“Keep a Child Alive” is a charitable organization which is designed to accelerate action to combat the global AIDS pandemic, including the provision of AIDS medicine to children and their families with HIV/AIDS and create awareness about the issue.
History
AIDS is the same age as our ambassador Alicia Keys. And still we, as a society, continue to do very little in spite of the fact that it is the worst health crisis in human history. The seed of Keep a Child Alive was sown in Kenya in 2002. Royalties from Leigh Blake’s previous fundraiser, Red Hot & Blue, built the AIDS Research and Family Care Clinic in Mombasa. A woman named Anne walked in to the clinic, desperate to obtain the anti-retroviral drugs her three-year-old son Brine needed to survive. At the time the medication’s high cost was an impossible dreamfor most Africans to afford, and Leigh was so moved by this woman and her courage that she decided to pay for them.
Word of the children’s desperate need for medication spread among Leigh’s friends and colleagues, and soon they were offering to do the same. KCA Director Peter Edge became its first donor, and soon Alicia Keys passion for the issue drove her to become its first Global Ambassador. What started as a very personal incident between two mothers has become a tremendous initiative for change.
Success
What started as a very personal incident between two mothers has become a tremendous initiative for change. With around 3,000 children and family members on ARV treatment, over 45,000 people under our care, three orphanages receiving funding, and major clinic sites in expansion, Keep a Child Alive is making a direct impact in the lives of so many who need help.
Keep a Child Alive is changing charity. Cultural relevance and media savvy keep us on the cutting edge of the AIDS movement. KCA is committed to direct action, and remain small and bureaucracy-free so that our speed of response is never hampered. Our approach speaks loud and clear about our pledge to save lives, and it is this approach that will make us the most prominent organization in the crusade against AIDS.
Financing
Now Keep A Child Alive is flourishing. We currently provide funding to 13 clinical and orphan care sites in 6 countries: India, Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda; with past funding of additional projects in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Our annual fundraiser in New York raises enough money to fund our operational costs and then some, with the remainder going to our sites and programs. This high-profile event garners Keep a Child Alive much media attention, leading to greater brand awareness among the public. At the 2007 Black Ball, Keep A Child Alive was pleased to honor Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and Humanitarian, Bono for his groundbreaking and crucial work in the AIDS movement.
Statistics:
In Africa:
» a child dies of aids every minute;
» 28 milllion died of aids;
» 13 million are orphaned.
Who’s Involved
| President |
 |
| Leigh Blake |
| Directors |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Peter Edge |
Aarthi Belani |
Lydiah Bosire |
David Saltz |
J. B. Miller |
David Wirtschafter |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Michael Guido |
Evan Harrison |
Wendy Laister |
Erika Rose |
Evan Vogel |
|
| Global Ambassadors |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
| Alicia Keys |
Iman |
Padma Lakshmi |
Jessica Alba |
|
|
How to Help
|
