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Dear Supporter,
On the heels of World AIDS Day, and as we look forward to a brand-new year, we at the
Foundation have been reflecting on the highs, lows, and everything in between during 2008.
While we could go on about our accomplishments this year (and we will… look for our year end
email on December 29!), we’d rather focus on one story. One story about a determined
young woman who embodies the reason we come to work every day. Her story of survival
despite all odds, and the hope that comes from the ability to live a healthy life, is a direct
result of the support and compassion from friends like you.
So as you read about Chiku, please remember that your voice and your donations really
make a difference. Please consider making a year-end gift to ensure that we hear more
stories like hers, about a life saved and a dream fulfilled.
Chiku, 16, of Tanzania, lost both her parents to AIDS and is HIV-positive
herself. But thanks to the Foundation’s work to provide critical care and treatment services
to youth with HIV, today she has hope.
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Donate now to help children like Chiku.
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It hasn’t been easy. "When I was 12, I started getting sick with
similar symptoms to what my mother had," says Chiku. "My
grandmother and uncle suspected that I had AIDS but they did not
want to tell me. My grandmother decided to sell her only two
cows to get money to buy local herbs that she heard would
cure AIDS. The herbs did not help me at all. I got worse and
eventually had to stop going to school."
Then Chiku’s grandmother learned that the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center, one of
many clinics the Foundation supports in Tanzania, offered HIV testing and treatment. "The
doctor told me about my HIV-positive status and explained what ARVs are and what they
would do for me," Chiku says. "Once I had this information, I felt I had nothing to worry
about." Chiku began taking antiretroviral (ARV) medication to control her HIV. She returned
to school.
Today, Chiku, who hopes to become a doctor, encourages other HIV-positive children at the
clinic to take their medication. Her advice: "Never give up!"
- Your Friends at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
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