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cmff (19K)Colour Me Freedom Foundation
By Reverend W. J. Bellamy


Introduction
Armed with a working knowledge of Divinity and Progress, academia and international protocol and Masters of Public Administration, Reverend W. J. Bellamy began his fight for international and human civil rights issues. His focus and vision looked toward Africa even as a student when his organization, The Friends of Africa Club hosted a conference, West Africa 2000 Promises and Prospects at California State University, Northridge.

This unwavering focus and commitment led Rev. Bellamy to found the Colour Me Freedom Foundation (CMFF) for more details see: www.colourmefreemuseum.org.

Some of the highlights of this Non-Profit include:

  • First South African - African American Exhibit - Hosted by Senator Berman, CA
  • Hosted King Goodwill Zwelinthini and Queen Tandy Jane, Zulu Nation - US visit
  • Founder/CEO original Nelson Mandela Multi-Cultural Center in Los Angeles, CA
  • Attendee United Nation Sub-Committee on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland
  • Curator for the Exhibition Amandela Awethu, a photo-journalistic documentation of Nelson Mandela at United Nation in Geneva, Switzerland
  • Participant and Exhibitor World Conference Against Racism, Durban, South Africa

Now the mission of the CMFF has shifted to the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The Problem
HIV/AIDS in Africa has reached pandemic proportions. No one is disputing this fact. In 1990, only 16% of the orphans on the continent had lost one or both parents due to AIDS. By 2010, it is projected that 70% of those orphaned will be due to AIDS. Every 14 seconds a child is orphaned by this pandemic.

Every minute a child dies! Kenya is number two in new and current cases of HIV/AIDS and is rapidly catching up to its counterpart South Africa. In fact, the UN reports because of AIDS, the life expectancy has dropped 13 years to 51 years and by 2010 will drop another 42 years to 9 years.

Purpose Statement
The most immediate goal of the Colour Me Freedom Foundation (CMFF) program is to prevent HIV/AIDS transmission through education and information exchange on AIDS, and public information campaigns on how the virus is spread and how to prevent becoming infected.

This goal is shared by President Clinton who signed into law, Bill (HR 3519), the Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Relief Act of 2000 which authorizes funding for AIDS prevention and treatment programs worldwide and increases investment in vaccines for the worlds children particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Priorities include stepped-up primary AIDS prevention efforts; care and treatment; care for children orphaned by AIDS; and strengthening the public health infrastructure that can prevent and control the disease.

The COLOUR ME FREEDOM FOUNDATION intends to achieve the priorities of information exchange, and education as a means to step up prevention efforts to stem the tidal wave of new HIV cases especially among the youth with a unique but effective delivery system, a Concert.

The concert as a delivery system will disseminate information, raise awareness, give strategies of prevention, expose people to medical options for treatment, and provide services like on site testing and counseling. Music communicates across all types of barriers.

People will gather to listen to music when they may not come together for any other reason. Young will sit with old; Christian will sit with Moslem; rich will sit with poor, etc. All will be made more aware of the problem and the solution.

COLOUR ME FREE of HIV/AIDS Mission to Kenya:
Awareness Concert * Celebrity Golf Classic * Technology Conference

December 2005
We ask your support for a complete budget planned at @ $1.2 Million for this First Annual Event. Your tax deductible cash or Non Cash gifts and pledge for supporting this mission is gratefully encouraged NOTE: Some support may be only partially tax deductible (e.g., ticket sales, etc.) Please note the description on your ticket of tax receipt.

Prevention
The Concert will provide prevention through awareness. There are two components of the concert: Revival and Awareness.

The Revival is the spiritual component of the Concert. It is the most important component of the Concert. Healing is not complete without feeding our spirituality, and nurturing our relationship with God. This pandemic is extraordinary and it will take supernatural effort to foil it. It will take a Miracle!

The Revival has two parts, Praise and Worship. We will be Praising God and Ministering to people hearts through gospel and Spirit filled music and the delivering the Word through our interdenominational clergy representing the major religions in Kenya. Prayer is the most potent force for healing and the power generated by over 400,000 people praying in tandem at the Concerts will be earthshaking.

This segment will be produced by Ushindi Baptist Church in concert with Ministers from the US and Africa to heal those in attendance and to send the message of salvation, understanding, acceptance, abstinence, marital fidelity, and forgiveness in keeping with our Revival Theme: "Forgiving the Unforgivable."

Making people aware in Kenya as well as in the United States, particularly in the African American Community, of the pandemic nature of the problem of HIV/AIDS as a second thrust of this endeavor.

Making people aware of what we all can do to find a solution and SAVE THE CHILDREN AND FUTURE OF AFRICA and thus Save Us All!

The Concert will provide prevention through education in two ways. There will be videos and live presentations of 30 minutes in length during the six stage turns. In addition, there will be a two-hour Revival that will provide saving messages of spiritual importance to fight this disease. The churches also have programs in counseling, and provision of medical support through participation in the AIDS vaccine and other medical programs. The Catholic Church in Nairobi has an active program in dispensing the HIV/AIDS vaccine.

