Letter from the Founder & Director

Seven years ago, Firelight had a modest goal to find, fund and support community-based organizations serving children affected by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. We coupled this goal with a deep appreciation that communities were already responding to the crisis of HIV/AIDS in unprecedented ways. Thus, we felt our job was to listen, to learn, and to support the ideas and initiatives of leaders and community members working effectively to address the needs of orphans, vulnerable children, and their families.

Today, we have formed powerful and meaningful partnerships with a host of organizations working on the ground in Africa. These partnerships include small emerging organizations for which Firelight is the first external funder, to more established community organizations seeking to build their programs and reach greater numbers of children in need, to larger non-governmental organizations that serve as mentors and intermediaries. Our partnerships in Africa have included networks that provide vital opportunities for organizations to share their work, as well as advocacy groups that are striving to ensure that the rights of children are recognized and their voices heard.

A fundamental lesson that we have learned through all of these partnerships is that one of the most powerful drivers of social change is community mobilization as demonstrated by local leadership, ownership, and action. Investing in community initiatives makes sense – not only because it is cost effective and provides most of the existing support for children and families, but also because lasting change requires buy-in at the grassroots level.

Time and again, experience has shown that top-down, donor-driven approaches do not ultimately succeed, no matter how well intentioned, or for that matter, how generously funded. Not only do important changes require that the stakeholders with the most at stake be involved – for these are their communities after all – but we have also learned that these are the individuals and groups that need to be in the driver’s seat. More than any outside entity, they are in it for the long haul. And important changes take time.

Our longer-term partnerships with a growing number of grantee-partners have allowed us to witness how local organizations transform communities over time. And we have also seen that our respectful and responsive partnership plays a key role in supporting these efforts. Some of these stories are shared in the Strategy Profiles within these pages that describe how organizations strengthen and expand their programs to better meet the needs of children and families.

Our grantee-partners have implemented programs that have led to increased numbers of families and caregivers stepping forward to care for and support children who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. Through local outreach and mobilization, community-led organizations have been able to shift attitudes and reduce stigma that prevents individuals from accepting and assisting families and children whose lives have been ravaged by HIV/AIDS. These are break-throughs.

Throughout Africa, local organizations are mobilizing their communities for a long-term response. Local organizations often start their work by addressing one key community need. Over time, they build their programs in response to the specific and complex needs of their local community, taking a holistic approach to the problems they address. For example, they are integrating medical with social services for children living with HIV, providing economic strengthening with counseling services for guardians, and ensuring medical adherence as well as family well-being (see profile on WEMIHS on page 41).

All of this work is recognized and supported by a strong and growing network of individuals and groups that partner with Firelight: our donors (see Julia Feinberg and Holly Burkhalter profiles on pages 104 and 116), our in-country advisors (see Howard Kasiya profile on page 16), our advisory board members (see Stephen German profile on page 110), as well as our peer foundations (see Advocacy Program on page 18). It may take a village to raise a child, but in places deeply affected by poverty and HIV/AIDS, the hearts and hands of many are needed to form a much wider circle of support.

Our partnerships cross international boundaries and bring together diverse individuals and organizations to address a key global challenge: the oft-forgotten needs and rights of children affected by HIV/AIDS and their families. These partnerships have been the source of inspiration, learning, challenge, and ultimately, results.

With great thanks and appreciation, we want to recognize our partners’ contributions and leadership in support of community-led organizations. Together, we are building a strong movement to make a lasting difference for children, their families and communities.

In appreciation,

Kerry Olson – Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Jennifer Astone – Executive Director