Marsha Winsryg and the African Artists' Community Development Project (AACDP)

Marsha Winsryg may have gone to Africa to site see and look at local culture but when that culture reached out to her as an artist and teacher, something happened. She was asked by local artisans to take their wares back to the USA and sell them, which she did. However, as she really looked around she saw a need , a humanitarian need especially among children, that was created by the cultural devastation that was a looming as a result of the HIV/AIDS crisis. In Zambia, one out of three people are HIV positive and everyone has lost family members. Most adults are caring for orphans as well as their own children in an economy that barely sustains a subsistence lifestyle.

As a response to her question, "What can  I DO?" , Marsha founded The African Artisans Community Development Project—AACDP—provides economic opportunity for Zambian artisans while generating cash support for local Zambian NGOs treating children who have been orphaned or disabled as a result of the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Their method is simple and cost-effective. Thet buy Zambian crafts from local artisans at full market rate for Africa;  sell the crafts back n the United States at American rates; and then send the profits back to Zambian schools and clinics providing services to children.