Saturday, December 14, 2013

ICROSS internship program 2014

Kenya Celebrates 50 years of Independence

ICROSS POLIO CAMPAIGN 2013

Seth Rubin ICROSS

http://www.sethrubinphotography.com/ESSAYS/ICROSS-AID-NGO/1/thumbs/

Seth Rubin an amazing creative photographer
capturing ICROSS programmes

Friday, November 29, 2013

World AIDS Day 2013

http://icrossinternational.org/news.aspx?id=160

ICROSS WORLD AIDS DAY 2013

Latest News » 28 November 2013

One of the tragic things about yet another World AIDS day is the apathy and indifference that has emerged over the last few years. Initiatives like the Global Fund and PEPFAR , MARPS and comprehensive care have made a huge difference but there is a growing danger of complacency among both Governments and those who are most vulnerable. Despite education there is dreadful ignorance and ranging from fundamental Christian groups and Russian authorities to young sexually active men in Europe and Africa.

AIDS has caused more suffering and death across Africa than the last century of Wars. The scale of destruction has magnified poverty and reversed much of the progress of the last 50 years with life expectancies falling decades across the continent. ICROSS was at the forefront of HIV/AIDS prevention and fighting prodigies and intolerant in the 80s, it continues a very different fight now. ICROSS was among the first to establish Home Based Care and support programmes for AIDS orphans and vulnerable children.

There are 2.5m new cases of HIV/AIDS every year. 40% of new infections are between 15-24 years old. Over 75% of people living with AIDS are in Sub-Saharan Africa and Africa still count for a half of all AIDS related deaths. One of the growing tragedies is the rapid rise of HIV among the teenagers.
Fear, ignorance and the danger of social rejection are growing problems in Africa. While the vast majority of new cases is heterosexual. There are sexual minorities that are specially vulnerable. ICROSS together with its partners seek to provide increased support systems to those most vulnerable.
The Kenya government (National AIDS Control Programme) identified key communities most at risk. What was left out of these was the very population with the fastest increase, teenagers.
Men who have sex with men and present population make up 15.2% of new HIV infections. In 2014 we will target the National AIDS Control Programme priorities. This will include strengthening our systems our existence HIV AIDS programmes.
Since 1984 ICROSS has worked in international collaborations fighting HIV and AIDS. ICROSS was involved in the first scientific research into rate of sexual partner exchange in collaboration with Prof Roy Anderson of imperial college and has been doing ground breaking in HIV research ever since.
ICROSS has reached over 130,000 HIV patients and established one of the earliest home care programs in east Africa.
Long before the idea of absorbing AIDS orphans into local communities, ICROSS teams were implementing cultural appropriate support programs. Decades after identifying this epidemic, ICROSS remains at the fore front of innovative research. One of the tragedies about world AIDS day is that it has become a passing fade in the minds of most people; it is largely remembered by HIV organizations. Over 33 million people suffer with HIV, a small fraction of those who suffer from starvation and hunger.
The tragedy of categorizing illnesses is that you cannot categorize the total burden of poverty. Years after ICROSS began working in the area of HIV and AIDS, UNAIDS was formed in 2004. The misleading illusion of Word AIDS Day themes has in our believe been unhelpful. We cannot separate youths, women, girls, men or lobbing issues. It is not helpful to have an AIDS awareness months, there needs to be a coherent integrated sexual health strategy not divided by 300 well-funded foundations and organizations. World Aids Day completely misses the point of the primary problem, there are almost a billion people suffering from hunger today, and there are 400 million living in slavery. ICROSS is committed to seeing human beings not as a disease of a clinical diagnosis but as equal deserving our respect and support.
As Africa support and funding decline dramatically these feast days invented by multilateral organization remain increasingly unhelpful to the poor. The international aid organizations and inept structure like USAID live in lucrative while the poor they serve receive a tiny fraction of public resources, that purport spent in their name, Dr Michael Meegan the founder of ICROSS has advocated for the last 24 years that the vast resources allocated to HIV and AIDS should be channeled directly through local communities without the extra ordinary overhead wasted by the us government.
World AIDS Day like the 740 conferences a year is kittle more than the exploitation of the poor and the continued feeding of wasteful and often corrupt bilateral aid programs in his ground breaking work loads of poverty graham Hancock challenged the betrayal of public trust, in this ground breaking book (1989) he warned that very little of the money ever sent to Africa would ever reach the poor.
One of the problems with things like World AIDS day is we often forget about it the rest of the year. We all face big issues in our communities about increasing unsafe sex especially among the young and the increase in STIs in the gay community and other sexual minorities. An equally dangerous thing is a complacency and indifference to emerging trends that are quietly spreading. The persecution and cleansing of the voiceless, this time not an ethnic or religious minority but a sexual one.

