GROUP MEMBERS:

Kiersten Fellrath
Nathan Johnson
Ryan Scherer
Nichole Reeves
Matt Golden

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The Slum Doctor Programme (SDP) is a non-profit organization based here in Bellingham that is dedicated to providing medicine, education, food and hope to people living with and affected by AIDS in Nairobi, Kenya. The Slum Doctor Programme is a grassroots organization that was started by long-time AIDS activist and Western Washington University Director of Service Learning, Tim Costello. It is the intention of the Slum Doctor Programme to create sustainable projects that address the root social issues related to HIV/AIDS—poverty and education.

The organization has five main projects that focus on assisting those living in poverty. The Cura Homes Orphanage Project began in 2006 opening an orphanage outside of Kenya and enrolling 50 students. Slum Doctor Programme provides shelter, food and medical care to the orphans and helps pay for staff and operating expenses at the facility. SDP is also currently sponsoring secondary education for 52 girls at the Ombogo Girls Academy, a project that is crucial to the development of these girls, all of which have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS related illnesses. The Rabour Village Food Project provides one nutritious meal a day to over 150 pre-school orphans. The Tumaini Project helps provide medical treatment to prolong the life of Kenyans living with AIDS; Slum Doctor Programme contributes to this project by funding grant money in the form of $1000 USD to each patient that qualifies for treatment. SDP is also helping to provide emergency medical services through the Hope Center for Infectious Diseases to patients living with HIV/AIDS.

Slum Doctor Programme funds its projects by the generosity of local community partners and individual donors. The most critical tool to raise these funds is the organization’s annual appeal, typically a mailed letter that informs recipients of the work Slum Doctor Programme has done in the past year as well as provides a way for recipients to send donations. Last year’s highly successful annual appeal was not in a traditional letter format. The appeal was a much more personal and emotional document, being almost entirely visual, showcasing images from each program as well as African quotes and stories. The 2006 appeal which cost $1000 to print, mail and address (all of which was donated in-kind by local businesses) brought in over $20,000 in donations to help kick-off funding for the new year. Our challenge was to create a similarly effective appeal that had a new visual message and would bring in more donations than the previous year’s had.

The Slum Doctor Programme project is important because it applies to several critical ethical frameworks. The framework that the organization’s work most directly coincides with is the ethic of justice. Medical care, food, education and hope are necessary to all human life. It is the common factor of humanity that demands all groups of people are treated equally. Slum Doctor Programme attempts to right the inequalities caused by poverty and lack of resources in a country that is particularly stricken by these issues. Our annual appeal addresses ethical utilitarianism in that the funds received by SDP will distribute these funds doing the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. Our appeal also takes into consideration the ethic of care. Recipients of the appeal will take into consideration the moral worth of relationships and might be compelled to donate money depending on their relationship with Slum Doctor Programme, AIDS/HIV or Director, Tim Costello.

Our group took on social responsibility when it accepted this project in that it is contributing to our global community in a positive way. This project gives back to a group of people who are suffering due to inaccessibility to resources and the lack of worldwide leadership in alleviating poverty. We are socially responsible in that we have made this promise to Slum Doctor and ourselves to complete the appeal. The investment of our talents, time and energy have resulted in something that could be described as representative of virtue theory-an ethical ideal that is independent of all other circumstances (well almost). It is our ideal that the money raised through the appeal will go to help eliminate HIV/AIDS.

The annual appeal has been successful so far. It clearly communicates the mission, projects and themes of Slum Doctor Programme. Making an appeal that was acceptable to Director, Tim Costello, was a high priority for our group. Tim loves the design and layout and believes it to be a huge improvement from last year’s appeal. We are a little bit behind schedule due to extenuating circumstances and have not had the appeal printed yet. This will be completed early next week when Copies Now has a chance to run it through the presses. It is too early to decide if the appeal is a financial successful…only time will tell.