6 Week Impressions

Over the past 6 weeks I started to learn the facts, the stigmas and the myths surrounding HIV/AIDS in certain parts of our world:

In Venezuela, I learned that HIV/AIDS is a “gay cancer” and the folks who walk out of Accion Solidaria, one of the only HIV/AIDS clinics in Caracas, are scrutinized.
In Brazil, I learned that HIV/AIDS has jumped all socio-economic fences and affects mothers, fathers, sons and daughters and is seen by some as a “curse from god.”
In South Africa, I learned that HIV doesn’t discriminate but AIDS does. It is understood that AIDS is a disease of the poor who cannot afford expensive anti-retroviral drugs and instead turn to traditional “witch doctors” for a cure.

I have also learned about hero's:

There is a man in Caracas named Feliciano who has a “runner” in Miami bringing him the anti-retoviral drugs of recently deceased AIDS patients so he can help the helpless of Venezuela.
There is a 32 year old man in slums of Salvador, Brazil named Joselito who lost his father to AIDS when he was 13. He has chosen to introduce tin-can drums to the community youth to keep them out of trouble and teach them how to protect themselves from AIDS.
There is a 18 year-old girl in the township of Kialeatcha in South Africa, who every waking moment preaches the harsh realities of AIDS to her friends so they don’t become a part of the community statistic of one in four infected.

I am not the only one who has learned about these facts, stigmas, myths and hero's over the past 6 weeks. Hundreds if not thousands of youth have joined me and the GNG team to examine the affects of HIV/AIDS around the world. The program is called CURRENTS (www.gng.org/currents) and it started in September and will end in December. By the time we finish we will have been to 9 countries in S. America, Africa and Asia looking at the AIDS epidemic on youth.

I can’t tell you that the results of our examination have been promising. But, I can also tell you that the youth in the States are impassioned to be part of a change on HIV/AIDS and we are doing everything we can to harness their energy and focus it towards results.

Signing Off from somewhere in the Indian Ocean.

Chris

Comments

[Brian Reeder]

BOOOOO! We want more blogs!