Bono on CNN American Morning

Bono was at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday to discuss the fight against disease in the developing world. He stopped by CNN to talk about (RED) and the other humanitarian efforts he's involved with on American Morning. Watch it here:

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Life After Everest Is a Breeze

Jeff Dossett didn’t climb his first mountain until he was 40. Eight years later, he’s climbed the tallest peak on every continent and has used his adventures to raise awareness for the fight against HIV/AIDS.

By Jennifer Warnick September 25, 2008

Jeff Dossett, Melissa Arnot, and Dave Morton make up Everest Team
INSPI(RED), which climbed Mount Everest earlier this year to raise awareness for and help fight against HIV/AIDS.

Summiting the tallest mountain on Earth, where in some places there are “literally 1,000 places to die,” gives a certain sense of perspective. Jeff Dossett returned from Mount Everest with this sense of perspective—the kind that makes him chuckle when people complain that something is difficult or impossible. “I have a different set point in my brain,” Dossett said. Climbing Everest “forever affects the way you think about challenges and obstacles in your normal life.”

Dossett, MSN executive producer and general manager, has climbed Everest twice. The first time was in 2004, and the second was earlier this year as part of TEAM INSPI(RED). He and two other climbers climbed the mountain specifically to raise awareness for PRODUCT (RED) and change the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The TEAM INSPI(RED) climb was a highly interactive one, with Dossett and his team blogging and posting videos and photos along the way using a Windows-based PDA via satellite and a Dell laptop. When he and climbing partners Melissa Arnot and David Morton reached the summit on May 22, Dossett had not only brought some high-profile attention to the RED cause, but had also become only the second Canadian in history to reach the summit of Mount Everest a second time.

Dossett, who grew up in Toronto and said he wasn’t particularly adventurous in his youth, didn’t climb his first mountain until he was 40. Eight years ago, an overworked, overweight, and overstressed Dossett would commute back and forth to Redmond, look out at Mt. Rainier, and wonder if he could ever climb something that impressive—something that grand.

When U2's Bono came to Microsoft, Dossett told the musician, “Listen, I can’t sing, but I can climb mountains,” and shared his plan for EVEREST TEAM INSPI(RED). Dossett and Bono are shown here with Bobby Shriver (left), a cofounder of (RED).

Shopping at REI one weekend, he made a decision to change his life. He saw a poster for the Climb for Clean Air, a fundraising climb of Mount Rainier for the American Lung Association. Though he was unprepared for such a climb, Dossett signed up and started training. At the time, Mount Rainier might as well have been Mount Everest. “I needed that big, bold goal that appeared unattainable, but that I was committed to, to give me the motivation to make change. I wasn’t really sure I could do [Rainier], let alone anything higher than that,” Dossett said. But after making it to the top of Washington State’s tallest peak, he wanted more. “The feeling was so powerful, so motivational, that I thought ‘How do I take this to the next level?’”

After a second trip up Rainier the next year, Dossett decided to do something bigger and bolder. In 2002, Dossett took two years away from work at Microsoft to climb the highest mountain on every continent in the world, known as the Seven Summits. He was only the third Canadian in history to climb the seven mountains: Kilimanjaro in Africa (Tanzania), Aconcagua in South America (Argentina), Elbrus in Europe (Russia), Denali in North America (Alaska), Kosciuszko in Australia, Vinson in Antarctica, and finally Everest in Asia (Nepal).

During this time, when he wasn’t globetrotting and climbing, Dossett would spend between four and six hours a day at ProClub on the stair climber and treadmill. To help pass the endless hours of training, he made good use of several generations of Zune digital media players, listening to music and watching videos as he prepared for his climbs.

“I arguably over prepared and over trained, but that was one way of mitigating the risks,” Dossett said. “Fear is not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to mountaineering. It makes you focus on preparation and aligning yourself with your team.”Dossett (center) climbed Mount Everest in May. His mountain climbing mantra is one perfect step at a time. “You can never let your guard down. One minor mistake at high altitude on a steep ice face is life threatening.”

