“…a generation of orphans”

This title has shocked me so after reading it three months ago that I started working on a plan to change it. With the help of many, who I have contacted for help and advise I have now finally formulated a plan, I am hoping the South African Government, and others who I will be approaching, will come to the front to assist me in executing.

I have been reading everyday about the levels of HIV infected people in Africa, stretching from South Africa right through the heart of Africa, children being born HIV positive and the astronomical number of people dying of AIDS or related diseases. Experts are predicting that three million people, worldwide, will be dying of full blown AIDS in 2003 and 80% of them will be from Africa. A total of thirteen million people are expected to die from AIDS related diseases in Africa alone. The poverty factor plays a major role in the success of the AIDS virus’s killing spree. I know that Governments from around the world and South Africa, has addresses the issues of poverty and the spread of AIDS in Africa, but these predicted figures of death are still shocking.

I feel that we as Africans must understand the cause of AIDS, how it is contracted, in this way we can slow down the number of people being affected with the disease every year. Countless studies show that AIDS is only transmitted two ways—A. Sexually and B. Blood transfusions. It is up to hospitals and the medical industry to ensure that blood used in transfusions are AIDS free, in this regard I, and the local public, cannot help.

When it comes to the biggest and most successful way AIDS is spread, which is sexually, then the world can get involved to educate our people, it is purely out of ignorance or lack of educational guidance that we are failing at this. I have come up with an Awareness project of note, which will reach and touch every man women and child in Africa and it will not cost the South African government a cent other than their support of this project.

Project – Driving across Africa (no name yet)

A team of five individuals, driving the message of AIDS prevention across the continent of Africa, on five, four wheeler Motorcycles, from Cape Town to Cairo though Africa. The team will start from Cape Town and ride though Botswana, Zambia, Zaire, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Sudan and Egypt.

Purpose of the Team

A schedule will be drawn up for the team to address the young and old alike about AIDS awareness in each major city they pass through. Explaining to the people of Africa what the number one cause of AIDS is, and what the consequences of unprotected, sexual intercourse, is. The Team will drive the message of reality home.

The Team

The team members could possibly be HIV positive or have full-blown AIDS or not infected at all, they will be trained on how to do an AIDS awareness presentation by a South African BEE training company. They must have a motorcycle driver’s License or with international clearance at least know how to operate a motorcycle. They will range from 25 to 45, dynamic and very well spoken. (language is not an issue as interpreters will be expected in each country).

The Fundraiser

An account will be opened up in the name of the South African Government and as I feel President Thabo Mbeki should be the executor of the Account, this will be a South African initiative and all the credit should go to the South African Government and it’s people. We will then invite companies and private individuals to make donations into this account from all over the world. The way they will donate is by buying Kilometers from the total distance the Team will drive. I do not have the exact Kilometers, but Africa is about 8,690km long but the journey will not be in a straight line so we can expect it to be anything up to 10,000km. This will be worked out at a later stage. Once we have the actual kilometers, companies can then buy up kilometers along the route, at R50,000 per kilometer, their incentive will be that the five team members will advertise their company logos in photographs, television appearances, on their motorcycles, T-shirts or when they are doing their AIDS awareness presentations. FOR EXAMPLE Say the German company Condomi buys up 200 kilometers somewhere in Zambia, then when the Team is driving those actual kilometers the teams digital display boards will display the Condomi company logo on the back or front of their motorcycles. This digital display board is compact and images can be sent to it via satellite of via the internet without the drivers having to stop and change logos. The largest donor will have their logo displayed at the major AIDS awareness presentation in the city nearest to their kilometers. This will guarantee international exposure. In this way the Project can raise R500,000,000 (10,000km x R50,000).

Raised Funds

As the Team will create awareness while traveling through Africa, therefore the money will be used for medicinal reasons and free publications, which will be distributed throughout Africa after the team had returned. We understand that the first problem we experience with the much-needed drugs to fight AIDS is that it is very expensive, and is not readily available to the poor. This money will be used to make a dent in the need or be a catalyst to future African Government programs to continue supplying the medication to it’s citizens.

Spending the Raised Funds

President Thabo Mbeki will be the Executer and the president alone will be responsible and accountable for the distribution of the Funds, now I understand the President will not have time to focus on a project of this magnitude but he will have an advisory team who will be running the project post “drive through Africa”. The president will only be the Chairman and sole signatory on the account, unless the President feels he wants to pass this responsibility on or share it with a second party.

Supplies

The Supply list is a short one as the Team’s choose of transportation will be motorcycles:

5          x          Motorcycles – Yamaha Wolverine 4X4 2003 Models

5          x          Satellite Cell phones - Iridium satellite phones

5          x          Digital Satellite Display PC Boards

1          x          Satellite Navigational System

5          x          Medical Kits

5          x          Tents and sleeping bags

5          x          Emergency food packs

2          x          Laptops with internet capabilities

Airline transportation will be needed to allow the Team members to rendezvous in Cape Town with all the supplies. They will also need airline transport from Egypt back to South Africa. All the local Airlines will be contacted to transport the Team to Cape Town and all international airlines operating out of Egypt will be contacted to fly the Team back to South Africa.

