The number was chosen in honor of Nelson Mandela who is celebrating his 90th birthday this year. The number, 46,664, was Mr. Mandela’s prison number when incarcerated on Robben Island for his fight against apartheid. He was the 466th prisoner at Robben Island in 1964.
In the post-apartheid era, as AIDS spread throughout South Africa, Mr. Mandela refocused his energies to fight the pandemic using his prison number as a way to focus the crisis. “AIDS is no longer just a disease, it’s a human rights issue” said Mandela, who’s son died of AIDS in 2005.
“Unfortunately, statistics show that efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa are not keeping pace with the growth of the epidemic” said the donor, who wished to remain anonymous. “I selected Global Camps Africa because of the strength of its life skills education and prevention program and that the children go back into their communities and become teachers themselves” he said. “Anyone who has attended camp in the U.S. knows that the camp experience can be life changing.”
“We are deeply touched by this commitment of support for matching funds and hope that others will take advantage of this donor’s generosity and double the value of their own gift.” said Phil Lilienthal, President and CEO of Global Camps Africa. “In a country where it is estimated that one half of all 15-year olds will die of AIDS, this gift and the matching gifts, will help to stem the tide of children being affected and infected with HIV/AIDS”, he added.
Global Camps Africa (GCA) provides 10-day residential camps for children ages 10-16 years affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The camp, called Camp Sizanani (Zulu for 'to help each other') is located in the mountains outside Johannesburg and is patterned after U.S. summer camps but with two main differences:
Up to six camp sessions are held each year for 10-days each for 135 children ages 10-16. Neither the children nor their families pay tuition. GCA relies on the generosity of its donors to run camps.
The camp experience provides vulnerable children with the education and skills that are essential for them to effectively manage themselves and their lives, even in difficult circumstances, and provides them with personal courage and a hope for a better future. The program offers one-on-one mentoring, tutoring and counseling in a secure environment with a foundation of trust, love and positive acceptance.
Schools, orphanages and children’s groups that have sent children to camp have seen the remarkable difference experiential education, mentoring and peer support has on at-risk youth, and word of GCA’s success is spreading rapidly. In 2007, Global Camps Africa established two additional camp programs in partnership with two local non profits: one for orphans living in one of the poorest regions of South Africa, and one in KwaZulu Natal in partnership with a job training organization in a province with the highest unemployment rate and the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in South Africa.
Children write about how their lives have changed. Parents, caregivers, counselors, teachers and school administrators have responded enthusiastically to the changes exhibited by the children. Teachers have requested that camp counselors come to school to teach life skills courses because of the dramatic behavioral changes they see in those students who have attended camp.
The children themselves are the testament to the success of the camp. Thirteen year old Busi writes: “I came here empty, but now I’m full”. Mmabatho, age 13, from Soweto writes “I never expected to find a place full of mountains and trees. It is quiet and gentle. I will never forget this place.” Fourteen year old Elizabeth writes “Camp Sizanani is a home to me, a place of birth. It changed my life. You taught me to believe in myself.”
Global Camps Africa is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization founded by Reston Virginia attorney Phil Lilienthal, who, at age 62, gave up his life as he knew it and flew to Africa to see if camps might be a way to help fight the AIDS pandemic for children and youth. The first camp for 135 boys was held in early 2004. Twenty-
Donations, and the opportunity to take advantage of the matching gift, can be made online at www.GlobalCampsAfrica.org or can be mailed to Global Camps Africa, 1606 Washington Plaza, Reston, VA 20190. For further information call 703.437.0808 or e-mail info@GlobalCampsAfrica.org.
