KCA College UK at the Freshers' Fair!

KCA College kick-started the school year in the UK at the Freshers' Fair at the University of London. The Freshers' Fair is an opportunity for students as they begin the school year to learn about the different services and facilities available in their city or town, as well or clubs or societies they can join on campus. Dita Patel is spearheading the KCA College initiative in the UK, and spread the word about KCA at the Freshers' Fair to students attending 19 different universities. WorleyParsons in the UK sponsored the KCA UK stall at the event - and we are very grateful for their support! Dita recognizes that "there are keen young supporters out there wanting to make a difference." She hopes to continue to engage these students to take action and expand the KCA College network in the UK!

Site Update: Hope Center Clinic

The new Hope Center Clinic in Sikoro, Mali officially opened in June 2008. The incredible Dr. Annie De Groot oversees the KCA-funded clinic, and recently sent us her latest update from the field:

"A very thin woman in a yellow headscarf, who is 28 years old and who waited for over two hours to have her turn in his office today. A small child sits quietly in her lap. The doctor asks her some questions. She speaks softly, coughing as she is answering. A medical student looks at her lab results. She has 20 T cells. He asks her if she had ever been given medication before, and she says yes, but it was a long time ago, and the medicine had run out. The doctor pauses, considering what to do. Her life is in danger, but she has no money to pay for emergency treatment, and the hospital is far away...

This is a place where one in three to four children dies before the age of five, where [in our small clinic] one hundred babies are born every month, where mothers die in labor without so much as uttering a sound. This is a place where, too, a small tree of hope can take root, where green leaves can shine on slender branches, and where hope and dreams can eventually bear fruit...

We built [our clinic] to ease access to care for the hundreds of HIV seropositive patients who are living in this village of 35,000 people. We planted the clinic here at an arm's reach for the patients, like the one we saw today, because we know she will not wish to travel far for her care. We planned the clinic here for our patients because they prefer to see doctors they know will care for them. Those are the doctors who will pause for a moment when confronted with a young woman they know well, and think about her HIV infection in the context of her whole life. What would it mean for this woman, if the doctor made the decision to send her to the hospital far away on the top of the hill? Would she go there? How would she pay for her care? Who would take care of her small child? And what of the family members who would have to travel there to feed her and pay for her care? This is the context of HIV care in West Africa. These are the real barriers to good health.

Our new clinic has an infirmary where she will be able to get care. Our new clinic has a new laboratory, where we will be able to see if she has tuberculosis, and a new conference room where we will be able to plan her return to her home [only a few streets away], where we'll map out her directly observed TB treatment therapy visits, and her follow up care.

The need is great, and the cost is small. For less than $35,000, we have created a space where patients can receive the care they need right near their home. The number of HIV patients in our care has increased from less than 20 a year ago to 120 today...

Because of our work [together], a young woman, 28 years old, who has a small child to take care of, will be here tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. She will get better. This is no small thing to achieve, in a clinic that sits at the farthest corner of this Earth."

Picture Your Child - Save Another

Celebrated photographer Anna Campanelli held her second photography fundraiser to benefit Keep a Child Alive this weekend. Anna specializes in portraits of children and families, and this was an exciting opportunity for her clients to support the KCA cause.

NYC's Industria Studios generously donated their space and equipment for the event, and close friends pitched in to help on-set during the day. Fifteen families participated this year. It was very interesting to see how some of the returning families had changed!

Anna is donating 100% of the purchase price of each gorgeous, keepsake 12x16 print ordered. Cost: $150 for a single print; $275 for 2; $375 for 3; $50 for each additional print. Anna is offering a bonus for Cookie Magazine readers: buy 3 or more images and get a disc complete with all of your images! Last year, the event raised $10,000 for KCA!

Delta GEMS Party for a Purpose!

The Delta GEMS of northeastern North Carolina recently organizd a fundraising dance for Keep a Child Alive! Delta GEMS is an initiative by the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, empowering at-risk adolescent girls to follow their dreams. With the support of school administrators, parents, and the surrounding community, the Delta GEMS made their dream for KCA a reality. Three local high schools joined together to party for a purpose, and raised $1,000 for Keep a Child Alive!

Alicia Keys speaks at ServiceNation Summit

KCA Global Ambassador Alicia Keys spoke at the ServiceNation Summit in New York City, last Thursday, September 12th. Check out the video below to hear her shout out for Keep a Child Alive!

Save the Date: KCA Black Ball 2008

Keep a Child Alive's fifth annual Black Ball Gala, hosted by Ambassadors Alicia Keys and Iman, will honor the global AIDS work of three remarkable humanitarians. This legendary evening will take place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Thursday, November 13th, 2008.

Our humanitarian honorees are an incredible group of people who have used their will, fame and courage to change the lives devastated by this pandemic. This year, we are thrilled to honor Jackie Branfield, founder of Operation Bobbi Bear in South Africa, Simon Fuller and Queen Latifah.

The Black Ball will begin with a cocktail party followed by a seated dinner with extraordinary live performances by Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, Joni Mitchell, Jack White and other extraordinary artists to be announced.

Please help make a difference by joining us at The Black Ball! For more information, call 718.965.1111.

Register for the KCA Student AIDS Summit!

Keep a Child Alive is thrilled to invite you to our 2nd annual KCA Student AIDS Summit 2008! The Summit will be a legendary meeting of 400 creative minds and compassionate hearts, welcoming student AIDS activists from around the nation who are actively and measurably committed to progressing an agenda of AIDS relief on their college campuses. The two-day Student AIDS Summit will take place at New York University from November 14-15, 2008, and participants will also attend the exclusive Keep a Child Alive Black Ball Gala hosted by Alicia Keys on the evening of November 13.

PLEASE REGISTER FOR THE SUMMIT HERE: http://summit.kcacollege.com

Registration will be confirmed on a first-come first-serve basis, and is open to all student AIDS activists.

Priority will be given to KCA College Leaders and Members registered on www.kcacollege.com. Those who are not registered on www.kcacollege.com will not be given priority in Summit participation.

Please contact Kim (kim@keepachildalive.org) if you have any questions about Summit Registration.

We look forward to seeing you in November. Thank you for your energy and commitment!