30 Zimbabweans Participate in AIDS Walk Washington DC
Basa told VOA Studio 7 he gained a lot of knowledge in handling the event and hopes to organize similar activities back home
WASHINGTON DC — More than 30 Zimbabweans on Saturday participated in the AIDS Walk Washington DC to raise money for orphans. Director of ZimKids Orphan Trust, Tinashe Basa, led the group comprising students who were awarded scholarships by the United States Embassy in Harare, interested Zimbabweans and thousands of Americans. The event was organized by Whitman-Walker Clinic which supports people living with HIV. Basa told VOA Studio 7, while he was half way through the 5 kilometer walk, that he gained a lot of knowledge in handling the event and hopes to organize similar activities back home. “Everything is going on well here and I am very excited about the way it was conducted. I have seen how important volunteerism is ... and as well as working together to achieve certain goals. If people put their minds together, they can achieve their goals,” said Basa. He arrived in the United States a week ago and has been meeting donors. Basa is also expected to attend a youth event sponsored by Ted, an international organization that spreads new ideas. The 25-year-old completed his Ordinary Level studies a few years ago and failed to continue his education due to lack of money. ZimKids Orphan Trust based in Bulawayo’s Pumula high density suburb offers various programmes to 200 less privileged children. Every year, in cities across America, hundreds of thousands of people participate in AIDS Walks, started years ago as both awareness events and fundraisers for the clinics/support centers founded in the first years of the epidemic. For more than a quarter of a century, Washingtonians have been walking on behalf of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the first D.C.-based clinic to treat and support people with AIDS.