When Ed Bjurstrom, a former vice president of operations for Amgen, left the bioengineering giant in 2005, he set out to establish an organization that would provide antiretroviral drugs to AIDS-ravaged African nations. “We made proposals to several different governments in Africa, but AIDS is an issue that’s pretty highly politicized, and we were just too small. Yet, from our visit, we knew people were dying and needing help,” Bjurstrom said. “We visited Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa. We met government officials, doctors. We visited people dying of AIDS in mud huts. We really got a good feeling of what the medical needs are.” From that time forward, Bjurstrom and his wife, Wendy, decided to establish an organization specifically focused on partnering with medical clinics in rural Africa. They began their Westlake Village-based foundation, CareNow, in April of 2006. It recently shipped, in partnership with an organization called Giving Children Hope, $750,000 worth of equipment, supplies and medicines to a medical clinic that treats largely AIDS-infected children at Lily of the Valley Endeavor orphanage in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. And that’s not all. The government of Zambia recently asked CareNow to take over clinics in that country. Antibiotics, cardiac medications, pain relievers, examination tables and sterilization and laboratory equipment were among the items included in CareNow’s recent shipment to South Africa. While Giving Children Hope secured the container and contents, CareNow covered the costs for the container, the contents and shipping. Bjurstrom estimates that his foundation managed to send $750,000 worth of items to the medical clinic for about $30,000 to $40,000. “That’s remarkable leverage, much better than having a clinic buy at regular prices,” he said. The medical clinic that received the CareNow shipment also has a Valley connection. It was built with funds from the Lily of the Valley Enterprise of Thousand Oaks. Providing the medical clinic the equipment needed to offer treatment on a regular basis in KwaZulu-Natal makes a huge impact, Bjurstrom said. That’s because a considerable number of people there have no transportation other than their feet. Furthermore, “In this kind of environment, where it’s rural, and they have a lot of unemployment and a lot of illiteracy, if a construction worker drops a brick on their foot, that’s kind of life threatening if they don’t have anyone who knows how to take care of it,” Bjurstrom said. A serious infection could arise, leading to gangrene and eventually to amputation. Bjurstrom expects about 25,000 patients to visit the clinic per year. There are plans to develop another such clinic in South Africa as well. “Generally, if you look at the demographics, about 60 to 70 percent of patients will be women and children under five years of age,” Bjurstrom said. Accordingly, the shipment of pharmaceuticals to the clinics may help curb infant mortality in the area. Via its mobile clinic there, CareNow attracted the eyes of dignitaries in Zambia, a country that borders on Zimbabwe. Composed of a nurse and a midwife, the medical clinic travels to four different locations to serve the medical needs of Zambians. At present, CareNow is raising money to support an ongoing operation there, Bjurstrom said. While CareNow functions to treat the basic health needs of Africans, Bjurstrom believes the role it plays is essential. “A lot of times you read about dramatic situations where there’s a life threatening illness, and they airlift someone from Africa to the UK,” he said. “What’s equally important is the day-in and day-out work of people who are cleaning cuts, setting bones; really simple things, but they really make a difference in the quality of life of the whole community. They’re not really dramatic, but they’re really important, and they really make a difference.” Bjurstrom said that he’s often been asked why he’s not choosing to use his expertise to help Americans rather than Africans. “There’s a lot more help already in the U.S.,” he replies. “There’s more people who need help in Africa. The need is pretty much endless. It’s important that Africa be a stable part of the global community. There are a lot of resources, minerals that come from there If we don’t do anything to help, what will future generations think? You can’t turn your back on that kind of need when it’s so obvious.” For more information on CareNow or to make a donation, visit www.carenowfoundation.org.