In the coming months, local community members, Michelle Workowski and Alena Mack are 
heading off to Uganda to volunteer with a small, community-based organization that works with people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The organization, RWEYOWA, which stands for ‘Rescue Widows, Elderly, Youth and Orphans with AIDS’, was started after a group of concerned citizens became aware of the conditions of people living with and affected by HIV. They started the organization to work toward improving the living conditions of people living with HIV/AIDS and increasing HIV education and sensitization opportunities in their community of Namasuba. Namasuba is a semi-rural community close to the capital city of Kampala. RWEYOWA reaches out to community members through donations of food and clothing, vocational training opportunities, and the procurement of scholarships for orphans to attend primary and secondary school. They also help to administer treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS through a partnership with a local treatment center, and by providing home-based care and health status checks to individuals and families who are unable to make it to a clinic.
Michelle and Alena will be spending their days supporting the organization in any way they can. Michelle will be focusing mainly on vocational training, community outreach and will also be teaching English in a local primary school. Alena, as a Public Health practitioner specializing in health education and outreach will be working with the organization in a professional manner to help build the capacity of the organization while taking part in all of their organizational activities.
The mother-daughter team is hoping to take as many donations for the organization and community as possible. The main donations that they are seeking are monetary and medical supplies. As the organization performs health status checks during their outreach programs and works with individuals in all stages of HIV disease and AIDS, they are in need of many medical supplies. Any monetary donations will go straight to the organization for use in their outreach programs and for donations to the community; none of the donations will go to administrative expenses or travel expenses, as they are covering these themselves. In order to raise funds, Michelle and Alena are holding a raffle, kindly sponsored by local businesses: The Nature of Things, The Viroqua Food Cooperative, and Driftless Fair Traders. Tickets are available at numerous businesses throughout Viroqua, and the prizes are on display at the VFC.
For more information on the organization, the ladies’ trip, or how to donate in other ways, please contact Alena or Michelle at (608)627-1952 or alenamack@gmail.com. Or see the following websites: www.rweyowa.org,
www.alenaandmichelleinuganda.blogspot.com.
Ideally we would get all the nourishment we need for optimal health from our foods. Unfortunately, modern life is not always conducive to doing so. VFC’s Wellness department comes to the rescue with immune enhancing supplements to help fill the gap. I want to introduce you to a few of them; probiotics, aloe vera juice, essential fatty acids and olive leaf extract.
Probiotics
Most people are familiar with the use of probiotics during and after a course of antibiotic treatment. Probiotics can also be useful at other times to maintain a healthy population of intestinal flora; after all we want to be sure to absorb our nutrients whether they are from our food or supplements. VFC has a variety of probiotics available in liquid or capsule form, most are found in the cooler at the end of the supplement isle and a few are on the shelf in the aisle.
Aloe Vera Juice contains polysaccharides that help build the immune system, balance blood sugars, are anti-viral and possess anti-inflammatory properties. The Co-op carries three brands of aloe vera juice. My favorite is Pharm Aloe’s certified organic whole leaf extract, available in quarts at a reasonable price and gallons by special order.
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are called essential because 
they are not manufactured by the body, are essential to good health and must be provided by food or supplementation. EFAs are beneficial to the heart, brain, eyes and have demonstrated benefits to the immune system (Meyers). These EFAs are present in fish oils as well as in hemp, borage, evening primrose, black currant and flax seed oils. VFC has many choices of EFA supplementation. Look for them in the cooler alongside the probiotics and on the aisle shelves.
Olive leaf extract is in the news these days. Olive leaf is used around the world as a health tonic to promote general health and for immune support in the event of colds, flu or infection. Barlean’s Fresh Pressed Olive Leaf Complex is available in 8 oz bottles at the Co-op at introductory special prices in January and February.
If you feel your immune system needs an extra boost, we have many choices in the Wellness department that include ingredients such as Echinacea species, various medicinal mushrooms and many other herbs, vitamins and minerals that may be helpful.
Supplementation to maintain health can be very useful, but remember that stress takes a great toll on our immune system as well. So take the time to relax, get some exercise and enjoy friends and family and your life here on this sweet earth.
Carol Willis, Wellness Buyer
Sources
1 Meyers, Steve. Natural Products Marketplace. Dec. 2009: 12-21
2 Barlean’s 2009. http://www.barleans.com/olive_leaf.asp#.html