Amnesty International estimates that over 950 children are living with their parents in the Bolivian prison system. With no federal social support system in place for these children—they would otherwise be orphaned—they are allowed to live with their parents by administrators who realize it would be worse for the children on the outside. This project is designed to help more than 80 children under six years old who, for the most part, live with their mothers in a jail in La Paz. It is divided into three complementary phases: medical aid, child psychological support and social support, with the objective of integrating support for children who accompany their parents to prison. The goal is to make these support services more permanent over time. Specifically, we are seeking support for medical materials and supplies, personnel transportation costs and the purchase of a desktop computer to manage the project.

2. Ecuador: HEALTHCARE for REMOTE JUNGLE COMMUNITIES

Continuing initiative: 2^nd year of 3 years

CFHI hopes to support the 7^th year of trainings for Community Health Promoters in the Shuar region of the Ecuadorian Amazon. 47 individuals who serve indigenous communities that would otherwise have very little access to healthcare, have gone through two stages of training and are now in the third stage. CFHI provided support for the initial stage of training. We allowed the local community to show its commitment to carry out the second stage. Now we are eager to support the conclusion of this process. This set of trainings is focused on promoting communication between these health promoters and the government health care system; in turn directly impacting an estimated 2,000 people. The goal is to improve and strengthen the capacity of the health promoters to address basic health care issues within their communities. The project will also bring legitimacy to their efforts by integrating their training, and its oversight, more tightly within the public health care system.

3. Ecuador: STEMMING the RISE of TYPE 2 DIABETES

This project would design a tracking system for 130 patients with Type 2 Diabetes in the rural and remote areas of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The system will help stem a rising epidemic of cases of Type 2 Diabetes in a largely illiterate population by assessing who has the disease and helping them understand through a color-coded tracking system how to manage it in an intuitive manner. This helps prevent the potential health detriments and progression of complications that arise from diabetes.

4. Ecuador: INDIGENOUS APPROACHES TO MALARIA PREVENTION

Malaria cases have increased steadily over the last several years.  The objective of this initiative is to identify and promote healthy ancestral practices that promote the control of diseases transmitted by arthropods in the jungle communities of Pastaza.  These practices include but are not limited to the use of plants as insect repellent or using smoke within the houses to repel mosquitoes and other insects.  This initiative aims to identify the main ancestral practices that help control diseases transmitted by arthropods and design didactic and promotional material regarding the prevention of these transmittable diseases with an intercultural focus. In addition the initiative aims to train personnel of the Malaria Control Service in basic intervention concepts, with a focus on intercultural communication.

5. South Africa: SCREENING AND INTERVENTION PROJECT- PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Funding from CFHI will help to provide toys and aids for remedial work with children, in addition to funding training workshops and paying for the services of two medical interns with pediatric skills and interest, who will implement the medical and developmental screening of the preschool children targeted by this initiative.

6. South Africa: FOCUS ON ETHNIC GROUPS LIVING IN AVIAN PARK

Health care delivery in Avian Park is currently serviced by an informal weekly clinic run by two home-based care workers employed by the Department of Health, with Medical students from near-by Stellenbosch University . The clinic is supervised by Professor Hoffie Conradie. Dr. Conradie is Head of Family Medicine at Eben Donges Regional Hospital . The funds provided by CFHI will be used to renovate and maintain the container used as the clinic, and to assist with patient transport to the Eden Donges Regional Hospital and the Worcester Community Health Center .

7. India: CATCH THEM YOUNG- INNOVATIVE HEALTH EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The “Catch them Young” initiative aims to provide training and education to youth in Pawananagar, rural . Pawananagar is located 75 km from Pune and consists of 20 villages. The initiative aims to target 2000 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 20 out of a total population of 20,000.

The initiative aims to protect these young against the risks of drug and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy, and sexually transmitted disease by education and outreach in the form of trainings and workshops. These workshops will include anatomical and physiological information, as well as sex education.

The funding provided by CFHI will go towards the employment of a local community health worker, and a local project coordinator, in addition to providing transportation, meeting expenses, and honorarium to local speakers.

