The Dorothy Darko Foundation Network believes that early intervention will create a long-term AIDS prevention revolution in Africa that will significantly decrease the spread of this disease and curtail the devastating economic effects it is having on all economies in Africa. And until the youth of Africa is culturally educated to understand the HIV virus and its prevention and is motivated to change their social and sexual behavior accordingly, the spread of AIDS will continue to increase in Africa no matter how much money is invested in the cure of the disease.
GOAL FOR HIV/AIDS PREVENTION:
Research shows that billboards, pamphlets and the ABC program campaign alone don’t work in Africa. HIV/AIDS continues to bring unspeakable suffering and sadness to millions of people throughout Africa and beyond. Believing that humor can often be an effective tool in films to deliver a powerful message DDF Network’s goal is to develop interactive, story-based films/dramas about HIV/AIDS that heighten awareness and demonstrate prevention tactics (such as Partnership Reduction, Fidelity, Condom Use, and the importance of coming together to help one another).
OBJECTIVE
Research shows that there is higher concentration of HIV/AIDS infections in larger cities and towns in Africa where people have access to modern amenities like electricity, television, movie theaters, cell phones, transportation and jobs. Invariable, infected people from the congested cities go back home to the villages and unknowingly spread the HIV virus. It is DDF Network’s objective to make films that will reach as many people as possible in cities and large towns, for, if they learn how to protect themselves well against the HIV virus, they will less likely spread the disease when the go back to the villages.
DDF NETWORK will work in tandem with the scientists, AIDS researchers, educators and the film industry to develop a culturally sensitive film about HIV/AIDS prevention that will address the social and behavioral issues at the core of the spread of the disease (but which no one talks about because they are taboos) and jolt the emotions of people, especially students to examine their sexual choices.
DDF NETWORK wants to make films that are educational, entertaining, hopeful, encouraging and uplifting and will participate on all levels of the production of its films, from development to production, to make sure that the films are produced in a dignified matter that is not in the least demeaning to Africans.
Africa has 53 countries and nearly a billion people. With an estimate of 65 million students currently enrolled in middle and secondary schools in Sub-Sahara Africa, we project that our films will reach approximately two hundred million African students in ten years.
Undoubtedly, the fight against poverty in Africa should start with the health and education of Africans, especially the young. In order for AIDS prevention programs to work effectively we need:
- Cultural change at every level in Africa.
- True and pragmatic decrease will not be possible until Africans are emotionally and culturally engaged with the HIV/AIDS infection in an entirely new way.
- HIV/AIDS are caused by preventable and manageable personal behaviors.
- DDF NETWORK seeks to use films to change the social and sexual behaviors, contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa in a manner that will be sensitive to African culture and traditions.
Many governments and NGOs are helping Africa in many ways, but the magnitude of Africa’s needs is so immense that even more is required. To help these other programs maximize their potential, it is also necessary to create complementary cultural change. What differentiates the Dorothy Darko Foundation Network from successful and admirable foundations doing fantastic work on HIV/AIDS in Africa is our ambitious new approach to use ART to make a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
DDF Network’s funding, energy and expertise will be directed toward films that will culturally educate African youth to embrace a healthy social and sexual behaviors that will protect them against HIV infection.The unique strength of DDF NETWORK is Dorothy Darko’s extensive research and understanding of the devastating effects African cultures, traditions, mentality and politics are having on African economies and development in general. She has the advantage of being an educated and cultivated woman who understands the subtle nuances of the ‘African mentality or the psychology of the African culture from the inside,’ as described by a colleague and she wants to incorporate her unique strengths in a film that will resonate with Africans. She also understands Western culture. She has spent a large portion of her life traveling the world. She has lived in Ghana, San Francisco, London, Washington D. C., New York City, Hong Kong, Cologne, Zurich, Vienna, Barcelona, Bombay, Munich, and currently resides in Greenwich, Connecticut. She has also visited dozens of countries – from Japan to Norway to Nigeria to the United Arab Emirates – all to learn about the diversity of the world in order to prepare for making a difference in Africa.
Because Ms. Darko is a driven and an accomplished African woman, with a deep understanding of African culture, she is able to relate to African youth and be a role model in ways that are impossible for Western leaders of NGOs and other organizations working on the AIDS epidemic. It is often difficult for non-African leaders to comfortably and honestly discuss the importance of partnership reduction or the details of sex education in Africa openly, without being branded as racist or moralistic. Ms. Darko can. It will mean a lot to Africans to see a polished one of their own step-up globally to help inspire them to join together and defeat AIDS. It will go a long way toward making a difference.
By the same token, African leaders will be more inclined to respond favorably to a sophisticated African woman (familiar with the ways of the people of the West), who is determined to challenge them to responsibly lead Africa’s youth into the twenty-first-century to compete with the rest of the world. Therefore DDF NETWORK wants to create the cultural changes needed that would make it easier for NGO’s and individuals to expand the good work they are doing and operate more successfully in Africa. It is imperative that we help the good people in the West who are making a difference in Africa
Also Ms. Darko’s deep roots both in Africa and the West have ignited her passion to make a much-needed difference. From her broad experience and understanding, she has created and nurtured a vision of empowerment for the youth of Africa and she is determined to make a difference.
