The Project

What started in 2005 as an attempt by a young photographer to document the HIV/AIDS pandemic in rural Western Kenya has evolved into a multi-faceted, innovative pilot program that focuses on empowering a community in need, and also directly sponsors the secondary education of some of the most worlds most needy and deserving children.

In the small, rural village of Kanga, in Western Kenya, the Lazarus Effect has helped the community organize their own Community-based Organization, which has used donated funds to start several small Income Generating Activities, which in turn fund a Health and Education Center that has brought a library, counseling, and HIV/AIDS education and testing to a community for the first time.

We are also sponsoring the secondary education of 12 deserving HIV/AIDS orphans, whom otherwise would not be afforded such a life changing opportunity.

Past and Present

The project started in 2005, when photographer Mathieu Young decided he was going to move to a rural East African village for five months, and attempt to make a documentary about the HIV/AIDS pandemic that was devastating the region. Mathieu hoped to make a film about how the Anti-Retroviral Therapy was bringing people back to life, but when he arrived in Kanga Village he discovered that the drugs were not reaching the community, and in fact, HIV/AIDS was still viewed by many as a mysterious disease, shrouded in witchcraft and cultural beliefs. Mathieu sought out and found a dedicated core of community members, many of them HIV positive, who were already working to educate their community about HIV/AIDS, and together they formed a community-based organization. With money raised through this website, the group worked together to start the village's first Health and Education Center, which included a library, a counseling center, and brought HIV/AIDS testing to the community for the first time. They also started small income-generating activities, including a poultry farm and sugarcane farms, to help maintain the center.

In 2006 another young artist, Matthew Hunter, moved to Kanga to continue helping the community with their vital work. During his stay, his mother, Cathy Hunter, also visited the village and became inspired to help. When she returned home she enrolled a colleague to help them start a California non-profit. The future is getting brighter in Kanga.

We hope to continue supporting Kanga's community endeavors, and to also fundraise for additional student sponsorships. We feel that sending deserving children to high school is the one of the most direct possible ways to have a serious positive impact.

Donate now, and 100% of your money will go towards sponsoring a child's education.

We are also currently looking for help from people interested in donating their time to help grow the project, either from here, or from Kanga Village.