Daniela Chappard Foundation
PHILOSOPHY
The philosophy of the Daniela Chappard foundation is based on the need to preserve human life.
Self respect is respect of life
Fear is not enough
Knowledge is essential
Education is the key
Bernard Chappard
VALUES
Commitment
Solidarity
Fairness
Credibility
VISION
Short and middle term reduction of the HIV/AIDS infection
Long term eradication of the disease
Eliminate stigmatization and discrimination of the HIV infected people
MISSION
Prevention of this disease which affects so many adults and young people worldwide.
Why the Foundation?
In the early nineties after the breakthrough of her photo exhibition and of her book .“ Venezuela Alterada“ Daniela got a group of friends together aiming at creating a foundation to help the HIV infected.
We should bear in mind that there was no treatment available then ,except AZT which caused a lot of damage when not given properly although it did prolong some patients´ lives until they could be treated with the newer generation of medicine.
The idea did not materialize.
Daniela was HIV infected but didn’t want anybody to find out.
She had to die on January 23rd 1996 for her idea to materialize into the Foundation.
This fact is important: without Daniela´s death and the article that came out in Exceso in April of the same year, the Foundation would not have had any meaning.
We started working with Artistas por la Vida (artists for life)
It is interesting to mention that Feliciano Reyna was always present at the meetings that preceded the decision to create the Center.
Of all we did in the first years there are only blurred memories, distorted by the different echoes we got.
And yet, in spite of all the mistakes, the enormous quantities of money invested, a lot was achieved.
But we forgot something essential, something more important than the medical attention, the medicine and the compassion:
It is about being human
It is about acceptation
It is about daring to admit that one is HIV infected.
It is about telling how one got infected
It is about living without becoming bitter
And mainly it is about rejection and preventing it in any of it´s forms.
That is what Daniela´s story is about.
This story is every day more the Bible of the Daniela Chappard Foundation.
When Daniela found out in July 1987 that she was infected, she still went on living a meaningful life. The book relates it.
She went on working, loving, traveling, inventing new businesses. She lived fully until the end of 1995.
The only thing she did not want was that anyone should find out.
This is why she gave up two romances. She fled when offered marriage.
But she always protected her men and made them use condoms!
A few weeks before her death, Daniela understood that it was absurd to deny the reality and so she told all her friends the truth. It was her last act of courage after months of despair and suffering.
Daniela invented the Foundation and gave it a meaning through her death but also through her life.
Today we are still working on Prevention, trying to pull down ridiculous taboos which surround sex and its risks in Venezuela.
We will go on informing.
We will go on talking about Life, Pleasure, Sex and Happiness, but also about a transformed life(Vida Alterada)
We were the first to ask artists to join us in our fight.
ARTE-SIDA-VIDA (Art-Aids_Life)
We will follow this path which was Daniela´s who was also an artist.
The Foundation is divided between Art and Aids, this is the path, life will follow.
WHO ARE WE?
A non profit organization which has dedicated itself to the fight against the HIV AIDS pandemic since it was founded in 1996.
YOUTH AND AIDS
According to UNAIDS there are 40 million people who are suffering from HIV or AIDS and about the same quantity who died as a consequence. The world´s youth is at high risk, half of the newly infected worldwide are young people of 15 to 24 years old, meaning that 6000 young people get infected every day.
Our young Venezuelans do not escape this terrible fate and that is what the Daniela Chappard Foundation is working so hard to prevent.
SCHOOL PREVENTION PROGRAM
On September the 25th 2004 we organized the First Congress of HIV AIDS prevention for teachers and professors of teenagers from the Caracas Metropolitan Area. It was a great success. More than 250 professionals were given all the information they needed and there were lecturers from different public and private institutions which are related to this issue (UNAIDS;MSDS, Venezuelan Infect logy Society, a representative of the Catholic Church, etc..)
This congress was to be the first step towards a larger school program with MSDS and the cooperation of the Venezuelan French Chamber of Commerce which started at the end of October 2004 and went on till the 25 th of February 2005.The balance was very positive and benefited 15553 young people. This was achieved through the visit of 113 schools, giving 380 lectures and covering 90 % of the public schools in the metropolitan area of Caracas.
In 2005 we signed again an agreement with the Health Ministry to pursue our work and we also received a great deal of help from the Diplomatic Ladies as well as from the French Ambassadors.
On October 22nd 2005 we carried out the second Prevention Congress on HIV/ AIDS for instructors and teachers in Barquisimeto, Lara. Our idea is to reach different areas in this country where our help is really needed and where people are motivated by the subject of prevention against the HIV.