After climbing Kilimanjaro, the first of the seven peaks he would summit, Dossett spent a couple of weeks in Africa and “witnessed firsthand the pain and suffering of those living with HIV/AIDS. At the time, I knew I had to do more,” he said

When U2’s Bono came to visit Microsoft for an update on what the company was doing to support the (RED) AIDS awareness and relief organization, Dossett was inspired once again to take action and told the musician, “Listen, I can’t sing, but I can climb mountains.” He told Bono of his plan for EVEREST TEAM INSPI(RED) and his hope that it would help inspire others to take action and help make a difference.

On May 22, Dossett climbed to the top of the world, 29,035 feet, this time for a cause he’s passionate about and with the world watching online. “I had a much better sense of what this entire experience was going to be like. What I learned from the first experience is that to summit Everest is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one,” Dossett said. “In 2008, I arrived with better knowledge, familiarity, and could then focus more on the real purpose of our expedition, which was to raise awareness of PRODUCT (RED) and the AIDS pandemic.”

Climbing Everest requires approximately nine weeks of acclimatization on the mountain, Dossett said. He had to climb six to eight hours every day for over two months, during which he experienced a full range of weather and physical challenges. With the snow and ice and the sun and its intense reflection, there were wildly varying temperatures to cope with. “Many people define mountaineering as long periods of enduring extreme discomfort, and say it’s only enjoyable in retrospect, rarely in the moment itself,” Dossett said.

He has a mantra: one perfect step at a time. “You can never let your guard down. One minor mistake at high altitude on a steep ice face is life threatening. The difference between living and dying is mental focus.”

This quilted flag was designed and created by the Hillcrest AIDS Centre in South Africa for the team’s journey. The flag represents Africa and (RED) efforts in Africa, as well as an artistic view of the Everest profile and a silhouette of the climbers.

Climbing Everest twice in the last eight years has completely changed Dossett’s ideas about his own capabilities and has left him craving new experiences. “It’s fair to say that I am now an adventure junkie, and that as long as I am physically capable, I will pursue relatively extreme adventure experiences because of the self-awareness and the self-learning and the sense of accomplishment of pursuing something beyond your comfort zone,” Dossett said. “At the same time, I have no death wish and do everything in my power to mitigate the risks of my adventures, including extensive skills training.” This is appreciated by his wife and three sons who, in the early days of his climbing, worried about the risk, but also have seen how much Dossett prepares himself and develops his skills for his adventures.

What could possibly be next for him? “Given that I’ve climbed the highest mountain on Earth, there’s a mountain on Mars called Olympus. An 80,000-foot mountain,” Dossett joked. “It’s the seven years getting there and back that I don’t know how to deal with yet.” No matter what the future brings, Everest has changed how he experiences every single day at work and home.

“No one who climbs Mount Everest is ever the same. When you stand on the top of the world, you know it. Having achieved this in my personal life, now I think professionally at Microsoft there’s nothing we can’t achieve,” Dossett said. “It fundamentally resets the expectations of what you think you can achieve in your personal and professional life forever.”

Read more about Dossett’s adventures with TEAM INSPI(RED)

To learn more about (RED), or join Dossett in helping to fight against HIV/AIDS, visit JoinRED.com

Hearing Ghana's Melody Lines in the Rose Garden

By Tamsin Smith

I received a note this week from Nicole Mackinlay Hahn who travelled to Swaziland and Ghana with me last year. I’d been unable to accept an invitation from an old colleague in Washington D.C. to attend a ceremony welcoming the President of Ghana to the United States. Nicole was able to go in my place and send this lovely note and photos. To date, over half of the Global Fund grant disbursed in Ghana is supported by (RED) shoppers.

