RWF has distributed over 3.2 million dollars in humanitarian aid over the last
eight years. Thank you for your generosity!
Here are some of RWF's completed and ongoing projects:
GLOBAL HIV/AIDS
Since AIDS first emerged over 30 years ago, over
25 million people around the world have died, 5 million of them
children. Everyday 7000 more people contract HIV, the virus that
causes AIDS. Presently more than 34 million people are infected
with HIV.
Since 2005, RWF has funded HIV prevention and
case management services in South Africa, focused on helping save
the next generation of young Africans. Thousands of young people
have been helped by RWF’s efforts. Currently RWF supports a
innovative program called Injongo Yethu (Uplifting Those In Need).
It helps orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS in rural
South Africa.
Through this program, each child, according to
individual need, receives a variety of services including:
clinical nutrition interventions, food and/or food parcels,
shelter interventions, child protection interventions (birth
registration identification and inheritance support), general
healthcare services such as immunizations, HIV prevention
education and related interventions, psychosocial care, general
and vocational education, and antiretroviral treatment. It costs
about $100 per year to help a child.
RWF is partnered with Africare in South Africa.
HIV/AIDS FACTS
Every year there are 2.7 million newly infected
people and 2 million deaths due to AIDS. There is hope, in
developed high-income nations where health care, education and HIV
medications are available, these statistics have in fact been
decreasing. Massive early intervention campaigns targeting at-risk
populations have been successful in substantially reducing
transmission rates, although recent information suggests risk
behaviors may be increasing in some communities. Effective
medication therapies, although not a cure, have also substantially
contributed to the reduction of HIV transmission and have improved
the quality of life and survival rates of those living with AIDS.
For much of the world it has been a different
story. Many countries have not been as successful in curb HIV
transmission rates and in fact some developing low-income nations
face ever-increasing infection rates. In sub-Saharan countries the
rate of acquiring HIV remains high. In fact, of the 34 million
people living with HIV, more than 70 percent live in sub-Saharan
Africa. Thus far 17 million Africans have died of AIDS, 3.7
million of them children and an additional 12 million children
have been orphaned. On the continent of Africa an estimated 1 in
10 adults is HIV positive; and in some countries the rate jumps to
nearly 1 in 4. Although anti-retroviral medications have proved to
be highly effective in reducing transmission rates of HIV and have
dramatically improved the quality of life for many, these
medications are still out of reach for many people living with
HIV.
The toll for much of Africa has been
devastating. Aside from the emotional impact, stigmatization and
family tragedy which often accompany HIV infection, AIDS has
profoundly impacted the economic, political and cultural
structures of many countries. The majority of those infected with
HIV are young adults. Traditionally this middle generation has
been responsible for the care of the elderly and nurturing of the
young along with charting the future course of their nations'
development. With disability and death taking large numbers of
this essential generation, the stability of entire societies is at
risk. Families often lose their breadwinner, children lose their
parents, family structures further unravel. Children must often
care for their own dying parents and are then left on their own as
support traditionally available from the extended family no longer
exists. These children are at particular risk for malnutrition,
illness, abuse and exploitation. With infrastructures crumbling
around them, these children rarely have access to basic
educational, social or medical services putting them further at
risk to becoming the next generation to succumb to AIDS.
HUNGER
Today, 40,000 people will die from causes
related to hunger. Nearly a billion will not get enough to eat
today and countless others will suffer from diseases related to
malnutrition. It is hard for those of us living in the midst of
such abundance to imagine such suffering.
Since 2004 RWF has been funding aid projects in
Haiti. In addition to funding projects focused on earthquake and
hurricane recovery efforts, RWF is committed to fight poverty and
malnutrition in Haiti. RWF is a primary funder of the Haiti Urban
Garden Project in Gonaives. The project helps city dwellers
establish and nurture kitchen vegetables gardens. Technical
training is provided to the urban farmers on planting techniques
and compost preparation. Located in backyards, on rooftops and
even front porches, these gardens yield fresh vegetables and
fruits and surplus income for project participants. As a result,
participating families have better diets, greater income resulting
from the sale of vegetables and an improved environmental
situation through more robust sanitation efforts. Several hundred
families have benefited from this program.
