About Us
Celebrating 25 years of community engagement and advocacy
“We believe that with sexual health education and economic empowerment comes power; the power to know that women are free to express their minds and bodies, the power to be financially independent, and the power to demand healthy sexual practices from their partners.”
Chantal LONDJI DANG
Our objectives
The Foundation’s objectives are to empower African descent women in order to reduce poverty, which remains the primary determinant of HIV/AIDS. As Such, it follows the Canadian and United Nations Strategies in the fight against HIV/AIDS to address the determinants of HIV in order to make the fight effective and end HIV/AIDS
Our Mission
La Fondation Madeleine-Sanam Foundation works to empower women of African descent with lived and living experience of HIV/AIDS and STBBIs (Sexually Transmitted and Blood-borne Infections) through sexual health promotion and education programs and economic development support. We aim to empower them in order to reduce inequalities.
Our Vision
A Society where every women of African descent living HIV and STBBI is included and thrived economically.
Our Values
We seek to influence behavior by raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and STBBI among populations and institutions.
Inclusion
We actively involve living and affected African-Canadian women in decision-making about their sexual health and economic well-being.
Equality
We work to nurture a climate where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. All of our internal and external interactions reflect this.
Confidentiality
We are committed to our clients’ confidentiality and are committed to protecting their information.
Respect
We create environments where the promotion of verbal, physical, psychological and sexual non-violence is at the forefront.
Our History
April 1988
- Death of Madeleine – a woman of overflowing compassion and innate generosity.
1993-1998
- Chantal, Madeleine’s youngest sister, travels to Africa, Canada and the Caribbean to meet Black women from all walks of life.
- Encountering HIV-positive women whose demands for financial help are overwhelming -The systemic prostitution of women and girls is shocking – the rate of infection and the number of deaths from HIV are staggering. Women want to overcome, they want help, and they want to gain financial autonomy through entrepreneurship.
- How can we bring these women out of the cycle of poverty?
1998
- Beginning of a reflection to mark the 10th anniversary of Madeleine’s death – an approach which led to consulting some women leaders in Alberta.
- The first draft for the creation of a legal structure similar to an NGO, with national and international scope, with the aim of combating child malnutrition – educating young mothers – promoting contraception to prevent early pregnancies – in short, providing expertise in nutrition to limit infant mortality. This is the work that touches Christine, Madeleine’s mother, a retired pediatric nurse.
- Project Africa was born in theory, with the support of an entrepreneur woman whose brother is a missionary in Africa and works in international development.
- The reflection is pushed further; fight against the main determinant of HIV/AIDS in order to create a foundation with local and global reach. Taking into account the fact that HIV is a pandemic and the fight against it is global and Canada is also participating in this strategy.
- The idea was to fight the main determinant of HIV/AIDS and to create a foundation with local and global reach. Considering that HIV is a pandemic and that the fight against it should be global, Canada participates in this strategy.
April 28, 1999
- Letters Patent were granted by the Minister of Industry. The Madeleine-Sanam Foundation is legally incorporated as a Canadian not-for-profit corporation. Fernande Bergeron, Christine Tsoyi Nwaga and Chantal Londji Dang are the first directors of the Foundation.