We have become immune these days to all the suffering in the World. We are numb to the litany of cruelties and abuses that fill the media. One of the things that distances us is the scale of everything, we feel powerless looking at the numbers of crimes and injustices. When it comes to human rights abuse across the world it seems that most   states are guilty of atrocities too. When we hear the statistics and listen to the constant stream of tragedy we are left immobilised, drowned in numbers simply left feeling useless and often angry.

Over eighty countries still criminalize consensual homosexual sex, or “sodomy” as it’s often called, including most African and most Arabic countries.
Punishment includes torture, stoning, public flogging, imprisonment, and in about a dozen jurisdictions, the death penalty. The most extreme state violence is Muslim countries. Despite some small gay communities that have emerged in major African cities being gay remains a life-threatening nightmare for most gay people on the continent.

Often   violence against the gay community goes unreported or suppressed though there are poignant examples.

In July, Eric Ohena Lembembe, Gay activist, author and journalist was the most high-profile African gay rights lobbyist to be killed since 2011, a year that saw the deaths of Uganda's David Kato and South African lesbian activist Noxolo Nogwaza. The brutality and savagery of these murders is hallmarked by a hate and rage feeding the most unspeakable torture.   While attacks across Africa against sexual minorities are rising, prosecution of hate crimes is rare.

A growing climate of hate often fueled by Christian and Muslim fundamentalist groups has encouraged a new generation of homophobia, indifference by authorities, judiciary and senior politicians has created an environment where police rarely protect gay rights. In one of my books (Changing the World) I recounted the story of a young South African man who had been held for six months on remand on charge of prostitution of which he was found innocent. During that time he was in the company of hardened criminals, repeatedly raped, his teeth removed so that he could be “used”, He was repeatedly victimized and beaten and by the time he came to our health services he had already developed AIDS. This is tragically not a rare story, many young vulnerable gay men or those perceived as gay are brutalized and tormented in the vilest of ways and for many life is a lonely living hell. Michael Wines writes “crowded cells where inmates sleep in shifts; warders who ‘sell’ juvenile offenders for sex with other cons “Wasting Away, A Million in African Jails” (November 6, 2005) New York Times 11. And across Africa the most vulnerable prisoners are repeatedly raped without condoms and with little interest from prison authorities. The International Journal of human rights warns that this crisis among the most vulnerable is worsening exponentially (Prisons in Africa: An evaluation from a human rights perspective, Jeremy Sarkin )

One young Ugandan man Olino, 22 was beaten and chased from his home by his brothers who burnt his clothes and his identity documents, school certificates. They told him he was dead to the family and to the village. He had developed HIV, his family belonged to an evangelical group and told him that he would burn forever in hell, that was when he was 18.   Of course we don’t need to go far even in our own country to encounter such hate and bigotry but what is a thing of the past is the collective anti gay hate that feeds on fear and in the name of God commits the most dreadful crimes. What is worrying is that hate feeds hate and these minorities across the world including places like Russia and the Caribbean are hunted, sought out tortured and despised. There’s no shortage of   hate campaigning and Youtubes likehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjnrLt3VuSM are common but worse these are widely held views across Africa and they are being encouraged from the pulpits.

