King of Mann Asks Friends and Celebrities to Help with AIDS Charity

If you're not from the Isle of Man, or from Great Britain in general, you probably have never heard of David Drew Howe, also known as King David, King of the Isle of Man. American businessman David Drew Howe, a direct descendant of the Stanley Kings of the Isle of Man, and cousin to Queen Elizabeth II, was crowned King of the Isle of Man on March 30^th, 2007.

Barely over half a year later, King David is using his position to promote an excellent charity endeavor, "The Malawi Missions Project" which focuses not on religion, but on the humanitarian effort of bringing not only attention, but also help, to the AIDS orphans of sub-Saharan Africa. Reports from organizations like UNICEF estimate that the infant mortality rate in Malawi (a small, extremely poor African nation bordering Mozambique) is over double the international average, with over 70,000 children less than five years old dying every year. An estimated 14% of all Malawians above 15 are infected with the HIV/AIDS virus.

This poor nation came to King David's attention after several close friends returned from their travels through Africa in 2006. The sheer number of orphaned children stunned him, and moved him to work towards doing something about it. So King David started the Malawi Missions Project, the website of which just came online this year. In addition, King David's MySpace page focuses mostly on Malawi and helps get the message out about the charity, which has seen support from much better known royalty Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as actors like Sean Connery, Tom Hanks, Elton John, and John Mayer.

This great charity comes from a King most have never heard of. Part of that reason is that The Isle of Man is home to only 80,000 people. It is part of the British Isles, and is in the Irish Sea, about equal distance between England, Scotland, and Ireland. The Island has been a British Crown dependency for the last 240 years, with the monarchs of the United Kingdom serving as the de facto sovereigns with the title "Lord of Mann." But from the monarch of this small island comes a wonderful African charity.