RWF has also funded hunger projects in the
United States including providing 1 million pounds of food aid
after Hurricane Katrina.
RWF is partnered with CARE in Haiti and Feeding
American in the United States.
HUNGER FACTS
When most of us think of hunger, images of
famine and starvation come to mind. This is only a part of the
problem. Global hunger encompasses famine and malnutrition, the
major component of hunger. Famine or starvation, the extreme and
general scarcity of food can occur as the result of crop failure
or destruction brought on by such causes as drought, flooding or
pestilence. For example, severe flooding caused the 1970
Bangladeshi famine that took countless lives. However, the causes
of famine are frequently more closely linked to violence,
militarism and war such as the continuing strife in Afghanistan,
Angola, Burma, Iraq, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and elsewhere. During
armed conflict, food production and marketing are disrupted. Food
is seized or blockaded, planting and crop cycles are interrupted,
supplies and equipment are destroyed. Starvation itself is being
used more and more as a weapon, harming innocent civilians. Even
during so-called peacetime, military spending takes priority over
food production and social welfare. Poverty, however, is by far
the foremost cause of hunger. Though the world produces more than
enough food to feed everyone, hundreds of millions lack the
purchasing power to afford adequate nutrition. Poverty's
powerlessness deprives the poor of access to the political
structure necessary to break the vicious cycle in which they are
trapped.
Malnutrition, the chronic absence of essential
proteins, micronutrients, fatty acids, and adequate caloric
intake, affects 800 million people worldwide each day. It is
directly linked to infant and childhood mortality, stunted growth,
reduced intelligence and increased risk of infection. It is
estimated that 250 million children suffer from stunted growth due
to malnutrition. Nutritionally depleting diseases also play a
major role in malnutrition worldwide, claiming the lives of five
million children each year. Women and the elderly are also
particularly vulnerable to malnutrition. Chronic hunger has
multigenerational effects contributing to a spiral of human
suffering. It is a thief that robs people of physical and mental
health, education, economic security and the opportunity for a
better life.
HUNGER IN AMERICA
When most people think of hunger they picture
people struggling to survive in developing nations far from the
shores of the United States. In a country that produces enough
food to feed all of its people and much of the rest of the world,
hunger seems unthinkable. Yet in the United States hunger is a
reality for more than 23 million people. In the U.S., hunger
primarily comes in the form of food insecurity, meaning that not
enough food is available to consistently meet the basic needs of
an individual or family.
In 2000 the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) reported that 12 percent of all American
households were food insecure. That same year the USDA reports
that nearly 1 in 5 children went hungry. America’s Second Harvest,
the nations largest network of food banks, reports that 26 million
Americans received food from food banks in 2002. Children are the
largest segment of our population suffering the devastating
effects of hunger. According to the USDA, 13 million children live
in households that do not have an adequate supply of food. The
elderly are also particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. The
USDA reports that 1.4 million households with elderly members
experience food insecurity.
The consequences of hunger in America are
staggering and far reaching. Children who do not receive adequate
nourishment are impacted physically and intellectually. The
insidious effects of hunger start early. Mothers who experience
inadequate nutrition have higher infant mortality rates and give
birth to babies with lower birth weights. These children suffer
two to four times as many health problems as other children.
During a child’s development the consequences of hunger, even
minor malnutrition, can be devastating. Impaired physical growth,
abnormal brain development, shorter attention spans, difficulty
concentrating and more school absences can be just the beginning
of a cycle of suffering and missed opportunities for these
children. As these children grow up, this can lead to a lack of
fulfillment of their potential, poor social integration, lower
work productivity and poverty. The cost to individual lives and to
U.S. society is enormous.
Among the elderly the consequences of inadequate
food supply are many. Chronic health problems, increased
degenerative disease, poor digestion, higher rates of infection
and extended hospital stays are just a few of the health problems
linked to hunger among the elderly. Elder food insecurity can also
lead to depression, mental deterioration and hastened mortality.
LANDMINE ERADICATION
An estimated 110 million landmines in 64
countries remain buried and waiting to explode.