Seoen was a young Sudanese man diagnosed with HIV. He tried three Government health facilities and a mission looking for help but was turned away every time with staff refusing to treat him, he was unashamedly gay and was removed from his school after students reported that he was gay. He had no money for a bus so walked the 14 miles home. When his father heard the story he told Seoen that he had to leave the next morning as he was a shame to the family and he was not welcome inn his own home. The following morning his mother found him behind the small outside toilet, he had taken rat poison. In his pocket there was a note, which simply read

“ Mum Dad I love you, I am sorry, maybe I can be happy if God wants me “

In my thirty something years in Africa I have seen many examples of heart breaking cruelty against minorities, it is so often the oppressed that becomes the oppressor. But even when you look at the overwhelming odds there are unstoppable changes taking place. All the hate and brutality in the World will not stop the tide of basic rights. With growing momentum heroic movements are springing up with over 400 gay right activist groups working often under state persecution. It is pointless to know these things if we can do nothing about them. Many African Governments have recently introduced initiatives for those most at risk, targeting most at risk populations. These initiatives are only as good as the leaders and health workers driving them. Not enough is being done and as long as most African countries criminalise and persecute gay and lesbian people they will continue to be mistreated.

I once recounted the end stages of young man dying of AIDS, his name was Atria, I initially told the story in the Journal of the American Medical Association and expanded on it in a selection of reflections in ALL WILL BE WELL ( www.eye-books.com )

I tried to express the reality of what it meant to die of AIDS putting a person not a statistic before us. The title was “I held him in my arms and wept”
All movement is acutely painful and distressing. Intestinal worms are back again. Atria's limbs are stiffening and his back is covered with ulcers that leak and bleed but do not heal, impossible to manage in a small hut. His issues are controlling pain, managing extreme distress, reducing humiliation, creating dignity, reducing multiple infections, reducing cross-infection to others. But the worst thing is loneliness. To die of AIDS in Africa is an intensely humiliating ordeal, slow . . . obscene. Atria is now in his last days of life. His tear ducts have dried up, his hair has fallen out, his bones are brittle. He has no muscle or fat and his heart is 70% weaker than pre-HIV. He has been eaten alive and he has no resistance. All of Atria's senses are shutting down.

His fingernails and toenails have fallen out. His skin is blistered and scaly, and scabs cannot form. The bedsores and ulcers have spread, sources of multiple deep infections. Breathing is almost impossible and the slightest movement is slow and full of dreadful anxiety. I give him water drop by drop through a straw.
I hold his frail, stiffened hand. He is cold, he has no tears. I look into his eyes. I whisper to him, and kiss him. He slowly inhales, half closes his eyes. He breathes out, very slowly.

The tragedy we see in our work is that so many of these people live in fear and anguish, rejected and vilified. In many countries there is a rising tide of hatred being   fed by lies and fear, ignorance and increasing violence.

A few weeks ago I was with a young man who could not stop trembling , his recent HIV diagnosis had caused him to flee his village in Uganda and he had nowhere to stay, no one to help him, he was vomiting with fear. I was able to put him in touch with a growing network of support and he is now I am delighted to say safe and among friends.

We can all do something, we can all get directly involved and help. We need to work directly with these groups, provide practical support, and help lines, technology, and advice and health services. Organisations like the International gay and lesbian human rights commission http://www.iglhrc.org/ and their partners are among the growing co ordinated efforts making a difference.

There are also a myriad of small local NGOs quietly campaigning, supporting small groups of gay and lesbian people who are in danger and living in fear. The issues of these rights concerns each one of us and I hope that the flickering flame of hope can be nurtured and kindled by our own personal action. There are many voices coming together, one of the first in Africa was Mandela

Desmond Tutu said recently “I think it’s as utterly unjust as racism ever was.” He went on to say “I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I’d say sorry. I mean, I’d much rather go to that other place.”

