Organization #2: Support for International Change

The climb is getting closer!  On our last conference call as a group, we got to talk to Kati, from Support for International Change, a health organization that works exclusively in Tanzania.  SIC was founded in 2002, and has been working hard in rural Tanzania ever since, with an EXTREMELY LIMITED budget.  It's amazing what these folks accomplish with so little.

SIC is a health organization, working to reduce the affects of HIV/AIDS on the rural population in Tanzania. They do this several ways:

1. The "know your status" campaign.  Working alongside Tanzanian community health workers, SIC seeks to educate people on how important it is to know their status.  Knowing your status is the most simple, cost efficient way to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS.  A similar campaign was carried out in the USA from 2007-2010, and 29,503 people tested positive for HIV, and 18,432 of those people didn't even know they were infected!  If that is true of the United States, think of how much more people in developing countries are unaware they have the disease!  Here's the link to the study in the USA: USA HIV Testing Campaign.
2. Linking rural areas to HIV treatment centers and testing.  Even if people in TZ know they have HIV/AIDS, a lot of times access to treatment is limited.  Support for International Change helps transport people into cities or towns to get access to treatment.  If there are enough people in a rural area who need tratment, SIC will bring the treatment to them.
3. Mobile Health Clinics.  SIC has purchased several Land Rovers that they use to do rural HIV testing and perform other health services.  Some folks in Tanzania live hours and hours away from any sort of healthcare, and for many people, an encounter with SIC is likely the first time they've had medical attention.

In regards to how 3 Peaks 3 Weeks and the Peaks Foundation aids SIC in their work, Kati said something to this effect:

"3 Peaks 3 Weeks gives us enough financial support every year for us to be able to think long term about different projects.   Our organization is very small, so many of the donations we receive are small as well.  We are usually financing projects week to week.  With the money the climbers raise, in the past we have been able to purchase Land Rovers to create mobile health clinics, and have also been able to expand into different regions in Tanzania and reach more people.  Our important efforts would not be able to happen on such a scale if we did not have the support of the Peaks Foundation and their team of 3 Peaks 3 Weeks Africa climbers."

SIC MISSION: To limit the impact of HIV/AIDS in underserved communities and to train future leaders in global health and development.  (I can't think of many mission statements better than that...)

SIC WEBSITE: http://sichange.org/