Booths will be set up over the concert grounds by NGOs, Sponsors, Government Agencies, and Private Vendors to disseminate information, condoms, exposure to life saving drugs, how to participate in treatment programs and vaccine studies, ancillary support systems- employment, housing etc, counseling services, on-site testing with the latest kits that can give results in 10 minutes, supplements, and nutritional support.

These Educational strategies will:

  • Provide education to the Government, local and national, and to the people on the grassroots level about the disease.
  • Provide options as to how to best prevent new cases among our youth by giving the message of abstinence and marital fidelity.
  • Exchange information from all areas of science, medicine, nutrition, naturopathy, herbalists and other alternative means to fight the disease.
  • Provide information and educational materials both printed, public service announcements (PSA), video shorts etc. that can be used to dispel myths, both generally held and those that are specific to Kenyan and other areas of African culture, about HIV/AIDS, and about those who have become infected. These PSA and Videos will be provided by Drug Companies, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) world-wide, World Health Organization, Christian Ministries, and Humanitarian Organizations, etc. and produced by the production arm of the Colour Me Freedom Foundation in partnership with the Hollywood Film Industry. Exchange information to help break down barriers of discrimination against those who are HIV positive.
  • Provide information on how the disease is transmitted, and how to prevent this transmission.
  • Provide information on treatment that is available.
  • Provide information on resources that exist to support those with the disease.
  • Put a human face on the problem.

The COLOUR ME FREEDOM FOUNDATION a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) in partnership with Ushindi Baptist Church in Likoni Mombassa, Kenya, and specifically Bishop Joseph Maisha, Baptist Churches of Kenya, has been given authorization from the OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT Of KENYA, to represent the country in getting the necessary Artists, Musicians, Celebrities and for collaboration, co-ordination with business, civil society, the public and private sectors, to participate in producing an Awareness and Education Festival on HIV/AIDS in the provinces of Kenya.

There are three components to this event including an Awareness Concert featuring American and local talent, a Celebrity Golf Tournament also featuring American and African talent, and a Technology Conference where multinational vendors, presenters, and products/services are available. The intent of these events is Kumechuka (Swahili, The Awakening). Revival! Outreach! Defeating the Pandemic of HIV/AIDs and other Infectious Diseases, and Building for the Future!

The Concert component of the Festival/Tour will take place in three locations, the Mombasa District Coast province, and Kisumu (via satellite) and Nairobi and out lying Provinces (via satellite). Our Conference dates are set for Mombassa, November 30 -December 2, 2005. Concert December 1, 2005 in Mombassa to celebrate World AIDS Day. Celebrity Golf Tournament December 2-3, 2005.

This concert brings all of those in each area of the music and recording industry, entertainment industry, and Hollywood film industry together for this great cause. The concert will include all music forms - R&B, Jazz, Reggae, Opera, Country, Blues, Afro/Cuban, Indigenous African music, Doo-wop, Rock, and Salsa performed by artists in each generation from all parts of the world and Africa. Celebrities, actors and comedians from Hollywood will host the events thereby generating the theme Hollywood goes to Africa.

The Concert format allows dissemination of information to over 500,000 Kenyans who will attend the concert, another 500,000 at satellite locations in Nairobi, and other Provinces and at designated Churches, Universities and Auditoriums or Stadiums, and 500,000 at satellite locations in the US. All concert attendees will be given bags upon exiting the concert with materials and samples about HIV/AIDS.

The Festival in all locations in Kenya will be free except for VIP seating for Sponsors, Officials, Corporations, etc and Preferred Seating which will be sold to off-set costs. Orphanages, schools and youth under 18 will be given priority for the free seating.

In addition, there will be a video satellite feed to various locations in the US including Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, and Philadelphia, where there will be a charge admission. Satellite feeds will also be planned for other parts of Africa. The Festival will be taped for showing in the US and abroad by Cable, Network TV or Paid Per-View, as was done by CNN and MTV for the AIDS concert in South Africa starring Beyonce and Bono.

Intervention
The other goal of the Foundation involves intervention. The devastation to Kenyans economy brought on by the tremendous resource drain caused by trying to deal with HIV/AIDS, the destruction of the family, the depletion of the work force, the burden of caring for those orphaned, and the strain on the education system to keep up with the demands of the 21st Century technology all contributed to our decision to produce an Economic Empowerment Conference.

This Conference will bring cutting edge technology in the areas of information technology, agriculture, energy, housing and construction and medicine that has the potential to produce an income stream that can rebuild the Kenyan economy and create funding for HIV/AIDS intervention and recovery. The Conference is also a means to build business opportunities for partnership between US, Kenyan Companies and the Kenyan Government.

A Celebrity Pro/Am Golf Tournament is planned to precede the Concert. This tournament will have the participation of professional golfers, sports celebrities, sponsors, and Government officials including the President of Kenya who is an avid golfer. Sport is a means to raise the awareness of this problem among US Professional athletes and Corporations, and give them an opportunity to give of their time, talent and financial resources to help solve the problems brought on by this pandemic. Kenyan youth who were orphaned by the disease will be the beneficiary of this event.

