Annemarie Madison has a worthwhile goal and could use some help in achieving it.
After years of being a witness to suffering, inevitable death and grief, Annemarie would like to fulfill a life-giving, life-sustaining project to provide foster homes in Nepal for the children of prostitutes who are now homeless and starving, exposed to drugs, sex abuse and AIDS.
Through my association with her husband, Louis Madison who writes the “Affordable Dining in San Francisco” restaurant reviews for iNeTours.com, I’ve had the good fortune to learn a little bit about what Annemarie has already accomplished and also about the inspiration for her current goal.
For the last twenty years Annemarie has cared for more than 250 AIDS patients. She was with most of them when they died.
After speaking about care for AIDS patients at the first big benefit for AIDS in October of 1985 at the San Francisco Opera house, Annemarie was asked, by the German Government, to speak on the subject at the University of Duesseldorf later that year.
Since then she has given talks and lectures on caring for AIDS patients throughout Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and the Bay Area. Annemarie has coordinated the work of researchers, physicians, nurses, social workers and medical students from Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Holland for practical work in San Francisco. There have been many TV shows, newspaper and magazine articles about her efforts to humanize AIDS care appearing throughout Europe and the U.S. including a June 18, 1990 front page article in USA Today.
Annemarie Madison gave the keynote speech at the 5th Munich AIDS Conference. In recognition of her pioneer work the KIS research consortium in Munich established the “Annemarie Madison Award for Special Services in AIDS.”
In 2002 the Annemarie Madison Award was given to the gynecologist Dr. Puspa Bhatt, Kathmandu/Nepal for her relentless work with prostitutes in Nepal and for her work with foster homes for the children of these prostitutes.
Ten to twelve children live in each foster home headed by a couple. They get healthy food, medication when needed and most importantly an education. Nepal is one of the world’s poorest countries — 62% of the Nepalese are illiterate and AIDS is exploding.
The children in the foster homes have a real future beyond being sold to Thailand or India for sex work to support their families or to the rebels for their fighting force. The children in the existing homes are happy to be a family and proud of their school where many are excelling.
Seventy children are on waiting lists for future foster homes.
$10,000 is needed to set up a home – for furnishings, kitchen, bedding etc. for a home for 10–11 children and their foster parents. An additional $10,000 a year per home is needed to support the children including tuition, books, and school uniforms.
More money is needed to achieve the goal of 7 additional foster homes. Contributions are tax-deductible — any amount is welcome. Checks can be made out to: Global Strategies for HIV Prevention. 104 Dominican Drive, San Rafael CA, 94901 “for Nepal foster home.”
Annemarie and Lou have already achieved important changes in the lives of a fortunate few in Nepal. Alternatives to sex work have been provided by Annemarie and friends in the form of hand and foot operated sewing machines so that prostitutes can learn a skill and return to their non-electrified villages with a source of income to support themselves and their families.
Another, more expensive, machine was given to a community of Untouchables — the lowest and ill-treated cast — that they now use to make hemp from local cactus. With income from this work the Untouchables bought a buffalo-cow for nourishing milk and additional income, two goats, piglets and 35 chickens. The community can now feed itself and will have income.
Recognizing a further need Annemarie and Lou decided to finance the digging of a well so that the people of the community didn’t have to walk 4 kilometers each way to get fresh water.
Two women wanting to leave sex work were given 2 goats and now are back in their village making a living by selling milk. A woman with three children developed a disabling spine disease. She received a cow and two goats, can now feed her children and won't have to sell one of the girls in order to survive.
In such a poor country a lot can be accomplished with relatively few well channeled dollars. Could money be better spent?
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