Delivering “Generation Free Kits” to Mothers in Tanzania
In many countries where the Foundation works, health clinics lack basic medical supplies necessary for women giving birth. Pregnant women are often required to purchase their own blankets, rubber gloves, gauze, etc., to bring with them to the health clinic when they go into labor.

If a woman can’t afford these supplies, she must often do without them. A lack of basic health supplies during childbirth is a health risk for both the mother and her newborn — even more so when the mother is HIV-positive.

Foundation Celebrity Ambassador Nigel Barker helps a guest assemble a Generation Free Kit at the 2009 A Time For Heroes Celebrity Picnic.

Guests at the Foundation’s A Time For Heroes Celebrity Picnic, held in Los Angeles on June 7, 2009, had the opportunity to help such pregnant women in need. Picnic attendees assembled 400 “Generation Free Kits” — boxes filled with plastic sheeting, rubber gloves, gauze, medicine dispensers for babies, baby blankets, clothing, diapers, and other vital supplies — to be distributed to pregnant women receiving Foundation services in Africa. The picnic's "Generation Free" tent was generously sponsored by Disney.

The kits were named to reflect their role in the Foundation’s mission to create a generation free of HIV. Having the right tools for a safe, healthy delivery is one of the first steps toward ensuring that babies are born free of the virus.

On July 31, Foundation staff members delivered several Generation Free Kits to pregnant women living with HIV at two Foundation-supported health centers in Arusha District, Tanzania (see photos below). The staff explained to the women what the items in the kits are for, and helped to translate the notes of support written to them by picnic guests who assembled the kits.

More kits will be delivered to pregnant mothers in Uganda this fall.

Thanks to our supporters who helped these mothers to give their babies a healthy start in life.

Kit Delivery Photos

The Foundation’s Regional Team Leader (RTL) for Arusha District, Angelina Kanuya, presents a Generation Free Kit to an HIV-positive woman at Ngarenaro Health Center in Tanzania.

The RTL explains the contents in the kits and their use to the women at Ngarenaro Health Center.

At Kaloleni Health Center, the RTL translates inspirational messages written to the women by volunteers who helped assemble the kits.

Five happy Generation Free Kit recipients pose with Foundation staff members and health workers from Kaloleni Health Center.