Local grassroots organization Bracelet of Hope is being recognized by the International Education Business Partnership Network and the Conference Board of Canada for work done to combat the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.
Rockwood resident Dr. Anne Marie Zajdlik, who founded the organization in 2005, is travelling to Brussels, Belgium on Sept. 12, along with board member Dr. Karen Hand of Puslinch, to accept the “Global Best Award” on behalf of Bracelet of Hope and its partners.
The honour acknowledges groups from small communities who cross boundaries to connect with other people in the world and make a difference – and in this respect Bracelet of Hope is deserving of recognition.
The organization works with community groups in Lesotho, Africa in three main areas: developing and staffing clinics to treat those infected with HIV/AIDS, supporting foster homes for children orphaned by the disease, and establishing means of generating income in the community by promoting business development.
Zajdlik has been working to improve the lives of those with HIV/AIDS both in Canada and abroad for most of her career.
She says she made the decision to take her life in that direction when she was still in medical school in the 1980s.
At that time, little was known about the disease and it was shrouded in social stigma. It was while working with an infectious disease professional at Dalhousie University that she first came in contact with an AIDS patient.
“The fellow we were treating had been abandoned by everyone, stigmatized and abandoned by his family and friends – no one would go into the room,” she reflects.
“I spent a lot of time in this patient’s room because I was just so overwhelmed by his loneliness and sadness.”
In 1990, Zajdlik returned to Guelph to set up a practice and started taking on HIV patients. However, these were still dark times for those diagnosed.
“There wasn’t much known at that time … for the first six years, it was just helping people die,” she says.
Since then, a lot has changed. Zajdlik says current medical treatments allow patients to maintain a normal life expectancy while also preventing transmission to others.
“In 1996 the cocktail of medications came on the scene and I spent the next 10 years watching people who were on death’s door come back to life. It was quite amazing,” she says.
Zajdlik says she was inspired to take action in Africa after reading Stephen Lewis’ book, A Race Against Time and attending one of his lectures. Lewis’ book highlights what steps G8 countries must take in order to improve conditions in Africa and explains the historical context that led to the current economic decline and health crisis.
Zajdlik, who at the time was operating an HIV/AIDS clinic in Guelph, says she cried for a week after reading Lewis’ book and was overcome by his presentation.
“Here was this beautiful politician, this wonderful Canadian who has done so much in the world for HIV … and he was crying and looked exhausted,” she says.
“So I drove home and said, ‘okay that’s enough, I’ve gotta help out.’”
In the fall of 2005, Zajdlik launched a campaign to raise money for a clinic project in Lesotho, which Lewis had recommended as an ideal place of action.
Zajdlik, who was saving the lives of Canadians with the disease, said she saw no reason why people in Africa should die when a treatment existed.
“We have the answer to the AIDS pandemic in the palm of our hand already and it should be a no-brainer to take what we know and the technology we have here in North America in our communities … to take that same treatment to a small country like Lesotho and make sure people are being treated and children aren’t dying of AIDS,” Zajdlik said.
Bracelet of Hope’s next goal is to build a second clinic in Lesotho and Zajdlik says they’re looking to the ALS ice bucket challenge and its incredible success on social media for inspiration in their next fundraising endeavors.
By utilizing social media, she says they can reach a wider demographic and avoid depleting the immediate community.
“Bracelet of Hope has saturated this area. In the first two years of the campaign I spoke over 400 times so people know who we are,” she says.
“It’s been eight years so I’m looking at the community going, ‘I don’t want to burn you out so I’m going to find a new way to fund.’”
Their goal is to raise a million dollars, which will build another clinic, staff it to serve 10,000 people and run it for five years.
After the five-year mark, the clinic will be turned over to the residents of Lesotho and be supported through the international AIDS fund.
Ultimately Zajdlik says none of it would be possible without the incredible support from the communities of Guelph, Wellington County and Kitchener-Waterloo.
“We’re in a very compassionate area. This is just a really unique part of the province and if you stand up and say you want to set a goal and that goal is to improve the lives of other people, you’re going to be backed,” she says.
“People stand beside you and they work with you until that goal is reached. It’s a wonderful phenomenon.”
The Falling Leaves Run is Bracelet of Hope’s next fundraiser and will be held at the Arboretum at the University of Guelph on Sept. 20.
There will be a 5K, 7.5K and half-marathon trail run going on that day with all proceeds donated to support AIDS work in Lesotho, Africa.
For more information or to make a donation visit www.braceletofhope.ca.