During this anniversary year we never stopped our battle and in June 2006 we had the first online prevention campaign aimed at educating thousands of people on the web “ He who knows ,ends well” on webpage www.ganalealsida.com
The success of this educational tool in which more than 25000 people took part made us reflect even more on the necessity of our people to be informed about this incurable disease.
To cover the investment in human resources and equipment for our educational program, the Foundation created strategic alliances with the private enterprise as on November 22nd with a lot of success a fashion show “Caracas wears jeans” sponsored by the group Telares Maracay and Jeantex to the entire benefit of the Foundation.
During the school year 2005-2006 more than 20000 students and school children were lectured on prevention.
The program is going on throughout the school year 2006/2007. We visited 100 schools and more than 22000 young people attended the lectures.
The third Prevention Congress for educators had been made in Puerto Ordaz, Bolivar State last October 2006.
The investment calculated per child is 5.000 Bs (3 $) which includes the payment of our instructors and the distribution of printed material for the schools and for the students (books, posters, poll results and brochures)
The school period 2007/2008 has been very active and besides the informative chats to 3470 children and young students in that first school quarter, there has been implemented a new pilot program called "PROTGT" (protect yourself) to insure the training as facilitators of prevention to 140 school teenagers during the hours dedicated to obligatory labour to help their community.
WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY
The prevention program of the Foundation is not only for adolescents, it is also aiming at other sectors of society .Universities with young adults participating and the working sector also get their share of HIV AIDS prevention lectures. We have seen 6000 people in those programs.
We know that companies care on a daily basis for the physical and emotional health of their employees and of the communities. This is why the Foundation creates strategic alliances with government and non governmental organizations which bring large benefits to all parties involved.
To live in a society means respecting oneself and others.
To protect oneself and others is a must .Using a condom does not mean lack of trust, it means respect.90% of the HIV infected in the world know nothing about their predicament.
It can be compared to the use of a safety belt in a car.
It’s like not smoking in public places or asking for permission to smoke in presence of others
It’s like not making too much noise so as not to disturb one’s neighbors.
The list is long.
In an adult society one should live in peace with oneself and with others.
EDUCATE TEACHERS
We have spent a lot of time educating the prevention lecturers who are very responsible in their work.
This is why our staff is very specialized and can talk to any group with the necessary tools to tackle such a delicate subject as HIV AIDS with common sense and professionalism.
We have also set up other seminars for educators, teachers, fathers or anybody who is interested about finding out more about prevention against HIV AIDS.
PREVENTION MATERIAL
The Daniela Chappard Foundation has printed material which is handed out to the population free of charge at every public event where it is present, such as brochures called Practical Guide, a questioner to measure the degree of information the different groups possess, posters and two already published books which can be found for sale in different libraries “Daniela Un Camino Trazado” y “Vida Alterada”.
Commemorating one more year of the fight against AIDS, the Foundation has extracted a new printed material; "Manual Para Facilitadores, Guía 2007, La experiencia enseña". An interesting booklet that allows adults - parents, teachers, community leaders - to have a tool to help them educating children and adolescent as far as sexuality and prevention are concerned.
The Foundation has been acknowledged for its institutional prevention messages which are projected in the different movie halls of the country and through some television channels.
There is also a radio campaign which can be heard from the different radio stations.
We also have a vehicle, called « Condomovil » which drives through the capital and the other regions of the country bringing the population a prevention message and handing out condoms.
ARTE-SIDA_VIDA (ART _AIDS_LIFE) “Art with another mission”
Daniela Chappard Foundation promotes artistic talent, and art is used as a way to finance health, by carrying out exhibitions and sales of Venezuelan and foreign artists.
The yearly auction counts on the cooperation of famous artists in painting, sculpture and photography of Venezuela.
In 2006/2007 the Daniela Chappard Foundation carried out the Third Biennial of Photography, supporting the emergent talents, and with the collaboration of the Museums of Fine arts of Caracas and of Contemporary Art of the Zulia (Maczul).
The IV Biennial took place in October/november 2007. the exhibition of the selected works will happen in march next, at the Centro de Estudios Latinoamericanos Rómulo Gallegos "CELARG" at Caracas.
This year 2007, we are celebrating this Fourth Daniela Chappard Photography festival, aiming at discovering and promoting new talents. More than 144 works have been received!
TILL WHEN?
We never stop working. We would like to reach every sector of Venezuelan society with our prevention programs.
We hope to make more and more alliances of friends of the Daniela Chappard Foundation who are willing to help us so that we can be more systematic about our work.
Let us join efforts
Let us speak clearly
Let us promote life and speak up for it.
December 2007
