Federal freeze impacts local Catholic’s nonprofit
SALT LAKE CITY — The effects of President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 freeze on the disbursement of federal funds previously approved for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and job eliminations at that agency are being felt across the world. One example with a connection to the Diocese of Salt Lake City is that of Lisa Jamu, founder of Stepping Stones International, a non-government organization in Botswana serving 11,000 youth and families, who is already reeling, she said.
Jamu, daughter of Deacon Drew and Sandy Petersen, whose husband is from Malawi, founded Stepping Stones 18 years ago in Botswana to try to help young people who were left orphaned after their parents died of AIDS. Since that time the organization has expanded its mission and its reach. They now serve 11,000 youth ages 12-25 and their families, offering life skills and leadership coaching, counseling and HIV testing, along with providing HIV medications for those who need it. Sixty-five percent of Stepping Stones’ funding comes from the U.S. government through USAID.
The program was going well until Jamu received a stop order from USAID on Jan. 28. Now Stepping Stones’ work is in jeopardy.
The most difficult thing is that, even though they have life-saving HIV medications on the shelves in their clinics, they are not allowed to dispense them, said Jamu, adding that she has no doubt that people will die even if the funds begin to flow again.
“It’s not just lives lost, but it’s wastage,” she said. “All of the ARVs [antiretroviral] HIV medication, there’s a lot of wastage [because of expiration dates]. There’s people that are not being served.”
“We’re at a point in Botswana where we’re stabilizing the HIV epidemic, and if we’re not going to work with those who are most likely to spread it, which is the adolescent girls and young women; if we stop working with them, the disease then can rear its ugly head again,” she said.
Stepping Stones has also laid off 166 employees in Botswana, and Jamu herself is dealing with a reduction in salary.
“I don’t know how I’m going to survive in the United States, because now I’m living here,” she said.
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pause the freeze as of Feb. 13, but the most recent news reports indicate that the government is not fully complying with the order. Since getting the Jan. 28 stop order, Jamu has received no further communication from the contracting officer at USAID over Stepping Stones.
“That’s the worst part, is that we’ve had no communication,” she said. “So we got the stop order, and I asked for clarification, and there’s been no communication. Our contracting officer can’t write us because there’s no clarification. My emails are going into cyberspace.”
Jamu does not have an issue with the new administration feeling a need to trim federal programs, but the way it is doing so is causing unnecessary suffering, she said.
“I think it should be analyzed, but the way it’s been done is actually against human rights because they’re breaking contracts; they’re breaking the law,” she said. “Congress approved the money, and we haven’t even been paid for work we’ve done in January. I think that, putting politics aside, the way it has been done has caused chaos and infringed on human rights.”
Despite these setbacks Jamu is determined to continue Stepping Stones’ work. She hopes to move some of Stepping Stones’ programs online, and also is searching for funding to keep other programs going.
“The person-to-person engagement is what changes behavior, more than just doing it online and things like that,” she said. “So you can provide certain services online, but you still need that interaction to really change behavior and get people to take a different journey in their lives.”
As the organization shifts gears, Jamu is keenly aware that her nonprofit is just one of many around the world scrambling for funding and that she will have to compete in the private sector with many organizations for the money she needs to keep Stepping Stones going. One of her approaches is to ask Utah Catholics to help her keep the important work she has begun alive. Local Catholics who have connections to foundations or corporate giving efforts could help, as could donations of any kind. She would also welcome individuals who have website design, office management or fundraising skills who could donate some of their time to help her.
“I think as Christians, we live in a global world, and it’s important to help our communities which includes the global community,” she said. “I think we need to make sure that we’re helping the global community for our own safety and security. So I’m making a plea for individuals and corporations to pool resources so that in particular Stepping Stones, but even other organizations, can continue to reach the poorest of the poor in the world.”
To contact Jamu, email lisa.jamu@ssint.org.
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