Madonna isn’t the only famous name with an interest in Malawi. Leslie Feist is working with medical research organization Dignitas International to collect backpacks for HIV-positive children in the African country so they can carry their books and medication to school.
The Toronto-based singer/songwriter travelled to Malawi earlier this year and spent a day at a club where kids and teens who were born with the disease pick up their medicine once a month.
“Unfortunately, there is still a lot of discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi,” she wrote in a letter posted on Facebook. “These students have to carry their medicine all the way home with them from the club and take it to school every day so they stay healthy. Because they have no backpacks to carry their medicine, they often lose it or even hide it in bushes outside the school.”
UPDATE (September 25): Since this story was published, Feist has clarified that the backpack collection boxes placed at local schools are for parents and kids at those schools only. Anyone else interested in helping out is being encouraged to make financial donations directly to Dignitas to support their Teen Club initiative, which supports 1,600 youth.
“This isn’t the kind of work Dignitas International does – they are all about hard science, frontline care and high impact research,” Feist explained. “Getting backpacks to kids, on the other hand, was a small thing that I could organize. We are really touched by the overwhelming response to promote a small local initiative – if people want to get further involved, the best way to amplify the impact is by making a donation.”
For more information, visit Feist’s Facebook page.
