Foundation Blog
News, commentary, and voices in the efforts to eliminate HIV and AIDS in children worldwide.
Posted by
Eric Kilongi
Nairobi, Kenya
January 4, 2011
Thuso's motorcycle outside a traditional
Lesotho home. (Photo: EGPAF)
As preparation for a recent 20/20 episode featuring the Foundation’s work in Lesotho, Regional Communications Officer Eric Kilongi met the pony rider Potso in his village in the mountains. He learned more about Potso’s work delivering HIV drugs and other supplies for the Foundation on horseback, and also met the other half of this unusual delivery team: motorcycle rider Thuso.
A good-humored Rastafarian working for the Riders for Health program, Thuso delivers important blood samples brought from mountain clinics to the district hospital.
Click past the jump to meet Thuso, and to see what motivates him as he races against the clock – and along the region’s curvy roads – delivering health services on the back of a motorcycle.
Read More
Posted by
Eric Kilongi
Nairobi, Kenya
December 28, 2010
On a recent special 20/20 episode on global health, ABC correspondent Deborah Roberts visited a Foundation-supported clinic nestled in the mountains of Lesotho. She followed a special Foundation pony courier there as he delivered lifesaving drugs and test results to mothers and pregnant women living with HIV in the isolated villages surrounding the clinic.
Prior to Deborah's arrival, Foundation Regional Communications Officer Eric Kilongi traveled from his home in Nairobi, Kenya to Lesotho to meet Potso and his family, and follow the path that Potso travels every week.
Click past the jump for more photos and to learn more about Eric's travels around the 'Kingdom in the Sky.'
Read More
Posted by
Evan Von Leer
Washington, D.C.
December 28, 2010
During the holiday season around the world, there is a lot of focus on food. Global Health Corps Fellow Mara Gordon, who is working with the Foundation in Malawi, recently returned to her native Ohio for the holidays, and blogged about a mainstay in the diet of both countries: corn.
She wrote about the abundance of it in the American Midwest, its sometimes scarcity in Malawi, and how both situations present their own unique problems for health and nutrition, particularly for children.
Click past the jump for more about her trip and a link to her latest blog post.
Read More
Posted by
Robert Yule
Washington, D.C.
December 28, 2010
Maamohelang Hlala sitting outside her
home near Mokhotlong, Lesotho.
On last week’s special 20/20 episode on global health, ABC correspondent Deborah Roberts visited a Foundation-supported clinic nestled in the mountains of Lesotho. She followed a special Foundation pony courier there as he delivered lifesaving drugs and test results to mothers and pregnant women living with HIV in the isolated villages surrounding the clinic .
She also sat down with one of those mothers, Maamohelang, and her husband to talk about how receiving those drugs at the clinic changed their lives. They had discovered that they were both HIV-positive only after their baby boy became sick a few years ago. Soon after they lost their infant son to AIDS, Maamohelang discovered that she was once again pregnant.
Click past the jump to find out more of her story, and to see what happened after the cameras stopped rolling.
Read More
Posted by
Evan Von Leer
Washington, D.C.
December 20, 2010
Potso, one of the Horse-riders for Health,
and his horse, Rooikat are filmed.
If you visited our website last week, follow us on Twitter, or are our friend on Facebook, you probably know that the Foundation was featured as part of the ABC News series on global health, “Be the Change: Save a Life.”
The series kicked off on Friday night’s television show ABC 20/20, and showcased the Foundation’s innovative “Horse-riding for Health” program. ABC’s Deborah Roberts followed a pony courier to deliver drugs and test results to fight HIV in remote clinics in the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho.
If you missed Friday's ABC 20/20, you can see the video after the jump and learn more about how you can support the Foundation's work around the world.
Read More
Posted by
Robert Yule
Washington, D.C
December 17, 2010
Potso Seoete and his horse Rooikat
rest after a long journey. (Photo: EGPAF)
On December 17 at 10 p.m. ET, the long-running ABC News program
20/20 will launch the “Be the Change: Save a Life” series, highlighting the world’s top global health issues, including HIV/AIDS. The inaugural episode will profile the pony riders of Lesotho and their integral role in the Foundation’s HIV prevention, care, and treatment initiatives.
In late November, Foundation Media Manager Bob Yule accompanied ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts, along with the Foundation Country Director for Lesotho Dr. Leo Buhendwa and a film crew, high into the mountains of Lesotho to document the Horse-riding for Health program.
Click past the jump for a behind-the-scenes account of the week-long trip, along with links to more amazing photos and video, and to learn more about Potso, one of the horse-riders for health.
Read More