RICHARD M. BRODSKY Architect turned author Brodsky has finally found the role of his life, being president of the Foundation that bears his name. “There is no greater joy than raising and then giving away money to those in need. It’s fun and rewarding,” he says.
For example, the proceeds from his 2004 World AIDS Marathon in Kenya are funding the March, 2005 groundbreaking for the 50-bed Little Lambs AIDS orphanage in Nakuru, Kenya, a much-needed home that the Foundation intends to continue supporting.
In 1997, Brodsky had to tell his wife Jodi that he’d contracted HIV from another man, and although many women would have chosen to end their marriages and taken the kids with them, Jodi chose to stay. Richard chronicled this moving experience in his 2002 book, Jodi, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told.
Later in 2002, Richard was diagnosed with brain cancer (not related to his HIV), for which he underwent radiation treatment. To date, both his HIV and cancer treatments appear to have been successful, and his family — Jodi and their three daughters 5k AIDS Cancer Survive Run Walk in America. Richard wants to help not just people living with HIV in Africa, but people living with brain cancer and HIV in Long Island and America as well.
Richard and his Foundation have co-sponsored four World AIDS Marathons to benefit people living with HIV and cancer. The 2008 World AIDS Marathon will be its fifth marathon. In his spare time Richard has spoken at major Universities about the 12,000,000 orphans living in Sub-Saharan Africa who need to be raised in loving, nurturing homes. Richard goes on to discuss how important it is for people living with HIV and brain cancer to eat healthy, exercise, lead an upbeat lifestyle and avoid stressful situations, do not smoke or drink alcohol, and never have sex without a condom unless you are in a monogamous relationship. If society could realize how important it is for all people living with HIV to have access to the AIDS medicine, it would follow that hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved every year.
Says Richard, ‘If running marathons will help convince our Government and World leaders that 2,000,000+ people need not die from AIDS every year, then I pray that God will give me the strength to continue running marathons. Let’s just get the AIDS medicine and follow-up medical care to people living with HIV all over the world. At the same time let’s make sure that clean drinking water and adequate, nutritious food is available to people all over the world for the AIDS medicine to be effective.
In 2008 the Richard M. Brodsky Foundation sponsored its first 5k AIDS Cancer Survive Run Walk in America. Richard wants to help not just people living with HIV in Africa, but people living with brain cancer and HIV in Long Island and America as well.
DR. CASILDA BALMACEDA is the brain cancer specialist who Richard credits with saving his life. Argentine-born and fluent in four languages, Dr. Balmaceda received her M.D. from Columbia University in 1987, where she currently practices and teaches. She has been widely published in medical journals and textbooks, and has made many professional presentations both in Europe (many “in language”), and here in the United States. Her natural curiosity and background led her to her two main professional interests: brain cancer, and helping the underserved. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that at Columbia University she has lectured both about brain tumors and, separately, cultural competence, which is helping the underserved, many of whom are foreign-born, to navigate America’s complex medical system. She is devoted to her two children, and will be a speaker at the December 3 conference that is part of the 2005 World AIDS Marathon.
Says Richard, “you will never find a doctor as caring or compassionate as Dr. Balmaceda. Most doctors don’t hug their patients; she does, and for that, plus the fact that I’m still alive today, I think she’s absolutely extraordinary."
LUISA DUTRA Mother of six children, cancer survivor. Luisa is a lifetime member of Hadassah and she is not even Jewish. Luisa embraces all faiths and people and supports many charities. Luisa truly embodies the spirit of what it means to give with your heart. Sitting in my (Brodsky’s) living room is a painting that Luisa donated to the Richard M. Brodsky Foundation. The purpose of the gift is to raise funds for my foundation. When I questioned Luisa about the value of the painting so the foundation could give her a letter stating the value of the painting, Luisa said, “I do not support charities to reduce the money I pay in income taxes; I give because I want to help.” This concept of giving and helping others has not gone unnoticed by her children, who are often helping others, too. Luisa may not be an artist, but her gift of a painting to the foundation expresses how society needs to view the art of giving.
ALIE ELEVELD, born in the Netherlands, has lived in Africa since 1984. Alie is a registered nurse by profession specialized in pediatrics, community health and tropical medicine. She is now a second year student with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine doing a long distance Masters in Public Health.