There are too many Eric’s, Olinos, Seoens, too much trembling alone and to many tears. There is simply too much unkindness in the World and it will take us all to reach out and find a brother, a sister, someone desperately in need of being understood, accepted, to know that they are not alone.

--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA5gqmoysGg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vZoe0ZXqmw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWeXQm9xZ0E&list=UUAfcaQr0gP3L9yJtqkgmmvw&index=16&feature=plcp

Thursday, November 14, 2013

ICROSS in 2013 Africa a new plan

ICROSS Mission Statement 2013
Our aim is to reduce disease, suffering and poverty among the poorest on earth. Our projects are implemented through the values and beliefs of the people themselves. Together we create self-reliance and work towards long-term positive change.

Background
ICROSS was created by Dr. Joe Barnes and Dr. Michael Meegan in 1979. It established a new approach towards long term health care (this is explained in details in our downloadable strategic plan) For decades ICROSS has developed public health research that has pioneered low cost innovations (please see research section)

Philosophy
We believe in evidence driven, results based long term solutions that can be shared. We do not believe that projects should be donor agendas, they must be community decided and locally planned. We succeed because all we do is long term over decades, in local language and through local culture. Our work is built through continuity.

Passion
None should ever sleep and be hungry; no child needs to be sick and untreated or thirsty. Everything we do will change the poverty trap and the short term idea of poverty. Our humanity is how we care for each other and embrace those who are vulnerable and hurt. We are going to end starvation and suffering, but we can only do this together.

Vision
A World free of needless suffering and infant death where people can be cared for and respected as they are within their own language , culture, traditions and beliefs. Where there is no hunger and starvation in a World of such vast wealth. Where there is compassion and kindness based on equality and shared empathy and understanding.

What we do
We fight poverty by identifying a root cause of suffering and designing long term ways to create change. Famine relief, short term projects and quick solutions do not work. For 30 years, we have been developing alternative innovations and low tech solutions to big problems.

Projects
The United Nations has set a series of targets to end world poverty and hunger. The gap between the rich and poor causes over 50,000 children to die from preventable diseases cause by poverty everyday. These millennium goals are the gold standard we are all aiming for. For more facts about Global Poverty and the reasons why ICROSS focuses on these areas,

Who we are
ICROSS is an international Non-governmental organisation working in partnership with civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, governments and bilateral agencies including the Global Fund, the European Union, the World Health Organisation UNICEF other Organizations and local communities.

We are a group of trained professional s in global health and development ranging from clinical services and gynecological to water and sanitation. Most of our teams and all our managers are from local communities (For more information please see our strategic plan)

Dr Meegan lectures in Nepal

The International Director of ICROSS is lecturing this week at the first Global health course ever to be held in Nepal. As a specialist in International and Global health Dr Meegan gave a series of lectures at the invitation of the Global health committee of Nepal’s renowned Institute of medicine.

The Global Health course is the first of its kind in the Kingdom of Nepal. Dr Meegan lectured on global health partnerships, changes in the patterns of disease and the role of culture and epidemiology in health planning.

ICROSS has a long relationship with Nepal. This International event directed by Professor Archana Amatya and Drs Prasad Agrwal and Dr Santosh Timaisina has brought students from four continents.

Dr Michael Meegan spoke on creating long term effective evidence based health services guided by results based management and rights based framework.

The Director of ICROSS Public Health research spoke of his 34 years experience in epidemiological studies. He spoke of the latest modelling and global health planning as well as the latest advances in International health. The Institute of Medicine, the oldest institute of its kind in Nepal recognised Dr Meegans contribution to the Global health course and ICROSS International continues to share its work through the Public health search engines and through our wide range of public health publications. As part of the Dept. International health in Tampere Dr Meegan continues to share the important messages of the dynamic growth in the science of Global Health as part of an international collaboration across 4 continents. The close partnership between ICROSS NWI UK and Nepal continues to develop as new partnerships in Global health are created.

