Marie Crisse Thioye (Mother Mary), AASED President:
AASED provides support and care to vulnerable children particularly those infected and affected by HIV AIDS. Most of the children here are HIV infected. We called it association for support and care to vulnerable Children to avoid discrimination and stigmatization. All kinds of children are in AASED: vulnerable, homeless ones, children of divorced couple, widows, sex workers, All knds. We give medical, psycho-social, affective, legal care and food to these vulnerable children.
Question: What made you set up this association?
Mother Mary:Thanks Miss. I’ve been fighting HIV AIDS for twenty years now. I was the first to have told a woman that she was HIV positive in 1986. I’ve been caring for these women for a long time. I saw that many of died leaving children behind. I was a co-founder of SWAA and AWA that care for sex workers. I set up a third association, AASED, to take care of orphans because there will always be orphans and vulnerable children. So I created AASEDjust to assist these children. Now the World Bank, the Global Fund and HACI based in Washington fund us.
 |
Fatoumata Dia, HACI/Senegal:
Stands for Hope for African Children Initiative. It is an initiative to help orphaned and vulnerable children, mother or fatherless kids due to to HIV/AIDS and those in hard social conditions.
Mary: We’ve got no pediatric ARVs . The Senegalese authorities said that ARVs are free. But what of opportunistic infections? We have to buy medicines to treat them. That’s not free.
Fatoumata: We mostly help children. As we can’t care for them only, we do it through families. So we also take parents in charge.
Mary: Their future is a problem. There are few funders, and means and hosting places are scarce.
 |
Martin Luther King school students, Dakar/Senegal:
(Preparing questions for Marie Cisse Thioye)
Joanna Ndione, student :
She’s more than a community heroine. Few people can do what she does. People are ashamed of AIDS patients. I wish she got more support.
Aissetou Seck, student:
She’s very brave. She’s been fighting for HIV infected kids for 20 years. That’s exceptional. It really hurts me to see these unfortunate kids living with AIDS. It really hurts me.
Page created on 12/10/2014 5:20:41 PM
Last edited 5/13/2020 6:18:33 AM
View a short film about Mother Mary, who works to help children affected by AIDS in Senegal. Workers in Senegal fight to help children afflicted by AIDS by getting medicines, changing legislation, and creating awareness.
View Film Small (15.9 MB)- 6.29 Minutes
View Film Large (29.8 MB) - 6.29 Minutes
Cheikh: My name is Cheikh Darou Seck and I was born in Thiès in 1964. I read English and obtained a BA and an MA with specialization in American literature at the Cheikh Anta Diop Dakar University. Ever since then I have been an English teacher, and I am currently teaching at the Martin Luther King girls secondary school in Dakar. I began filmmaking two years ago with the My Hero project.
It was my brother, who was working with the UN in a HIV/AIDS information branch called IRIN (Intergrated Regional Information Network), who first told me about Marie Cisse Thioye and her wonderful work with the orphans and vulnerable children left victims of HIV/AIDS in Senegal. I decided to meet her and take along my students so they could get a better idea of the face of AIDS in our country. In making the film I wanted to show that there are very urgent vital issues that need to be addressed and taken charge [of]. I think these children really need help.
