29/01/2004

Sant'Egidio's Dream Project

Wine for Life is the name of an initiative of the Community of Sant'Egidio in Rome to raise money for the treatment of those infected with AIDS in African countries, particularly mothers and children.

The program involves more than 50 Italian wine producers who donate 50 euro cents to Sant'Egidio's DREAM project for every bottle of their wine sold in Europe and the United States.

Sant'Egidio has been active on many fronts in Africa, helping to broker the peace that ended civil war in Mozambique in 1992.

DREAM is a project, already active in Mozambique, which seeks not only to assist African men and women infected with AIDS but to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus to the unborn children of infected pregnant women.

According to Mario Marazziti, spokesman for Sant'Egidio, the prevention of vertical transmission has been one of the successes of the program, as well as continued care for infected mothers after their children's birth, to ensure that the children do not become orphans.

Thirty million people are infected with the HIV virus in Africa, including 1 million children.

The nurses and doctors who work for the DREAM project in Mozambique are all unpaid volunteers.

Wine for Life opened its second year with a gala dinner, attended by DREAM project volunteers and donors, featuring wines from 50 Italian vineyards and a four-course meal, each course prepared by a famous chef.

Seated next to me at the dinner was a gentleman from Florence who told me that his family knew some people at the Vatican.

"Is your family involved in the Church?" I inquired.

"Well, yes -- we had a Pope," he said.

My dinner acquaintance was Duke Duccio Corsini, and the Pope he meant was Clement XII (1730-1740) -- Lorenzo Corsini -- who is best known for having erected famous monuments in Rome, such as the Trevi fountain.

Duke Corsini has participated in DREAM for two years. His wines come from two vineyards in Tuscany; we tasted the delicious Maremma, 2000, from the Marsiliana Estate and the Don Tommaso, 2000, from Fattoria le Corti.

Last year the proceeds from the sales of the Wine for Life bottles from the Corsini vineyards raised around $27,000 for the DREAM project.

Sant'Egidio estimates that it costs $330,000 to equip one molecular biology lab in Mozambique. The cost of analysis and follow-up for a mother and child in the first year is around $400 and the annual cost per person for antiviral drugs around $330.

Duke Corsini also introduced the project to 104 other wine producers of Tuscany at their annual gathering, "a la Corte del Vino" at his estate.

"There is no fiscal advantage from the government for Italian producers who participate," said Duke Corsini, "not like in the United States."

"We do it for our children. To help the DREAM project in Africa is to help our children and their children, to find a solution for AIDS," he said.

The wines are sold throughout Italy and the United States. Look for the Wine for Life sticker on individual bottles to be sure the proceeds from your purchase go to DREAM.