Petrol will be a major factor for the Team to complete their journey across Africa and all the Oil companies who are operating in Africa will be contacted to foot the bill for the fuel or provide it along the way.

Website

A website will be created in the name of the project. This website will host the following:

1          Project information

            Breaking down the purpose of the project, who started it and why it was           started, statistics of AIDS in Africa and links or stories around the efforts to            fight the diseases. Latest research and organizations to contact for help in the             different countries the Team will visit.

2          The Team

            Who the Team is, their background, photos, why they decided to take part etc.

3          Map of Africa and current Team location

            This will be a touch map, which will be updated every three hours to show the   location of the Team, in this way everyone will know where they are at any          given hour of the day.   

4          Purchasing of the Kilometers by companies or individuals

            Once a company has indicated which kilometers they want to purchase they      will have 24 hours in which to deposit the money into the Project’s bank         account and in this way the kilometers will belong to them. Should they book             it and not deposit the money the kilometers will be up for grabs again to the       international market on the website. The total route will be highlighted in two            colours, red and green. Green will still be available and red will be sold.

5          Money collected

            Once companies deposit the money into the account then the money will            reflect on the Website, in this way the world can see how much money has            already been collected.

6          Stop location addresses and Presentation venue addresses

            Locals from each country can click on their respective countries and see when   and where the Team will be doing an AIDS awareness presentation. Locals           who want to welcome the TEAM to their country or city can do so by             monitoring the Team’s whereabouts on the website.

7          List of sponsors and donors

            Each company who purchases, even one kilometer, will have their details listed on the site. Company name, Director or CEO, Country, physical      address, contact details and the number of kilometers they purchased with a      link to their own websites. The sponsors of the supplies for the Team will also be listed in showing what they sponsored and what it will be used for. The            sponsors will appear on the first page of the website with links to their    respective website.

Donation process

Companies can visit the website and select the Kilometers they wish to purchase as explained in (point 4) of the Website section.

A.                 Company decides on the Map of Africa which kilometers they want.

B.                 Email the online booking agent to book the selected Kilometers

C.                 Receive banking details of the Project account with a reference code, which will be added to the deposit and deposits the calculated amount.

D.                 The Booking agent will check the Project bank statement to confirm the deposit and permanently purchase the kilometers for the donor company.

E.                  Donor company’s name gets added to the donor company list on the website.  

Safety of the Team

As Africa also has it’s share of civil unrest and wars, all the Presidents of the different countries will be contacted to rally their support, in this way guaranteeing the safety of the Team. We will request a police or military escort for the Team from the time the Team enters the country until they exit the country. Local Radio and Television station will be notified of the Teams intentions of driving through their country so that the Military and the Rebels are fully aware who is one the Motorcycle and military convoy. 

Project Execution

The successful Execution of this project should not be taken lightly as there are many facets, which will have to be synchronized to ensure the success of the project in it’s entirety. If we look at the layout:

This project will need five dedicated people who will be responsible for the following areas:

1. The Team – Creating a profile for the type of individual we will be sending on this mission, Running an add campaign or networking through the local AIDS related organizations and in the end selecting the team. 

2. Supplies – This person will have to contact all the suppliers and ask for donation of the items and services we will need for the project. This should be someone who comes from a strong background to convince companies of the mileage they can get from this project.

3. Media  – This person will be responsible for tracking down radio and television station throughout Africa to promote the project and for keeping the people of Africa informed.

4. Communications – Gathering of information and feeding it to the Website Developers, Do research on AIDS. Contact the Banks for the Project Account and deposit procedure. Secure letters from African Presidents, and gather addresses where Team will be doing their Presentations.

5. Website - This will have to be a technical know-how person who will setup and run the website, this is a job for a fully-fledged Website Developer. The Webmaster will make all the fancy IT things happen.

It took me three months of research and an additional four weeks to complete this AIDS awareness proposal as I have a “real” job and decided to do all this in my spare time. This was just, me thrashing out a few ideas and looking at it from a logistical point of view (if it can be done). Should a team of fourteen take on this task full time I think if could be ready for execution in July 2003. A Team half that size we can possibly look at January 2004. This proposal with a letter of support from the Office of the President of South Africa, it will not be a problem finding a sponsor who would cover the layout costs:

Office space rental

Furniture

Computers

Office stationery costs, water/ electricity and telephone 

Salaries

Conclusion

I am submitting this proposal in the hope that it will be looked upon seriously as I feel we as a people should take ownership of our problems and address them with vigor. I have two boys and would not like to loose then to a disease that we as a global community did nothing about to eradicate, or at least try to prevent from spreading faster around the world.