Why I Choose to Fundraise
March 8th, 2012 at 6:32 pm
When news of budget cuts at PIH reached our ears at the National Office, we met the disappointing news with a conviction that our efforts matter more now than ever. All of us here wanted to contribute through our work to help the situation and inspire others. Thus, even though I work fulltime in the FACE AIDS National Office as the Recruitment and Partnerships Director, I felt compelled to supplement my work with personal fundraising to support our programs. To understand why, let me present a little background.
Three years ago I biked from San Francisco to Boston to raise funds and awareness for the fight against HIV. Along the way my knowledge of HIV/AIDS grew, as did my indignation that a disease which is treatable and preventable continues to kill more than 1 million people a year, most of whom live in the world’s bottom billion. The Ride Against AIDS taught me that I, as a young person, could have an impact on the fight against HIV. I have been blessed to be able to live out that conviction in my full time work as FACE AIDS’ RPD.
In the past year I have been stunned by the growing youth movement to fight HIV. But as my youthful optimism grew, political indifference countered my direct experience for hope. The global financial crisis has led many countries to default on their commitments to fund international aid organizations like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The United States is looking to scale back its support for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). These two programs provide life saving support for millions of men, women, and children around the globe. Without these funds those people will die. At less than 1% of our budget, these slashes will not balance our budget, but they will morally bankrupt us in the fight against HIV.
My values, indignation, beliefs, optimism, anger, frustration, and youthfulness have kept me up at night and made me rise early in the morning. Through it, I have come to a set of personal conclusions:
- Young people not only can, but must be the agents of change in the fight for global health equity.
- We have all the tools, programs, and resources we need to forever eradicate AIDS from the globe; what we lack is the political will.
- The scale and complexity of the issues should not prevent meaningful action or abandonment of the cause.
I have decided to run the San Diego Marathon on June 3rd in order to live out these conclusions in my life. Raising funds to support Nyamirama Health Center in Rwanda is not merely a charitable donation, but rather a form of advocacy that declares that all men, women, and children, regardless of their race, country, socio-economic status, or the color of their skin, should have access to the highest quality of health care because of the human dignity we all share. By capacitating Nyamirama, we can declare that changes are possible; that strengthening health systems does work; that meaningful partnership between public and private organizations as well as international and domestic groups can create lasting change.
I look forward to engaging the community in conversation about HIV/AIDS as I move forward to my marathon on June 3rd. I welcome any questions, comments, suggestions, criticisms, or witticisms you might have. As I prepare to run I will blog, and I hope to share my updates with you periodically. I sincerely thank you for your time, and I hope you will accompany me in the movement for global health equity.


