Hi Tamsin, I am truly grateful for the invitation to the State Arrival Ceremony for the President of Ghana, President Kafuor, which was followed by a State lunch hosted by Madame Secretary Rice. At the lunch there was a receiving line, where I was greeted by both President Kafuor and Secretary Rice. Our (RED) trip to Ghana in 2007 made this ceremony even more special for me. As the fife and drum corps played "Yankee Doodle", I could not help but hum the melody to "In Ghana" by Rocky Dawuni. I could see guests in traditional Ghanaian dress celebrating, reminding me of the spirit and shine of Ghana. I feel blessed to have visited such a democratic and beautiful country. I not only remember the patients’ stories from the fevers unit, the line at the pharmacy where the ARV's are distributed, St. Martins Lab, and the Wisdom Association’s pineapple farm ... I also have the voice of clinic nurse Ellen Sam in my head, saying: "The Global Fund is a lifeline, honestly people are clinging to it for life ...So please, thank you (RED)!" All of this was clear in my mind as President Kafuor spoke on the White House lawn. And I was able to share these experiences at my table during the State lunch. It was an honor to see an African President formally welcomed to the United States. I am inspired and thankful, and will to continue to do more work in Africa and support (RED). See attached photos! Warmest,

Nicole

Photo credit: Nicole Mackinlay Hahn

More photos of the State Arrival Ceremony for President Kafuor of Ghana at the White House...

(RED) at Work in Rwanda

I've just returned from my first visit to Rwanda, where (RED) funds have been hard at work. A friend once told me that Rwanda either breaks your heart or fills you with hope. I came away hopeful. Here's why:

In May 2006, Rwanda became the first country to receive (RED) money through the Global Fund. The announcement was made at a press conference in Kigali by Bono and Richard Feachem, the then-Executive Director of the Fund. In those days, just 28 months ago, up to six people shared single beds in Kigali Hospital's HIV/AIDS wards. Conditions were so bad that visiting the Kigali wards was itself a health risk. As Bono said at the time, the conditions were "obscene."

In the two-plus years since that announcement, the Global Fund has wired more than $22 million of (RED) money to Rwanda. Last week, I visited the same clinic - the Treatment Research and AIDS Center (or TRAC) -to witness, first hand, the impact of that funding. The effect has been transformational.

We walked through TRAC wards to see that adults and children no longer share beds. Increased funding for HIV/AIDS has allowed TRAC's Director, Dr Anita Asiimwe to lighten case loads by referring clients to other clinics closer to homes, where they are able to receive follow-up care and antiretroviral medication. TRAC is clean, well-staffed, well-managed.

Later, we visited a young woman named Denyse at her home in Kigali. Bono first met her in May of 2006. At that time, Denyse was in the pediatric hospital, emaciated, almost skeletal from AIDS. She's now ten, healthy and doing well in school. Her mom Esperance and father Dennis can hardly contain their joy at having their daughter's future restored.

In 2007, Dr Agnes Binagwaho, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for the Fight Against HIV/AIDS in Rwanda, described (RED) as the "middle piece" to Rwanda's economic development. She explained that before (RED), she and her colleagues weren't sure if additional funds would be available to support HIV and AIDS work. They were worried that what they had built would crumble if money dried up. But, as she said, "(RED) monies ensured the sustainability of Rwanda's efforts. (RED) brought the positive energy back, allowing creativity and innovation to flow again." It was the middle piece "upon which we could place the next floor of upwards progress."

Rwanda has seen true horror and unimaginable suffering. The genocide in 1994 saw an estimated 1,000,000 people slaughtered in 100 days; ten thousand people a day. This history makes Rwanda's ambition to have a middle-class economy by 2020 all the more impressive and all the more daunting. (RED) money is helping the country achieve its healthcare goals, which in turn enables the Government to embark upon an equally impressive and ambitious economic growth strategy.

Some of their results so far:

In 2003, when the first Global Fund grant was made to Rwanda, 5% of the population was HIV-positive, while 11.6% of pregnant women were testing positive for HIV in antenatal clinics in 2002. By the end of 2003, 22,000 people had died from AIDS and 160,000 children between the ages of 0 to 17 had been orphaned as a result of the pandemic¹.

