Shelly Leanne’s Work Devoted to
Helping to Combat Aids In Africa

My second novel, which is nearly complete, focuses on the contemporary AIDS in Africa crisis.  The setting is once again in South Africa – this time in Cape Town.  During my summer and fall 2003 book tour for Joshua’s Bible, I shared with you all details about the AIDS in Africa crisis, which is creating millions of orphans in Africa. I was heartened to hear such a desire and willingness among you to “do something to help.” 

To further answer your questions about what you can do to help, as promised I have supplied below some links to organizations that are doing meaningful work on the AIDS in Africa crisis.  You can be in touch with these groups, to see if you would like to donate to their efforts. 

With regard to combating AIDS in Africa, there are four important means to doing this:

• Education and prevention – funds must be devoted to help further education people in Africa about how AIDS is transmitted and how AIDS can be prevented.
• Addressing the hopelessness – from my research thus far that I have conducted with doctors in South Africa, as background for my novel, I have found that one reason why AIDS is continuing to spread rapidly in South African townships, where employment is well over 50%, is a sense of hopelessness.  People do not see a reason why they should care about their tomorrow, given that they do not have jobs and that they are watching people around them die off from AIDS in large numbers.  Funds must be devoted to helping provide education and jobs – that is an important part of any program aiming to prevent AIDS. 
• Treatment of those currently infected with HIV/AIDS – funds must be devoted to providing medical treatment to those persons already infected with AIDS.
• Resources for orphans – Millions of children have already been orphaned as a result of the AIDS in Africa epidemic, and we need to channel resources to help raise and educate these children.  For Africa today, it will truly take a global village to raise a child.

Click here for links to programs that I believe are doing excellent work on the AIDS in Africa issue.

My background on the AIDS in Africa issue:

In case some of you are wondering where my concern about AIDS in Africa came from, here is the answer.  When I wrote my Oxford dissertation, it was focused on South Africa.  Harvard University subsequently recruited me to their faculty, naming me a full faculty member, and asked me to help contribute to their newly established human rights program.  It was my honor from 1997-2001 to teach Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s first courses on human rights, focusing in particular on the work of the United Nations.  I used my time on the Harvard faculty as an opportunity to draw great attention to the AIDS crisis.

My work on this matter culminated in the Winter 2000 “AIDS in Africa Week” held at Harvard University, a 3-day event in which I personally used my faculty money to fly in leaders from the World Bank, the United Nations, grassroots human rights organizations, and churches, to speak about the AIDS crisis and to exchange ideas about how to address this crisis.  Among our main speakers were Rory Kennedy and Ochoro Otunnu, whose work on the AIDS crisis is helping to make a difference. 

The success of the AIDS in Africa Week event helped inspire Harvard’s Kennedy School officials to have its public policy students write their second year theses about the AIDS crisis, generating ideas that could be funneled to government officials about how to address the pandemic.  I commend Harvard for its strong commitment – through its medical school, school of public health, public policy school, and center for international development – to the AIDS issue.

Since I have left Harvard to dedicate my time to fiction and nonfiction writing, I have continued to serve on the board of WorldTeach, a nonprofit institution that is playing a role in AIDS education in Africa.  I also still advise a nonprofit organization that is also implementing orphan-centered AIDS programs in eastern and southern Africa.

I hope to use my gifts as a writer to publish this second novel, which will enable you to learn more about the AIDS crisis, and which I also hope will inspire you to think about what you might do to help.  With millions of persons lost to this disease, it is by far one of the worst pandemics the world has ever experienced.

I have set about writing this second novel with the same level of passion and dedication to detail as I demonstrated when writing Joshua’s Bible, as I consider this second novel to be one of the most important works I may ever write. 

Be sure to check back on this website for details about the publication date!