ICROSS AIDS PROGRAMME 2013

After implementing HIV/AIDS programs in Bondo western Kenya for over a decade, ICROSS has handed over the ICROSS HIV AIDS Comprehensive care unit to the ministry of health. The western Kenya projects were initially established by Danny Ngwiri (now the country director) and were handed over by William Osano. (Western Kenya Programs director).

The ICROSS CEO said today “that this is an exciting milestone in building long-term partnerships and networks our home care services have been among the most original and long lasting in East Africa.

ICROSS was implementing effective homecare years before it was common practice. William Osano spoke at the handover of his seven years running the program. He said “the future of HIV AIDS programs like the ICROSS Comprehensive care unit lies in local communities and government” We at ICROSS believe that sustainability is to move away from depending on oversees donors. We are very grateful to the people of Ireland through Irish AID who supported the creation of this facility.

Danny Ngwiri thanked the many donors who made the western Kenya HIV AIDS program such a success. The global fund together with Elizabeth Taylor AIDS foundation, the Elton John AIDS foundation, AUSAID, Japan Embassy in Kenya played critical roles in establishing the ICROSS AIDS program in Bondo and Siaya in Siaya County.

The comprehensive HIV AIDS facility will now be the headquarters of the county’s HIV AIDS Program. Speaking from ICROSS Rural health Headquarters’ the international director Dr. Michael Meegan said “everyone at ICROSS is proud and excited by this program hand over which marks the completion of an inspiring and important HIV initiative”. ICROSS has played a crucial part in establishing comprehensive care in Bondo, “I thank the hundreds of volunteers, donors, interns dedicated staff as well as our partners in every village”.

Working closely with the Ministry we have over the last decade reached many thousands who desperately needed support and care. It is the time of celebration that we have now handed over this facility donated by the Irish people. On behalf of the board of directors and Dr. Joe Barnes, I thank Irish AID for their support.

We look forward for our next collaboration with the communities and people of Bondo working as always closely with local and national government.

ICROSS Interns programmes

The ICROSS Internship programme has been creating opportunities for students to develop their skills since 1985. We have welcomed over 850 volunteers, students, interns and trainees from 18 countries around the World since the programme began. While many volunteers are part of Government bilateral aid programmes others come from University degree study experiences as part of their courses. Others are young professionals who want to develop their skills and experiences.

Field staff, local teams,supervisors and members of local communities vote for their favourite intern of the year. Ozan from Germany won the award http://icrossinternational.org/news.aspx?id=133 for his committment and dedication.

This year amid stiff competition the Intern of the year was voted to be Jennah-Louise Salkeld from Australia. There is more news about Jennahs internship on http://icrossinternational.org/news.aspx?id=149

Announcing the win this week the Head of Interns Saruni OleLengeny said " We are delighted that Jennah won this year, she is everything the ICROSS internship programme is about. Bill Maxwell who helps co-ordinate the scheme said " Jennah came to learn, listen and discover, that's the perfect approach for a successful contribution, she was selfless and focused"

Jennah is delighted that she won and has said she will be back to the programmes early next year.

The 2014-2015 internship programme will be announced next week.

ICROSS Founder Dr Joe Barnes celebrated in ICROSS Kenya

ICROSS Celebrates founders 99th Birthday

Today ICROSS celebrates the 99^th birthday of our co-founder Dr. Joe Barnes MD. Having worked in Africa for over 40 years across the continent. Dr Barnes (Emeritus Professor of Tropical Medicine in the Royal College of Surgeon Ireland) founded ICROSS (International community of starvation and suffering). Dr Barnes was working in Leprosy clinics during the Second World War in Nigeria where he returned during the Biafran war. Together with Dr Michael Meegan he established the ICROSS Research unit and pioneered diarrhoeal research publishing extensively. He was knighted by the Pope for his services to the poor.

