The stench of smoldering rubbish and raw sewage in the Mathare slums of Nairobi, Kenya, is just one symbol of the HIV/AIDS pandemic facing Africa. The combination of smells alone will "rock your world," says Darrell Smith '74 P'00. With more than 700,000 people in a 4-mile radius, and as many as 5,000 people sharing a latrine, conditions create a cesspool that further burdens a continent already overwhelmed by a resources vacuum.

It is a world away from the corporate life Smith carved for himself during more than 20 years as a successful sales manager for Procter & Gamble, and as western regional vice president of sales for Helene Curtis. But he knew the contrasts would be significant when he signed on to nonprofit work with Save Africa's Children (www.saveafricaschildren.org), the fundraising arm of the Pan-African Children's Fund, organized by Bishop Charles Blake, pastor of the Los Angeles-based West Angeles Church of God in Christ. Smith was named executive director of the Pan-African Children's Fund/Save Africa's Children in 2002, overseeing Blake's vision to raise money, with initial focus within America's black churches, to assist the millions of AIDS/HIV orphans in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a tricky proposition because it means breaking down denominational barriers and becoming unified in one cause, Smith says. "But for the black American," Smith says, "who else is going to really think about Africa with passion? It's a matter of responsibility. We want black Amer-icans to become to Africa what the American Jewish community has become in support of Israel."

Smith manages the big ideas behind S.A.C.'s mission, and oversees its fundraising and marketing campaigns. To rise to the calling, he put his own business—Smith & Associates, an executive search firm—on hold, and took a significant salary cut. "I am making less money than I have in my entire life," he says, "and I've never been more rejuvenated and inspired."

Conservative estimates place the total number of African children orphaned by AIDS at 25 million by 2010. Other predictions climb as high as 40 million. "AIDS/HIV is taking over. There are 6,000 AIDS deaths a day on the continent," Smith says. "It's staggering."

This means an estimated need for 50,000 orphanages in Africa in less than a decade, Smith explains. And although many would consider the plight insurmountable, leading the way among the black churches, West Angeles Church has decided to meet the crisis head-on. Its membership of 24,000 includes Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington who, with his wife, Pauletta, donated million to Save Africa's Children. The church also runs 82 ministries and outreach groups and has 210 people on its payroll, qualifying as one of the largest employers along Crenshaw Boulevard, with annual tithing in the millions. It operates a private school for preschool through eighth grade, and recently wrapped construction of a million cathedral.

With that same perseverance, Save Africa's Children raised million in its first year, funding more than 100 sub-Saharan orphanages in 16 different countries, partnering with local people to help them help themselves—not inflicting Western ways of living and thinking, Smith says.

President Bush's July announcement of billion for global AIDS relief, with 10 percent allocated to Africa's orphans, was a welcome sign, Smith says. Even before the election, Bishop Blake met with Bush about the crisis, and ultimately was invited to Washington for the announcement. "The president has moved in a mighty way with this budget to fight AIDS in Africa," Smith says.

The scope of the project has been no less formidable for Smith, who tirelessly forges ahead as needed, motivated by Africa's crisis and the will to rescue its young victims.

"It is a challenge," he says, smiling amid open folders and a stack of memos. His attentions volley between Save Africa, church committees, and maintaining his corporate recruiting business as time permits. His office in the older wing of West Angeles Church is modest—not much more than a desk, old metal file cabinets, and a telephone. Visitors to this section of the church, sandwiched between mom-and-pop businesses, must push a buzzer to enter. Inside, the atmosphere is friendly and polite, but hardly the glossy surroundings of Procter & Gamble or Helene Curtis. Smith has one assistant and a part-time employee in Los Angeles. African orphan care specialist Diana Aubourg works from her Boston office, preparing position papers and auditing supported orphanages. "My wife, Darlene, and I are undergoing tremendous change and sacrifice in order to make this work," he says.

In retrospect, though, Smith says he welcomes change for the sake of personal growth and accomplishment. As a child, he swam competitively, often the only black member of the team. That experience, he says, gave him self-confidence and later made the transition to the then-predominantly white national collegiate environment less jarring.

Unlike many freshmen, Smith knew the campus well before matriculating, having visited for six weeks during the summer before his senior year at L.A.'s Fremont High School through a program called Project Open Future, which brought outstanding high school students to The Claremont Colleges.

Smith received a full scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles, but turned it down after an inspirational call from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football coach John Zinda. "He thought I was Claremont material, and wanted me to visit," Smith says. "I fell in love with CMC. I realized that it was filled with men who were leaders, men who were strong, who were aggressive in their political thinking and in their athletics."

Smith majored in psychology, studying organizational design and development. He and Darlene married the summer before his junior year and moved off campus, where they were popular hosts of spaghetti dinners for Darrell's friends. Eventually they had three sons; the oldest, Darrell Jr., a UCLA alumnus, was born before Darrell Sr. graduated. Middle son, Dion, graduated from CMC in 2000, and youngest, Daimar, is a freshman at California State University, Northridge.

Loyal to the College, Smith credits his service as CMCAA president and later as an alumnus trustee for preparing him to run Save Africa's Children. "Digging into the different components of a nonprofit like CMC gave me the confidence to grow this organization and become a big kid on the block right away," he says. Smith has been instrumental in soliciting funding for the John E. Allen Black Alumni Merit Award scholarship. "His commitment and passion to the scholarship is a driving force behind the success of the program and John Allen's legacy," says friend and former CMCAA president Lorraine Bains '88. "Darrell is a sincere, genuine person, committed to what CMC stands for."

Smith will soon be back in Africa, dividing his time between places such as the impoverished Mathare slums, and the sophisticated metropolitan settings just a stone's throw from the squalor. "The ophan programs supported by S.A.C. run the gamut from caring for the very poor to the well-to-do, who have cast children aside for fear of AIDS or because there is no one else to care for them," Smith says. "As recently as 25 years ago, there was no such thing as an orphanage in Africa. Only in the last dozen years or so have childcare institutions surfaced there to take care of kids. Before that, they were absorbed by extended family. But now AIDS has overrun the capacity to absorb these children."

Coupled with that, a continuing challenge for Smith and S.A.C. will be to increase AIDS awareness. "People have that tendency to write a one-time check for and say, 'OK. I've done my part. The problem has gone away,'" Smith says. "But the fact is, the number of orphans will grow. Children are dying as a result of our reluctance."

Smith smiles. "I wish this job came with a million-dollar salary, and I don't know—maybe some day that will come. But I'm excited every day that I come here. There is something new always waiting for me. And that's a blessing."

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Smith says the heart of Save Africa's Children's mission is best reflected in the biblical story of Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, but overcame hardships and rose to a prominent position in Egypt. "God prepared Joseph for a time when he would not only help his family, but help an entire race," Smith says. "Likewise, as black Americans today, we're collectively in a position to help Africa's children."

Orphans from the Country-side Children's Welfare Home gather around Smith's digital camera to view their portraits. The orphanage raises and sells livestock to sustain its operations.