Madeleine Sanam Foundation - Programs & Projects

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The Blame(Film Project-Link) | Outreach workers | Entrepreneurial Assistance

Projects

The foundation’s objectives for our projects are:

The promotion of education in rural populations through training in radio communication.
The relief of by distributing clothes and second hand equipment
The betterment of the quality of life of African young girls and women through a program of STD prevention (HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C), and by the distribution of contraceptives.

The Blame (Film Project-Link)

Another current project of the Foundation is a documentary-film, entitled “The Blame”, that will explore the many typical points of conflict over HIV prevention that arise between a couple, including resistance to the use of condoms, concerns over infidelity, and fears of being tested. The video is an extrapolation of the role-playing method of HIV prevention training, used in our workshop, and will act as a guide for viewers to increase their comfort in approaching these taboo subjects with their partner. The film is being produced in partnership with the STD clinic of Edmonton, which will play a major role in this project since the majority of the African population is very resistant to HIV testing and treatment.

The Blame is being partially funded by a joint grant with the Health Agency of Canada and the Alberta Community Council on HIV, Alberta Human Right and Citizenship Commission, the Kristie Charitable Foundation and ECALA (Edmonton Community Association for Adult Learning. In 2005, Health Agency of Canada decided to retrieve his support from the project by holding the due balance Funds for the reasons described on these magazines ( le franco, pressrelease). Currently, due to a lack of funding, the Foundation has been forced to put the project on hold until more funding can be obtained. Once completed, the documentary will be distributed nation-wide as a tool for health education through the Canadian HIV/AIDS Information Centre, therefore its completion is absolutely vital to the goal of spreading HIV awareness through a culturally sensitive approach.

Outreach Workers Project

The proposed project intends to build capacity of African women in Edmonton to initiate community mobilization against the issue of HIV/AIDS/STD in their community. The project has a long-term outcome to develop plans of action among African women for the prevention, support, & treatment of HIV/AIDS/STD in their community that will be implemented by an “African Women’s HIV/AIDS/STD Task Force for Edmonton”.

Entrepreneurial Assistance Project

The Madeleine Sanam Foundation is looking for a global partner so that we can establish support centre for women in Cameroon (Map) then across Africa. The centres would have a variety of aspects that would include: courses to develop craftsmanship skills to start businesses, continued support for women to pursue their business ventures, and HIV/AIDS prevention courses similar to the ones we offer locally.

The work of MSF is unique because it specifically focuses on minimizing the impact of social and economic factors that increase individual’s risk for contracting HIV, in accordance with the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS. In addition to applying creative solutions for cultural barriers to education, the Foundation is striving to address the poverty within the African community that dramatically increases vulnerability to HIV and other sexually transmitted (STI) infections; particularly the economic dependence of many unemployed African and Caribbean immigrant women on men to meet their needs and provide for their children. Currently, the Foundation is working towards becoming a small micro-credit lending institution to offer immigrant women, who are ineligible for bank loans due to their lack of credit history, an opportunity to access start-up capital and entrepreneurial training to allow them to participate in the Canadian business world.