15 December, 2011
Dear Friends, Family and Colleagues,
I want to share a story of inspiration with you. This August, Zandi Mqwathi, the National Focal Point for South Africa from the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, invited me to an event in Soshanguve, a poor township on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa, where I’ve been living for the past year.
Zandi brought together over 200 young women and men to talk frankly about the realities young women face everyday in South Africa: poverty, high unemployment sexual assault, HIV and teen pregnancy. Due to her efforts, over 100 of the participants tested for HIV at the event at USAID confidential testing tents!
To see GYCA’s name and logo being used thousands of miles from where we first started the organization in 2004 made me more proud than I can possibly express. Zandi honed her skills and ideas for action in our free Political Advocacy E-course. Since then, she has grown leaps and bounds as a leader in her community and country, going on to work at the South African National AIDS Council and inspiring hundreds of her peers to take charge of their lives and futures.
Zandi reminded me that despite all the challenges of keeping GYCA running in the current financial crisis, our 6,000+ members from 173 countries rely on us to provide a global platform that gives them training opportunities, access to funding, chances to advocate directly to their country’s government, and legitimacy in the global health movement.
Please help us to continue serving young people like Zandi by making a donation this holiday season. This year is particularly difficult one for GYCA, because funding for youth leadership and HIV/AIDS is dwindling fast. We rely upon your support (in any amount) to keep our doors open and the lights on.
All contributions are 100% tax-deductible.
Thank you for your Generosity,
Joya Banerjee, GYCA Co-Founder & Advisory Council Member