This note was sent out to all volunteers and I thought some of you reading this might be interested in participating. Kaitlin, the woman who is running this is a friend of mine. I will not be personally involved, but I'm confident it will be very well run- so to speak...


January 16, 2004


Greetings from Dusty Cameroon,

We hope everyone is enjoying the New Year. We are planning a Women’s Day road race for March 6th, 2004 in Bamenda Cameroon. Women’s day is a national holiday in which women celebrate their womanhood. As Peace Corps Volunteers living in Cameroonian communities we see the effects of HIV/AIDS daily. 2 out of 3 people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa are women. As a result, we feel it necessary to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and the importance of a healthy lifestyle to the women. Last year Peace Corps Volunteer Kaitlin Haws organized a 5km road race in her small village. It was a huge success with over 100 women participating in the race. This year we are hoping to expand the race to the city of Bamenda with 500 runners. After the race we are planing to have a health fair run by Cameroonians to share information about HIV/AIDS, obesity, diabetes, and family planning.

Peace Corps fully supports our initiative however due to budget constraints Peace Corps is unable to assist us financially. Therefore we are soliciting you, our friends and family, for your financial support to organize this race and fair. According to our budget we anticipate needing $3000. We are aware that this is a lot of money, yet every little bit counts. In the event that we do not receive the full $3000 we are still planing to hold a health fair for women’s day. This has the potential to impact more than 5,000 people living in the Bamenda area, who are at a great risk for HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

If you are interested in donating some money to the ‘Bamenda Cameroon Women’s Day Race March 6th 2004’ or if you are not personally interested but know someone who might be please pass this email on the them. All checks should be made out to Pat Vaughan and should be sent to The Vaughan’s, 4038 Thornoaks Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. We ask that all checks be sent before February 1st, 2004. (Due to our geographical constraints Kelly’s father is collecting the money, which will be wired to the race account in Cameroon. If you contribute money please email Kaitlin at kaitlinzoe@yahoo.com with your name and the amount for our records.)

We will provide receipts for tax purposes, a report on the race, and a photo to all that donate.

Thanks in advance,

Kaitlin Z. Haws and Kelly A. Vaughan