Today the ICROSS teams in Kenya celebrate the co-founder 99^th birthday by planting an acacia tree at the Joe Barnes clinic and maternity unit in longosua, masailand.

Speaking at the ceremony the ICROSS Country Director Danny Ngwiri said “I had the Horner to meet Dr. Burns in Ireland and share with him our work, he remains actively interested in all of our programes and he has continued to support all of our work here for the last 35 years.

The Joe Barnes clinic was opened by Pro. Ronan Conroy in 1997 has been serving the remote rural communities for many years. We have trained over 240 community health workers and 180 Traditional Birth Attendants in the area.

Each year ICROSS awards the Joe Barnes projects to a need community since 2005.

Dr Michael Meegan who co-founded ICROSS with Dr. Barnes said today “we will carry on the work and legacy of Dr. Joe Barnes, and we remain committed to long term comprehensive health care, I spoke with Dr Barnes last night to wish him Happy Birthday.

”, Dr Meegan who is also the International Director also thanked the Maasai communities for the partnerships and the Ministry of health for its dedication and collaboration.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

ICROSS expands the board of Directors

May 2013

ICROSS is delighted to announce the appointment of P Ole Lasoi to the Board of Directors of ICROSS Kenya. Paul is a highly respected Maasai Elder who has sat on District Development committees and policy planning councils for decades. Mr OleLasoi was the head teacher of a number of remote primary schools pioneering the education of Maasai girls in the 1970s. In 1980 Paul helped establish the Pastoralist advisory team guiding ICROSS in Kenya to establish appropriate development initiatives. For over 20 years he led the Rift Valley programme team retiring in 2012. Mr OleLasoi works with numerous communities and has been responsible for establishing over 30 ICROSS projects since 1986. He joins the board of Directors to represent the ICROSS communities and teams in the newly created administrative counties. His portfolio will aslso include Internal Governance and he heads up the new Programme Development team responsible for implementing the ICROSS Strategic plan 2012-2017. Mr Ole Lasoi will be in charge the financial policy planning sub committee and will be advised by the senior administration directly. The Chairman of the board of Directors , Dr Sequeira welcomed Mr OleLasoi onto the Board as an "essential development in strengthening ICROSS moving towards the millenium goals and new challenges ahead " The Country Director Danny Ngwiri congratulated Mr Ole Lasoi seen here with the International Director Dr Michael Meegan. The Founder said today at Ngong " I have worked closely with Paul for over thirty years, his new role places him in key policy position to help ICROSS prepare for future expansion. We are all excited that Mr Ole Lasoi has taken on these important responsibilities at board level. He is loved and respected throughout Maasai land and has an unparallelled network with leaders, politicians and elders across all the clans. This addition to the board greatly strengthens ICROSS in its long term plan for the future". Mr Ole Lasoi was the first recipient in 2012 of the first Dr Joe Barnes Humanitarian award for his lifetime of service to the pastoral Maasai. Mr OleLasoi said " I am humbled in the faith that the board of Directors has placed in me. I feel I have many years of voluntary service left to give my people. I will spend every waking day helping to build ICROSS and Maasai owned development. I am proud of our 35 years of achievements, prouder still they have taken place through our culture and our values . All we have done has been in our own language and in our own way. I will spend my time on the advisory board and on the Board of Directors helping to build a young dynamic learning ICROSS on the firm foundation of our decades of success"

ICROSS began its activities in 1978. We aim at providing long-term assistance to the nomadic communities of the sub-Saharan region. We act as a catalyst and all our projects are run and owned by the communities we serve. We work to improve health and living standards using their own culture. We work within a five-year strategic plan. This was developed with the Ministry of Health in Kenya and sets out long term goals. Remember, you have the power to change tomorrow. Dr. Michael Elmore Meegan - Founder and International Director ICROSS.

ICROSS PROJECTS