8. India: THAN GAON CLINIC (Ongoing commitment 2007 budget = $5,525)

In 1998, the villagers of Than Gaon entered into a partnership with CFHI to set up a small clinic for those there and in the nine surrounding villages. Under the direction of Dr. U.S. Paul, the clinic is now in its eighth year of operation. As this is the only health clinic in over a 50 km radius, it serves not only the Than Gaon population, but those living in the surrounding villages as well. It provides primary health services for the people of Than Gaon and twenty-eight surrounding villages, lowering the rate of infection and disease. Now, the health of the villagers is far better, and thousands of patients have access to healthcare. In the past eight years, more than 20,000 people have received medical care through the clinic and its health camps.

9. India :  HEALTH PROMOTERS (Ongoing commitment – second 3-year phase beginning August 2007.  2007-08 budget = $4,068)

In 2004, CFHI began to augment the services of the clinic and health camps by training 9 women as “Community Health Promoters” or CHPs. These women were elected by their villages to join in the CFHI trainings over the course of three years.  After 3 years, the women have undergone many tranings on topics and skills such as: health behaviour, health education, illness, assessment of basic need of the community, neonatal care, child illness, family planning, routine immunization, communication skill and style of CHP, role (Promotive, preventive and curative) of CHP in safe motherhood and child survival, key areas of community interaction like nutrition, precaution and rest of antenatal and postnatal mothers, and finally the use of technical instruments in primary health program. in collaboration with a local NGO called SBMA and are looking forward to their next 3 years of training which will focus on safe motherhood and safe delivery techniques.

 The objective of this initiative is to determine the incidence of precursory lesions of Cervical-Uterus cancer caused by human papillomavirus(HPV) by conducting vaginal colposcopies in women aged 40 and above, at the Centro de Salud Urban No. 2 de la Colonia Estrella, in Oaxaca, Mexico, between June and October 2007.  This information will help local Doctors to find out the incidence of HPV, and the incidence of precursory lesions. Over 500 patients will benefit from the colposcopy.  It is necessary for these Doctors to know the magnitude of this social problem, in order to begin implementing alternative solutions to diminish the incidence of cervical cancer in the local female population. The funding provided by CFHI will pay for Dr. Eduardo Javier Lopez and Dr. Emiliano Luis Florian Diaz to oversee the initiative, and will also provide office supplies and computer equipment in order to implement the study and track results.

11. Mexico: YOUTH UNITED” FOR HIV/AIDS AWARENESS

According to COESIDA reports, there has been an increase in HIV/AIDS cases along the Oaxacan coast in youth between 15 and 26 years of age, in recent years. This increase in the number of cases coincides with the increase in number of pregnant teenagers, illegal drug-use and violence, among youth.  These are key indicators of a greater risk of HIV infections in the coastal region. Since the risk of contracting HIV is higher in younger populations, the intention of this initiative is to establish a program run by and focused on youth.

The Jóvenes Unidos (“Youth United”) HIV/AIDS awareness outreach and education program was started in the summer of 2006, by 3 CFHI students: Cristina Mota, Erik Berg, and Lynn VanderWielen, who began by training 15 students at a local high school.  Their training encompassed sexual education, STDs, HIV/AIDS and was facilitated by two psychologists from the COESIDA organization, with the help of Dra. Santaella. After the students were trained, they prepared a presentation about HIV/AIDS education and started going to regional high schools to educate the local youth.  In order for this program to be sustainable, Jóvenes Unidos needed a local coordinator to manage all the administrative and outreach work, with particular reference to building strong relationships with local educators.

CFHI funding will pay for A/V equipment, workshop/training materials, and transportation for High School youth to conduct trainings, and a stipend for the local coordinator; all of which are necessary for “Youth United” to be sustainable for the upcoming year.

Please consider supporting one of these vital partner projects that CFHI will sponsor this year.

Sincerely,

Steven E. Schmidbauer

Executive Director

P.S. You can donate to these projects clicking on Donate Now.