But these data are just too overwhelming for most people to handle. We are therefore looking to give the problem a human face. We are collecting personalized stories about individuals and groups and organizations that are doing amazing work in Africa in the face of the pandemic. We are looking for stories that show what ordinary people in Africa are doing to care for and to help in this crisis. Many of us have heard about the horror and we know the statistics. But at ATCnet we want to document the human face of care and the love that is in the middle of all this.
We are looking to learn about individuals, old and young, looking after orphans, doctors and nurses at little clinics, schoolchildren teaching about awareness, women taking control of the behavior change needs, companies being helpful, community initiatives, etc. ATCnet will publish a collection of these stories around February 19, 2002 in conjunction with a series of EVENTS that are being organized to highlight this humanitarian crisis in Africa ..... and we plan to start a fund raising campaign so that the people doing these amazing things can be helped much more than they are at the moment.
Specificially ..... stories about ordinary people and small organizations doing wonderful things would be incredibly valueable ...... Please could you help in this endevour by helping to find stories .... short stories .... long stories. And images. Any contacts you might have where we might find stories. Please send stories and information to us at hivaidsstories@aol.com.
Please pass this message on to your friends and colleagues. We know there are thousands of great stories to be told ... maybe millions. But we will settle for a couple of hundred for the time being. And later we will try to get all the stories into our database so that everyone doing good work can be allocated resources to do better than they can without resources.
To the extent possible we would ask that we get enough contact information so that it is possible to verify and validate the stories and information that is being given to us.
Thanking you in anticipation.
T. Peter Burgess
VP and CFO ATCnet
Coordinator ATCnet Database on the African Health and HIV-AIDS Crisis
New York, USA
Tel: 212 772 6918 Fax: 707 371 7805
website: http://www.atcnet.org
email: profitinafrica@aol.com / hivaidsstories@aol.com