PCI is Changing Lives

Project Concern International’s work is making the most critical of impacts: changing lives for people living in poverty around the world. Reducing maternal mortality in high-risk areas of Latin America, providing goats as a source of income and nutrition for the caregivers of AIDS orphans in Ethiopia, and offering women in India the means to start their own business are just some of the ways PCI is ensuring people rise above the debilitating circumstances of poverty and disease.

The heart of PCI is change – lasting change, self-empowered change. Our goal is to help communities and individuals become stronger and self-assured and to provide people with the means and tools to create the transformation they want to see in their own lives. There is no exact formula for this kind of work, it requires listening to the needs of each individual community, working together with common vision, and ultimately helping people reach their goals to build a world of health and hope one child, one woman, and one man at a time.

We invite you to take this opportunity to learn more about the individual ways we are reaching people in Asia, Africa, and the Americas – read their stories and share in their success. PCI is proud of the different paths we take to assist people in obtaining better health and personal empowerment throughout each part of their lives and say thank you to all who are helping support our mission.

Read more in Changing Lives, PCI’s enewsletter >>>

Sexual Violence and HIV/AIDS

By John Berman, PCI's Senior Director for HIV/AIDS Policy & Program Development

When we think about HIV/AIDS, does rape come to mind? If it doesn’t it should.

Getting infected with HIV is closely linked with sexual violence. It’s inseparable. And in places like South Africa, where up to a third of women first have sex as the result of rape or other forms of coercion, it’s driving the epidemic.

In several ways.

First, every act of forced sex is an additional, unplanned risk of infection.

Second, a recent study from South Africa showed that men who commit violent acts are 50% more likely to be HIV positive than those who are not violent.

Third, you can be sure when a woman is raped, a condom is rarely involved. She’s exposed.
Fourth, pervasive level of sexual violence lead to situations where women do not feel safe, let alone empowered, to say no to a man’s advances.

So if there are all these linkages between sexual violence and HIV infection, why don’t we hear more about it? Why don’t we do more about it? Part of the answer is that sexual violence is often seen more as a social issue, or perhaps a criminal issue, than the health issue. As a result, “health” programs draw an artificial line about what can and cannot be done.

That has to change.

Health programs need to address underlying social factors that drive the HIV epidemic. Sexual violence, and gender inequity should be right up there at the top. We could do this by helping to mobilize communities to change destructive social norms such as pervasive sexual violence. We’ve got to work with people everywhere – men and women - to bring an end to the violence. It’s the only way we’ll ever really stop the epidemic.

Water Is Life: A Glimpse of Life for Martha in Tanzania

Story provided by PCI/Tanzania staff

A woman named “Martha” in Bubu village of Babati District described how she spent five hours per day, from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., drawing water from the river bed, competing with cattle owners and other women, in order to get four buckets of water per day (20 liters each). The women in Bubu village have formed a group to promote the development of their community, but Martha and the others find it very difficult to achieve results with this group because of the amount of time spent on collecting water. Martha shared that if she had a water point nearby, she and other women would have time to dedicate to working in this group. With more time, Martha said she would begin growing and selling vegetables. And if she were able to generate money this way, she said it would help her improve her house and her children’s education. When asked how she chooses between collecting water and selling vegetables, Martha simply responded “Water is life.”

Martha went on to describe how children help in water collection, primarily in the evenings and on weekends. But collecting water in the evenings is dangerous due to hyenas, and it negatively affects their school work. Even the teacher’s work is negatively impacted by the lack of water, as she too needs to spend hours collecting water for herself.

Standing in queues and carrying water back and forth to the house for five hours per day can create a lot of tension. Martha said that improving access to water would improve harmony in the community, as the tension over water during the dry season results in fighting and hatred.

Martha finished saying that if this [PCI’s] project becomes a reality, the improved access to safe water will have a positive impact on all these aspects of her life.