Background to Cameroon America AIDS Alliance (CAAA)

Cameroon America AIDS Alliance (CAAA) was founded in September of 2006 by a group of members and friends of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. Committed to treating people affected by HIV/AIDS and to help prevent the disease in Africa, they were inspired by the vision of Dr. Francis Ntowe, Cameroon native and Elder at Fourth Presbyterian Church, and Dr. Bernard Blaauw, HIV/AIDS specialist at Rush University Medical Center.

The Founders

• Dr. Francis Ntowe - Dr. Ntowe, Executive Director of CAAA, grew up in extreme poverty in Cameroon and was later educated as a pharmacist in the U.S. thanks to the sacrifice of family and friends. As an adult, the loss of loved ones to HIV/AIDS, combined with a desire to give back to the many who had helped him accomplish his dreams, motivated him to pursue solutions for combating AIDS in Africa.
  
  Working with friends at Fourth Presbyterian Church, he answered a request for support in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Cameroon from long-time friend The Rt. Rev. Dr. Nyansako-ni-Nku. Dr. Nku, a world-renowned, American-trained theologian, who is president of the All-Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) sought a prevention and treatment program for his homeland of Cameroon. His vision was to develop a pilot program that could be replicated throughout Africa, with the help of the AACC.
  
  Previously headed by Bishop Desmond Tutu, the All-Africa Conference of Churches is an ecumenical fellowship representing 120 million Africans. Founded in 1963, it has been a guiding force in Africa’s nation-building process and is committed to “interpreting and responding to challenges to human dignity and acting prophetically in Word, Life and Service for healing.”
  
• Dr. Bernard Blaauw - Dr. Blaauw, Medical Director of CAAA, developed a great affection for the people of Cameroon when visiting the country in 2005 and then working with Dr. Ntowe and Dr. Nku. He returned in 2006 and worked with the Cameroon America AIDS Alliance to establish an HIV/AIDS diagnostic and treatment clinic in Kumba. Drawing on his HIV/AIDS expertise and experience at Rush University Medical Center and the Chicago Department of Health, Dr. Blaauw is bringing the latest medical treatment to a part of the world that is woefully behind in its response to the AIDS crisis.

Governance of CAAA

• Christopher Valentine, Chairman
• Marilynn Cason, President
• Dr. Nyambi Ebie, Vice President
• Patrick and Linda O’Brien, Co-Treasurers
• Jan Lohs, Secretary
• Dr. Francis Ntowe, Executive Director
• Dr. Bernard Blaauw, Medical Director
• Dr. Kelly Lewis, Director
• Constance N. Benrud, Director
• Andrew Buchanan, Director
• Carol Gates, Director
• Clyde O. Bowles, Jr.
• Neal Ball
• Jennifer Ebie
• Heather O’Brien
• Cheri Lundin
• Charles McDonald
• Glen Pierce
• Jennifer Pierce
• The Rev. Thomas Rook
• Amy Bacon Volpe