That HIV prevalence rate is now down to 3% for adults amongst Rwanda's 9 million inhabitants. Among the recent improvements in Rwanda's HIV response is the expansion of services for preventing HIV transmission from mothers to children. In addition, more male partners are attending prevention of mother-to-child transmission services with their wives and girlfriends.

According to one study, the percentage of men doing so increased from 9% in 2003 to 74% at the end of 2006².

Rwanda has achieved the highest coverage of any low-income country in 2007 for both antiretroviral therapy (71% up from 1% in 2003) and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (55%). This increased coverage has been aided by a 40-fold increase in the number of antiretroviral treatment (ART) sites across the country³ and (RED) can take some of the credit for helping the Government.

When people ask me what I do at (RED), I tell them that we are trying to build a sustainable brand that translates easily for consumers. If you buy an Apple (PRODUCT)^RED iPod nano, for the same price as a "regular" Apple iPod nano, $10 goes directly to the Global Fund. If one million people buy the (PRODUCT)^RED version, then $10 million goes directly to the Global Fund. The same basic math applies to all of our other "Partner products" from Gap t-shirts to Hallmark greeting cards to Dell computers to Windows software.

It is one thing to describe our business model. It is quite another to see its impact. I've seen the impact in Rwanda. What (RED) asks everyone to do is consider the (RED) choice when that purchase option presents itself. You can visit our web-site (www.JOINRED.com) to see all of our Partner products. If you buy a (Product)^RED-branded product, I can say with certainty that it matters. And that the return on choosing (RED) is invaluable in human terms.

Susan Smith Ellis, CEO, (RED)

¹ UNAIDS, 2004

² UNAIDS Epidemic Update 2007

³ 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic

Matsietsi Tsephe: Keeping the Skies Safe in Lesotho

By Greta Thomas

If you ever find yourself flying to Lesotho in southern Africa, chances are you’ll be counting on the technical and meteorological expertise of Matsietsi Tsephe.

This 48 year old mother of three boys has been the Airport’s Meteorologist for many years now. If she’s on shift, then Matsietsi gives vital information to both pilots and the Control Tower to ensure aircraft take off and land safely on her watch. Lesotho’s Moshoeshoe International Airport is frequented by small twin-engine planes and is surrounded by fairly mountainous countryside, all of which means that aircraft landings and take-offs can be quite weather-dependent and pilots absolutely rely on the information Matsietsi provides.

Matsietsi learnt she was HIV positive in 2003 when she kept getting sick and had skin rashes. She’s not sure how she contracted the virus but thinks that she may have been infected when she had a Caesarian-section giving birth to her third and youngest son, who is now 11 years old.

She says of the time she learnt she was HIV positive: “When I was diagnosed I thought I would be dead in 2-3 years but I survived.” Now Matsietsi says, “It’s not for me to ask how I became infected with HIV but instead to ask myself, how should I live with it most positively.”

And this big-hearted woman is not only living positively and openly with her status but she is also helping and inspiring other HIV+ women in Lesotho. Amongst other things, Matsietsi is Treasurer of Lesotho’s national umbrella body for support groups for people living with HIV, LENEPWHA, and indeed she helped set the organization up.

Matsietsi began lifesaving antiretroviral (ARV) therapy nearly five years ago. In March this year, (RED) money began flowing to a Global Fund HIV and AIDS grant in Lesotho, meaning that since then, (RED) helps fund the ARV pills that HIV+ women like Matsietsi must take every day in order to stay healthy.

And staying healthy is something Matsietsi is counting on…. last year she was overwhelmed to see her eldest son graduate from university and she intends to be around to see her 11 year old son do the same in years to come. And then there are her bold dreams to help improve Lesotho’s facilities for people living with HIV, including opening both a hospice and a mobile clinic.

From what (RED) can tell having seen Matsietsi in action, we’re not the only ones who think the forecast seems brighter and sunnier when Matsietsi is around.