Sometimes it is hard to see how US policy impacts the world. I just got back from a trip to Kenya that helped me to realize just how important US policy can be to the world’s poor. In Ukwala, Kenya, a rural village in Western Kenya, I worked with a clinic that is set to receive a $1.4 million grant from USAID that comes from PEPFAR (The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief).
 
I got home and had an email in my inbox about the PEPFAR funding being in jeopardy and my heart broke. I just met people that will be benefiting tremendously from this legislation. Among them was one of the most inspiring people I have met: Collins is disabled from the waist down. He gets around by a hand-pedaled bike. He doesn’t have HIV/AIDS, but 1 out of 10 people in his area do. He is a member of an AIDS Support Group, because he wants the message of prevention to reach the disabled population, a group that is normally ignored. He is one of the smartest people I have met.

Because of a possible decision by some powerful Congresspeople in DC, millions of lives are at risk. We can’t let that happen. We can join Collins and stand up for our brothers in sisters living with AIDS. Keep updated on PEPFAR funding by checking this blog. You can also learn more on the ONE and DATA sites and take action here.

-Stephen Donahoe, Outreach International