Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Los Angeles Times - May 15, 2000
"I find it very moving to see how these villages really cooperate and take responsibility," she said during a weekend visit to Tanzania.
"They really do have a community -- which is something that the more civilized parts of the world seems to be losing."
The star of "Thelma and Louise," "The Client" and "Dead Man Walking" followed actors Roger Moore, Nana Mouskouri and the late Audrey Hepburn in the ranks of celebrity U.N. ambassadors. Bumping along dusty dirt roads in Tanzania's northwestern Mara and Mwanza regions, she could hardly have been further away from Hollywood glitz, although as long-time political activists Sarandon and her partner Tim Robbins have shunned the Tinseltown life.
When the convoy of white four-wheel-drive vehicles belonging to the U.N. children's agency UNICEF rolled into the village of Mmazami during the weekend, several hundred villagers were waiting around the local youth center to catch a glimpse of the star.
After a three-hour wait there was no sign of fatigue on the faces of the audience who turned their attention to the main attraction of the day: a drama about AIDS and the risk of promiscuity.
It was not the first time the crowd had seen the play, but they cheered and burst into laughter anyway.
"I'm really impressed with the joy and celebratory nature of the people here, and with the fact that they are not hopeless in the face of the poverty and the horrifying statistics of HIV/AIDS," Sarandon said.
AIDS is the main cause of death in Tanzania. The number of Tanzanian children orphaned by the disease will reach one million this year.
UNICEF's Tanzania representative said he hoped that Sarandon's visit would help raise awareness of Tanzania's problems and encourage spending on health and education.
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