Alie has worked for 23 years in Eastern Africa (Zambia, Congo, South Sudan and now Kenya). Most of her work has been in HIV related programs of counseling, home based care and capacity building of HIV support groups. Alie now is employed by Population Services International Washington and runs an Non Governmental Organization in Kisumu promoting safe treated water, hygiene, prevention of malaria and other illnesses through engaging HIV support groups as vendors of safe water treatment and health products. The organization offers training on safe water and management of businesses and links group to microfinance . One of the side activities is to support orphans and vulnerable children through children’s clubs and scholarships.
Alie lives in Kisumu with two of her four children. Three of her children are adopted from Zambia and Sierra Leone. Alie has been a member of the Kisumu World AIDS Marathon Group and has been actively involved in the organization and fundraising in 2006 and 2007.
In her free time, Alie enjoys
studying, playing volleyball, swimming and meeting with friends.
BOBBY HOWE KTYM’s radio talk show host has focused her life on helping others. Whether it is literacy, women’s, minority, health, local or global issues, count on Ms. Howe to be there at the forefront. Ms. Howe, is the founder and CEO of K-MOMS, a thousand mothers who care for a child who is not their own. Ms. Howe has and continues to serve on numerous boards including K-MOMS, Inglewood Coalition, L.I.F.E, The Cripple Children Society, Ability First, Angelus Plaza and Big Brothers. She is also an advisory board member to the following organizations: Lullalee Productions, Urban League-for women only and Operation Hope. Ms. Howe also speaks to abused woman at high schools and colleges about helping these women lead a fulfilling life.
Ms. Howe is the recipient of several awards, "Exemplary Leadership," "Community Service Awards," Certificates of Appreciation and recognition at the city, state, county and national level. In 1999, Bobby was selected "CORO of Southern California to the Tenth Class of Leadership -Southern California." In 2001, Bobby was honored by "Our Authors Study Club" as one of the "Women Who Make a Difference." Combining Bobby's passion for helping women in transition and literacy, The Bobby Howe Library for Women was founded in 2000. We owe a great debt to Bobby Howe not just for her role in national affairs but also for her interest in global affairs. In 1998, Bobby was invited by the Japanese Government to visit Tokyo, Hiroshima and Kyoto for the purpose of building bridges between the African-American and Japanese communities.
Recently Brodsky was asked about the women in his life who have made a difference. Brodsky replied, "Ms. Bobby Howe, her exemplary life and her vision of truth and justice for all, has not gone unnoticed."
PHILIP MAIYO is the club secretary for Kenya’s elite Chepkero Athletics Association. The Association’s motto: ‘a sound mind in a sound body,’ epitomizes the pinnacle of highest order of Greek culture to that of the modern-day elite Kenyan runner. Philip is responsible for maintaining the association’s athletic and organizational records. He has also been largely responsible for securing 86 athletic scholarships so Kenyan athletes could obtain athletic scholarships and compete in track meets in America. Mr. Mayo also had the privilege of generating all the paperwork necessary to register the club with the Kenya Social Services office. When not handling club business, Mr. Mayo serves as the headmaster of the Katanga Special Children's School, where he works with young people who face a variety of unique challenges.
Philip’s role as a man beacons brightest when Brodsky was recently asked, why was Philip Maiyo chosen to be a Board Member of the Richard M. Brodsky Foundation? Richard commented, without Philip, who knows if there would have been a 2004 World AIDS Marathon? And for that reason alone, I’m honored that Philip has agreed to be a Board Member of the Richard M. Brodsky Foundation.
PETER NGUYEN is currently the Executive Director of Asian American International Ministries (AAIM), a non-profit organization devoted to mobilizing Asian Americans to engage and impact underdeveloped and underprivileged areas of the world. He has started five business start-ups over the past 5 years as an entrepreneur. He was recognized as the Top Minority Business Owner and Top 30 under 30 by the Advertising Specialties Institute. Peter currently works as a business development consultant for Gauged Creative House in St. Petersburg, FL. He has traveled the states speaking and empowering next generation Asian American leaders. Peter is currently co-founder of NextGen Ministry and Director of Marketing for Southeast Asian Committee. Peter graduated with a Finance degree at the University of Florida.
Nguyen had first met Brodsky during the 2005 World AIDS Marathon in Gainesville. The day Peter agreed to be a Board Member of the Richard M. Brodsky Foundation was a great day for the foundation. We are counting on Peter’s web and marketing skills to raise the awareness level that we cannot allow 8,500 people to die from AIDS everyday, while 14,500 people are newly infected with the AIDS virus each day.
