Little Travellers

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The Little Travellers HIV/AIDS Initiative is a campaign by concerned Canadians to raise awareness and funds to support the plight of women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The project was started in 2005, by Ilan Schwartz, a 24 year old University of Manitoba medical student who had returned from a volunteer stint at an AIDS centre; by selling beaded pins - the eponymous Little Travellers - that have been made by women infected/affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa, the Initiative has raised nearly $100,000 in its first 18 months.

Lovingly crafted as part of an income generation project of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre by South African women who are courageously battling the disease, the Little Travellers represent hope and opportunity in the face of profound hardship. Located in The Valley of a Thousand Hills in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa -where estimates of HIV infection amongst women exceed 50-60% - the Hillcrest AIDS Centre provides care and support for all those whose lives have been affected by the pandemic; they do this through home-based care and their respite unit, education workshops, counseling and testing services, school fee funds, and income generation projects. By selling Little Traveller dolls, concerned and committed individuals and groups in Canada can help these women to support themselves and their families in this impoverished and AIDS-ravaged region. The dolls are sold for $5 each; of that, half provides an income for the crafter, and the remainder helps fund the Hillcrest AIDS Centre’s home-based care program and respite unit.

To quote Julie Hornby, CEO of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre:

"In my mind the Little Travellers project is an absolutely perfect concept; firstly, economic empowerment is the single most important factor in fighting this epidemic because it gives the crafters (who are all infected or affected by HIV/AIDS) the luxury of looking to the future and in doing so taking ownership of their disease and having something to live FOR. The health benefits of this alone can NEVER be underestimated. Secondly, the funds raised for our Home based care and respite project are always needed as although we manage to do it cost effectively, the bottom line is that care is costly. "

In January of 2007, the Little Travellers gained the respect and admiration of Stephen Lewis, the former United Nations' Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa and the board chair of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Soonafter, Mr. Lewis had the following to say about the project:

“The Little Travellers HIV/AIDS project is totally inspired. I endorse it every stitch of the way. It raises consciousness in Canada and hope in Africa. In my minds eye, I can just see the women of Hillcrest (a project the Stephen Lewis Foundation strongly supports) beading, and spectacularly artful “Little Travellers” emerging. Then the sales are made in Canada, and money flows to the heroic women and children and families battling the pandemic on the ground. What could be a better act of human solidarity? Buy one, buy two, buy dozens. They speak to the best of the human spirit.”

In spite of all that it has achieved, the Little Travellers HIV/AIDS Initiative is still in its infancy; projects in the works include a photo exhibit, chronicling the stories of the dolls, from their creation at the hands of the women of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre, to their journeys' around the world. To capture the conditions that foster the creativity and inspiration that go into making the Little Travellers, the crafters have been given over 100 disposable cameras, and some rudimentary pointers in photography. As of May of 2007, the project coordinator, Paula Thomson of the "Woza Moya" income generation program of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre was working with the ladies to sort through all of the photos that have been developed, to narrow down the catalogue. Concurrently, the Canadian wing of the project will be promoting the owners of the Little Travellers so submit photos of their lilliputian friends from landmarks and destinations that they visit around the globe.

For more information about the Little Travellers HIV/AIDS Initiative and how to can get involved, you can visit www.littletravellers.net [1] or write to info@littletravellers.net. The coordinators of the project hope that readers will join them in spreading hope and opportunity for South African women affected by HIV/AIDS, one Little Traveller at a time.

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