Skip the primary navigation if you do not want to read it as the next section.
Skip the main content if you do not want to read it as the next section.
TAMARA MELLON (JIMMY CHOO) VISITS SITE C CLINIC - A PROJECT FUNDED BY EJAF WITH MONIES RAISED FROM PROJECT PEP
March 24, 2010
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
Tamara Mellon, Founder and President of luxury accessory brand Jimmy Choo was in Khayelitsha township on the 24th March 2010 visiting services for women and children at risk of HIV/AIDS. The visit, which was hosted by the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), was to see at first hand where monies raised from Project PEP, a global fundraising initiative developed in partnership by Jimmy Choo and EJAF are being used.
Mellon was accompanied by David Furnish, Trustee of his partner Sir Elton’s AIDS Foundation. The pair visited a sexual health clinic based in an industrial container in the Site C area of Khayelitsha, a sprawling township (pop 1 million) just outside Cape Town. Here, women are counselled about domestic violence, sexual abuse, condom use and now, thanks to Project PEP funds can be given for the vital Post Exposure Prophylaxis medication or ‘PEP’ to prevent transmission of HIV during rape.
Project PEP was conceived by Tamara Mellon to help the Elton John AIDS Foundation support rape victims” comments Mellon “because it is a huge problem and a big driver of HIV transmission”. One in three women in South Africa will be raped in her lifetime and the country has the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world.
The Jimmy Choo PEP Limited Edition Collection, a vibrant capsule collection featuring a distinctive and collectible punk rock motif print representing Jimmy Choo’s passionate and individualist spirit, contains signature tote bags, clutches, ballet flats, signature heels and flip flops and is available at Jimmy Choo stores globally and at jimmychoo.com. The collection was designed to directly support the funding of the Simelela centre in South Africa. This cause has particular resonance for Jimmy Choo because of its support and empowerment of women.
EJAF is using funds from the PEP project to spread critical Simelela services to its partners, including the Mosaic clinic visited by Mellon and Furnish.
At the Site C clinic, which is run by Mosaic, Tamara and David met a client who had been beaten by her husband with an iron bar. “He just didn’t care anything about me” she said. “Then he put our 11-year-old daughter in a taxi…nobody knew where she was going. The taxi driver raped her. We found her several hours later.” The Mosaic clinic was able to provide legal protection, counselling and ongoing support as well as medical care, PEP, and forensic examination for the child. “They are like our family” says the mother. Her daughter’s rape case comes to trial in May.
“I’m so impressed with the way the Elton John AIDS Foundation doesn’t just fund vital projects, but really engages with its grantees says Mellon,” and checks where every penny is going. They work with all the partners to get the best results.”
Tamara went on national radio in South Africa to talk about her collaboration with EJAF and the need for services like Simelela. She reminded listeners that the Project PEP collection is still available around the world and is making a massive difference in preventing thousands of victims of rape from becoming HIV positive.
“We are so grateful to Tamara for lending her talent and energies to supporting this work” says David Furnish. “It has been a privilege to show here where the money is going”.
ENDS
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PROJECT PEP <CLICK HERE>