DR. TIMOTHY THOMAS
was born in Kenya and has spent many years there between spells in England and the United States for education and work. He did his medical training at Indiana University in the US followed by a residency in Family Medicine. After a couple of years doing volunteer medical work in Kenya and Somalia in the mid nineties, he went to work for the Indian Health Service in Alaska where he lived for 6 years and where he met his wife, Michelle who is a general surgeon. In 2001 he returned to Kenya to join an HIV research program sponsored by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in collaboration with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). The two main areas of research have been finding better ways to reduce mother to child transmission of HIV and doing baseline studies in preparation for trials of a biomedical intervention to prevent HIV infection, such as an HIV vaccine. Dr. Thomas currently lives in Kisumu, Kenya with his wife and 2 girls, Alexandra and Hannah, and in 2008 he and his family relocated to Anchorage, Alaska. While in Kisumu he has been very involved in getting support for an orphanage called the Young Generation Center. When not busy at work or at the orphanage, his favorite pastimes are hanging out with family, reading, and getting outdoors either on a bike or in a kayak or on 2 legs.Kisumu will surely miss Dr. Thomas and Dr. Thomas will surely miss Kisumu.
Dr. Thomas is currently working with the CDC research station in Anchorage, Alaska, where his wife has a surgical practice. He continues to be involved in activities in Kenya and is focusing on writing up the results of the research he was engaged in. One of the main studies he was involved in was trying to determine a safe and effective way to reduce mother to child transmission among breastfeeding women in a resource limited setting like Kisumu, where alternatives to breastfeeding are neither feasible nor safe. The preliminary results presented at the 2008 Conference on Retroviral and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) show the intervention - HAART from 34 weeks pregnancy through 6 months of breastfeeding - was able to reduce transmission rates from over 25% with no intervention, down to 6% at 12 months; a 76% reduction. If this intervention could be successfully implemented in Africa, where most of the approximately 400,000 infant infections (2007 WHO estimates) occur each year, 304,000 infant infections could be averted each year.
Dr. Thomas plans to continue being involved in the Kisumu World AIDS Marathon, as fundraiser and runner.
On the day that Dr. Thomas agreed to be a board member of the foundation, Richard recalled how fortunate the foundation was to have such a prominent AIDS research doctor who could also apply not just his detailed research skills, but equally impressive, his practical skills into coordinating the work of the World AIDS Marathon and the Kisumu AIDS Marathon Organization.
JOSEPH OCHIENG
is a Construction Specialist in charge of all construction/renovation projects for an American Agency known as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Kenya. Joseph is based in Kisumu, Kenya but oversees all construction projects in Kenya. Joseph wear many diverse hats: he is a member of the Architectural Association of Kenya, a member of the Institute of Clerks of Works for Kenya, and a Contracting Officer’s Representative through the American system of Contracts. Joseph’s other hats are related to the sport he and the other Board Members are passionate about: RUNNING.
Joseph is an International Walk Judge appointed by the International Association of Athletics Federation. Currently Joseph is the only Level III walk judge in Africa. This makes him the only walk judge in the Continent who judges anywhere in the world. Joseph is also the interim Chairman of the African Racewalking Judges Committee, seeking affiliation to African Athletics Federation; National Chairman of Racewalking Committee affiliated to Athletics Kenya; Chairman of Athletics Kenya Siaya District Sub-branch; and National Chairman of Duathlon in Kenya.
The Richard M. Brodsky Foundation is extremely fortunate to have Joseph Ochieng, a man having 32 years experience in sports management, as a Board Member of the Foundation. Not only is Joseph a qualified judge of track Events bit he has the training knowledge as well. Joseph has travelled and officiated in several countries around the world; i.e., CZECH Republic (World Racewalking Cup); Manchester (Commonwealth Games); Australia (Commonwealth games); Japan (World championships in Athletics and IAAF Congress); France (World Athletics Championships and IAAF Congress); Zimbabwe (All African Games); Nigeria (All African Games); Tunisia (African Junior); Burkina Faso (African junior Champs); and Mauritius(African Championships). Joseph’s next confirmed appointment is World Cup (Racewalking), 2010 in Mexico.
PHILANTHROPY needs to be thought of as an ART; how can one apply paint to a canvas that will evoke an image of hope for a brighter tomorrow?
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The Richard M. Brodsky Foundation, Inc. is a registered 501(c) (3) public charity.
