President Clinton Is The Keynote Speaker
Ex-President Jerry Rawlings of Ghana will receive an honor at the first annual gala fund raiser for the Gede Foundation in Washington, D.C. on September 19.
Former US President Bill Clinton will offer the Keynote Speech at the event
Funds raised at this event will go towards the building of the Gede Foundation Resource Center (GFRC) in Abuja, Nigeria. The GFRC will help lessen the magnitude of HIV/AIDS and Noma* and its impact on the lives of those affected, especially the children.
The Center will provide:
Essential health care that will help alleviate the physical burden caused by AIDS and Noma*;
- will raise awareness and increasing understanding of AIDS and Noma among family and community members;
- will create a positive atmosphere for ill or orphaned children;
- will provide alternatives to hiding or shunning the sick;
- will address the issues of poverty and substandard conditions that promote ill health; and
- will provide scholarships and food assistance for children directly affected by HIV/AIDS.
Others speaking or receiving honors: Vice President Atiku Abubakar of Nigeria, Dikembe Motumbo of the NBA, Dr. Cyril Enwonowu (Noma specialist of the University of Maryland), Robert Bilheimer (documentary producer/writer), Reverend Larry and Mrs. Jones (co-founders, Feed the Children) and special guest, Chief Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Gede Foundation is the inspiration of Jennifer Atiku Abubakar. She has seen first hand the devastation caused by these diseases and has devoted herself to alleviating these problems.
Mrs. Atiku Abubakar aims to have the GFRC replicated in Nigeria and wherever in the developing countries of the world it is needed. Her goal is to reduce the devastation caused by HIV/AIDS and Noma and to help create healthy and productive communities.
* Noma: (Cancrum Oris) is a facial gangrene attacking more than 200,000 malnourished children under the age of six in developing countries, killing 70% to 90% of those affected. This is according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Digest (February, 1998).