Since 2005, RWF has funded projects to clear
minefields in Cambodia. Our projects help families in rural areas
who are living on land that has been contaminated by landmines and
are therefore in constant danger. The projects also assist people
who have been harmed by landmines.
In 2010 RWF formed a partnership with MAG
America Inc. in Cambodia. Previously we were partnered with the
Adopt-A-Minefield program in the United Nations Association of the
USA until the UNA completed their mine clearance mission in
Cambodia.
LANDMINE FACTS
Anti-personnel landmines were first used during
World War I, products of the advent of modern warfare. Since that
time their proliferation has been astonishing. In Cambodia, an
estimated 10 million remain buried, in Egypt 23 million remain, in
Croatia 10 million, in Afghanistan 10 million, in Angola 15
million. An additional 200 million landmines worldwide remain
stockpiled waiting to deployed. Landmines kill or injure three
people an hour, 72 a day, 2,200 a month, 26,000 a year, year after
year. Eighty percent of victims are civilians, thousands of them
children.
The horrifying toll goes far beyond the cost of
lost lives and medical expenses. Entire families, communities,
even entire nations are devastated. If the victim of a landmine is
a family's breadwinner, the future of the entire family is
jeopardized. Aside from the devastating psychological impact, the
family faces major economic consequences. How will the family feed
itself? Will the family have to move? Will the children be able to
attend school? In Cambodia there are presently over 35,000
amputees requiring ongoing health care and rehabilitation at a
tremendous cost to the health care system. Their productivity and
ability to contribute to the economic welfare of their families
and nation are diminished. The presence of millions of landmines
renders vast amounts of farmland unusable. Landmines often kill
grazing livestock. The cycle of suffering continues as a result.
Demining is an extremely time consuming and costly process. One
landmine costs about three dollars to purchase and 300 to 1,000
dollars to deactivate. The cost of eradicating landmines from
Cambodia today is three to 10 billion dollars. The economic burden
to countries often already struggling economically is staggering.
The humanitarian cost is both tragic and incalculable.
SAFE DRINKING WATER
ACCESS
Safe water for drinking and hygiene is a basic
necessity of life that most of us take for granted; yet for much
of the world a safe supply of water does not exist.
RWF is working to increase access to safe
drinking water in communities in Central America. Since 2005, RWF
has funded water projects in rural Honduras and Guatemala. The
projects entail the construction of mountain-spring fed
gravity-flow systems that bring the water from the mountain source
down to the village directly into homes setup with taps, latrines
and drainage for wastewater. The projects also include education
focused on hygiene, water management, improving construction
skills and environmental sustainability. Currently we are raising
funds for water projects in Capuca and San Bartolo, Honduras.
We are partnered with Water.org in Honduras and
Global Partners Running Waters in Guatemala.
WATER FACTS
Over 1.1 billion people do not have access to
safe water and 2.4 billion do not have adequate sanitation
facilities. Waterborne and sanitation-related diseases kill over 3
million people annually and disable countless millions, making the
campaign for safe water and effective sanitation one of the
leading health challenges of our time. Contaminated water, lack of
wastewater treatment and raw sewage are major causes of disease in
the developing world. It is estimated that 80 percent of all
infectious disease is transmitted through water. The two principal
routes of disease transmission are by drinking contaminated water
and having insufficient quantities of safe water for washing and
personal hygiene. Waterborne diseases can be bacterial, viral or
parasitic. They include cholera, typhoid, infectious hepatitis,
poliomyelitis, schistosomiasis, trachoma, hookworm, ascariasis,
drancunculiasis (guinea worm) and disease related to arsenic
contamination. The results of these diseases are devastating.
There are 4 billion cases of diarrhea each year, resulting in over
2.2 million deaths, mostly of children age five and under.
Trachoma has blinded over 6 million, and 200 million people are
infected with schistosomasis with 20 million of those suffering
from active disease. Intestinal worms infect nearly 10 percent of
the population of the developing world, resulting in malnutrition,
anemia and stunted growth. The areas most affected are Africa,
Asia and Latin America. Africa has the lowest safe water coverage
of any region in the world. Over 350 million Africans do not have
access to a safe water supply, and 500 million lack access to
basic sanitation facilities.