We are planning sport clinics, run by pro athletes and former pro athletes, in golf, football, soccer, tennis, baseball and basketball for one to two days prior to the golf tournament. It is hoped that the interest generated by these camps will form a permanent sports program for the Kenyan youth not only to build strong bodies and character, but also to offer the opportunity to those special youth who can turn pro.

The most important outcome of intervention and wellness involves a vision of building a supportive infrastructure. A Healing Village. The COLOUR ME FREEDOM FOUNDATION intends to build a Village for Men, Women, and Children infected with HIV/AIDS modeled after the Sparrow HIV/AIDS Hospice Village located in Roodeport South Africa operated by Sparrow Ministry see www.sparrowvillage.org with: the housing in our case shall be constructed using a dome technology for maximum environmental impact.

Housing Families and Orphaned Children
The Healing Village contains several components:

  • A Full Service Hospital/Hospice facility to serve the community at large as well as the village. The hospital will offer the latest Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) and alternative treatments from the current research on AIDS.
  • An Educational Resource and Training Center to educate the community and others country-wide on the pandemic and an adult education facility and occupational training facility in those areas to support the running of the village and provide vocational training for older orphans and heads of families for outside employment, i.e. teacher aides, construction, computer training, mechanics, food services, etc.

This facility will also be built in such a way that it can double as a State of the Art Conference and Convention Center with a Cyber-Cafi complete with video-conferencing capability. This facility will provide jobs not only to residents of the Village but will be an income-generating facility for the maintenance of the Village.

  • A State of the Art School for the children in the village.
  • Recreation, Physical Education and Sports Training Facility that can be used by the community at large as well as the residents of the village. Camps run by professional athletes in the areas of football, basketball and soccer for the children and teens. Sharing of facilities and programs like this can do much in dispelling myths and healing the leper perception attached to HIV/AIDS.
  • An agricultural support system of farms, for the growing of food, livestock for the village, including a clean water production and irrigation system. The farms will also grow crops for Bio-Diesel technology a clean source of energy and another source of income fro the Village.
  • Manufacturing Support through the building of factories that will provide jobs to people in the village and surrounding areas. The first factory will house the manufacture of the domes for the village and surrounding areas. The program that will allow Kenyan and American participation with the end result of owning and operating our own facility to generate income building homes, factories in the areas of telecommunications and energy etc. for other areas in Kenya and neighboring countries.

The concept of the Healing Village is built around supporting the family to stay together as long as possible by meeting the needs medically and financially. We want to keep the man in the household as long as possible by offering dignified living through economic empowerment as well as medical intervention. Widows and their children will be kept together in the household as long as possible.

Transition for the children to the village orphanage will have the active participation of the last surviving parent. Children will not have to raise siblings alone and will have the support of a free education in the Village school. Older orphans who had to forego their education in order to survive will be trained in a vocation that will offer economic independence.

The proceeds from ALL sources generated by these events, the Concert, Conference and Celebrity Golf Tournament including the sale and distribution of the television coverage, and partnering with companies to provide the technology, will fund the mission, goals, and objectives of COLOUR ME FREEDOM FOUNDATION for this project: HIV/AIDs Prevention and Intervention and the Vision: A HIV/AIDS Healing Village.

All of the work, the planning, the vision culminating in the festival the revival and the building of a Healing Village is for God's purpose for His people. We will do a documentary film to be produced by the production arm of the COLOUR ME FREEDOM FOUNDATION. Experienced producers, directors and filmmakers under the expert leadership of the Executive Producer, Bill Duke will be hired to accomplish this task. James Avery will lead Hollywood to again participate by offering their various talents to perform this miracle that comes from giving back, from loving humanity, saving our children and our future.

The Concert/Festival, the Conference, the Celebrity Golf Tournament and documentary film will be produced through creative financing and fundraising by partnering with Financial Institutions, Non-Profits, Business Organization, Churches, Professional Organizations, Entertainment Industry, Professional Sport Industry, Corporate Sponsors, Social Clubs, Fraternal Organizations, Philanthropic Organizations, and Individuals who want to make a difference.

No one is exempt from responsibility to stopping the spread of this dread disease, taking care of all those affected and ultimately finding a cure. The COLOUR ME FREEDOM FOUNDATION, its partners, its staff and volunteers are ready to produce this model, the concert, the conference, the celebrity golf tournament and sports camps as an annual event in Kenya until the Village is constructed and operating successfully. This model will also be produced in other Countries in Africa as a means to finance other HIV/AIDS Villages

Funding
Funding support is needed to purchase educational materials, condom samples, food and vitamin supplements, HIV/AIDS testing kits, booths or mobile units with medical personnel and counselors for HIV/AIDS testing, printing costs for materials, outreach pilot program Ushindi Baptist Church (Revival Component), etc. All of this funding is necessary to the HIV/AIDS Awareness and Education effort that the Concert will deliver.

The cost for this component alone is $250,000. (See attached budget). The complete budget is planned at @ $1.2 Million. We pray that Ground Breaking Ceremonies will highlight the completion of this first annual event.

Visit our website: colourmefreemuseum.org for more information and make your donations, or call: 818-920-4916 or 818-207-2758, thank you!

© June 2005 By Afromerica


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