December's Focus: Mocha Club

Throughout December, our family's focus of the month is Mocha Club, a unique organization helping to support various projects in Africa.  Mocha Club defines itself as "an online community of people giving up the cost of 2 mochas a month – or $7 – to fund relief and development projects in Africa."  Currently, Mocha Club focuses on five main areas: Clean Water; Education; Child Mothers and Women At Risk; Orphan Care and Vulnerable Children; and HIV/AIDS and Healthcare.

Mocha Club members pledge seven dollars- the cost of two mochas- a month to help sustain these development projects in Africa.  You can also donate on a one-time basis as well.  The Mocha Club website has a great FAQ section; one of the questions is "How far does seven dollars go in Africa?"  The answer is pretty powerful:

Seven dollars in Africa can:
SUSTAIN life for 1 person living with AIDS.
PROVIDE clean water to 7 Africans for 1 year.
SAVE 1 person's life from malaria.

Kind of difficult to wrap your brain around that bit of information, isn't it?  When you donate to Mocha Club, you get to pick which programs your money will support.  When I clicked on the tab to give to an emergency need, some of the information amazed me.  Did you know that Kenya is experiencing its worst drought in ten years?  Because of the draught, there is a shortage of food; just seventeen dollars can provide sustenance for a family in the Kitui region for three months. Anti-Retroviral (ARV) medication is used to fight HIV/AIDS (AIDS is a retrovirus), but often times the cost of these drugs prohibit individuals from attaining them.  From my research in graduate school, I learned that in the United States, the average cost of a year's supply of ARV drugs is between $5,000 and $10,000 dollars.  Fortunately, pharmaceutical companies began offering discounts to several African nations, and the cost per person per year was driven down to $1,000.  Still, that amount is greater than some nations' gross domestic product; how can any of their population therefore afford the live-saving medicine they need?  I believe that recently, it is now possible to attain the medicine for a much-reduced rate.  Through Mocha Club, just five dollars will provide ARV treatment for one person for one month in Ghana.  Did you know that just one dollar will provide clean water to one African for an entire year?  We know that lack of clean water kills more people every day than any other cause.  Imagine what our pocket change could do for people living without access to clean water.  Mocha Club is also serving refugees and survivors of genocide.  Ten dollars will provide a mosquito net to refugees from Northern Uganda and Sudan in order to prevent the spread of malaria.  The final emergency need Mocha Club is supporting is former child soldiers of Northern Uganda.  These women and their children need medication to treat malaria; five dollars will provide the needed medicine.

Wow.  Who would have thought that so little can do so much?  Understanding just how far our money can go really puts the entire issue into perspective, and we can think and act more globally.

In light of yesterday being World AIDS Day, we decided that our donation should help to provide ARV treatment to individuals living in Ghana with HIV.  It is truly amazing to realize that by donating such a small amount, you are keeping someone alive and helping to provide a better quality life for that individual.

Despite all the incredible work Mocha Club is involved in throughout Africa, what I like best about the organization is their approach and understanding of Africa.  This video explains it all.