News
Students Organise to Fight AIDS in Africa
Adam Schwartz
An individual can make a difference. Just ask Ilan Schwartz, a first-year med school student and U of W alumnus, who, along with some classmates, has created the Simunye Initiative, a charity to raise money and awareness to support individuals battling AIDS in South Africa.
After Schwartz graduated, he spent five months in South Africa to observe how people look after the ill in other countries. Schwartz says he chose South Africa because it was his place of birth. Once in South Africa, he got into contact with Hillcrest AIDS Centre in KwaZuluNatal, where he volunteered his time and got to know the staff at Hillcrest as well as people with AIDS. Part of what differentiates Hillcrest is that they have self-sustaining projects for the families affected by AIDS, so that they can help themselves.
One of the projects is to make small Traveler Doll pins, which Schwartz has brought over to Winnipeg and sells for $5 a pin. Two dollars go to the women who make the dolls, and three dollars go to support the Hillcrest workers, to provide them with gas, supplies and a small income to look after people who are too sick with AIDS to leave their homes or care for themselves.
Hillcrest was in need of money, and Schwartz says he could not just turn his back on them and walk away when he came back to Winnipeg to study medicine. He came across the idea of selling the dolls by pure chance: he brought the dolls back to give to friends but found that the interest level was so great that he was able to see a market for the pins. However, bringing the dolls over was going to take a large financial effort, and Schwartz needed help, so he turned to his medical school classmates for assistance. Schwartz says he was absolutely amazed by his classmates' generosity: in one week, his classmates contributed $1600, enough to get the project off the ground. With that, the Simunye Initiative was born; a committee was established, the dolls arrived, and Ilan's classmates bought dolls, sold to their friends and families, and even went out and gave presentations to different groups such as churches.
Kristine Christoph, another member of the Simunye team, said that her church “was filled with generosity, and gave money but told me to keep the dolls so that I could sell them to someone else and make even more money for Hillcrest.” The group has been able to generate more than $10 thousand since starting their campaign three months ago.
Christoph says that the most amazing part of Simunye is meeting new people who are wearing a pin, and seeing how the project has grown from a small group and their friends to complete strangers taking an interest.
Simunye means “We Are United”, showing that Canadians stand united with South Africans and more importantly, it shows people with AIDS that others stand with them, an important element because often in their own communities they are ostracized. Incredibly, both the group here in Winnipeg and the nurses in Hillcrest simultaneously decided on the name Simunye without knowing that the other group had also chosen the name.
The group's biggest difficulties have been finding enough time, since they are all busy medical students who have to fit in school work, families and other commitments in addition to finding time to give presentations or to sell dolls. Another problem is that the women making the dolls have been unable to meet the demand fast enough. Fortunately, the group’s passion, and the strong leadership provided by Ilan Schwartz, has allowed them to make Simunye a very successful organization.
“Ilan might even be a little too obsessed with helping the women back in Africa,” jokes Christoph.
Simunye will have a booth to sell dolls at the University of Winnipeg which help to support those struggling against HIV/AIDS in South Africa.
After Schwartz graduated, he spent five months in South Africa to observe how people look after the ill in other countries. Schwartz says he chose South Africa because it was his place of birth. Once in South Africa, he got into contact with Hillcrest AIDS Centre in KwaZuluNatal, where he volunteered his time and got to know the staff at Hillcrest as well as people with AIDS. Part of what differentiates Hillcrest is that they have self-sustaining projects for the families affected by AIDS, so that they can help themselves.
One of the projects is to make small Traveler Doll pins, which Schwartz has brought over to Winnipeg and sells for $5 a pin. Two dollars go to the women who make the dolls, and three dollars go to support the Hillcrest workers, to provide them with gas, supplies and a small income to look after people who are too sick with AIDS to leave their homes or care for themselves.
Hillcrest was in need of money, and Schwartz says he could not just turn his back on them and walk away when he came back to Winnipeg to study medicine. He came across the idea of selling the dolls by pure chance: he brought the dolls back to give to friends but found that the interest level was so great that he was able to see a market for the pins. However, bringing the dolls over was going to take a large financial effort, and Schwartz needed help, so he turned to his medical school classmates for assistance. Schwartz says he was absolutely amazed by his classmates' generosity: in one week, his classmates contributed $1600, enough to get the project off the ground. With that, the Simunye Initiative was born; a committee was established, the dolls arrived, and Ilan's classmates bought dolls, sold to their friends and families, and even went out and gave presentations to different groups such as churches.
Kristine Christoph, another member of the Simunye team, said that her church “was filled with generosity, and gave money but told me to keep the dolls so that I could sell them to someone else and make even more money for Hillcrest.” The group has been able to generate more than $10 thousand since starting their campaign three months ago.
Christoph says that the most amazing part of Simunye is meeting new people who are wearing a pin, and seeing how the project has grown from a small group and their friends to complete strangers taking an interest.
Simunye means “We Are United”, showing that Canadians stand united with South Africans and more importantly, it shows people with AIDS that others stand with them, an important element because often in their own communities they are ostracized. Incredibly, both the group here in Winnipeg and the nurses in Hillcrest simultaneously decided on the name Simunye without knowing that the other group had also chosen the name.
The group's biggest difficulties have been finding enough time, since they are all busy medical students who have to fit in school work, families and other commitments in addition to finding time to give presentations or to sell dolls. Another problem is that the women making the dolls have been unable to meet the demand fast enough. Fortunately, the group’s passion, and the strong leadership provided by Ilan Schwartz, has allowed them to make Simunye a very successful organization.
“Ilan might even be a little too obsessed with helping the women back in Africa,” jokes Christoph.
Simunye will have a booth to sell dolls at the University of Winnipeg which help to support those struggling against HIV/AIDS in South Africa.