where we can display our crafts and do the most of the training. We are now strong enough to work and support our families but are cut-short by the lack of funds.
Special thanks go to U2 lead singer Bono, DATA, ONE campaign and the American people who are involved in this advocacy of supporting the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. Also, we wish to thank very sincerely the President?s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief(PEPFAR) for the support they render to the women through TASO.
www.mpwn-uganda.org