UN Volunteers

Hey all,
I want to make you aware of volunteer opportunities through the UN, and specifically, how you can make a difference from your own computer in Evanston. The UN has an online volunteers program, which you can access here: http://www.onlinevolunteering.org/assignments/find_assignments.php
I just searched the AIDS-related assignments and there are quite a few that we could help out with. I know we have many demands on our time, but perhaps we could even do this as a group volunteering effort.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Nandita

onwaaaard

hey guys,
i'm just having a "i miss belize" moment.
I've been thinking about the trip and what we did and really hoping that we were able to make a difference to the people over there. i've also been thinking that even if we didn't do that (although i really hope and believe we did) our trip really made a difference to me. I feel that i know more about HIV/AIDS and that i recognize much more how devastating it is and what it can do to not only to the person who has the disease but to the people in his or her life. it's a really cool feeling to know that a week long "spring break" trip changed me.
So yay and such. miss you guys. let's quit school and go back RIGHT NOW!

Blog Access....finally

media

Today's Daily article about the ASB Ghana trip on HIV/AIDS:

http://media.www.dailynorthwestern.com/media/storage/paper853/news/2007/04/04/Campus/Trip-To.Ghana.Marks.Asbs.First.Effort.Overseas-2822379.shtml

The article on Daily that Jon was talking about:

http://media.www.dailynorthwestern.com/media/storage/paper853/news/2007/03/02/Forum/Start.Here.To.Change.The.World-2754548.shtml

An article on the US Embassy in Belize: "Mrs. Gwynneth Dieter Organizes HIV/AIDS Prevention and Empowerment Forum - March 15, 2007"

http://belize.usembassy.gov/march_15_2008.html

ewww

ok guys, it's official. I have THE most disgusting thing on the bottom of my foot (which also means I can't walk). It's this giant white/yellow bubble that looks like its going to explode (a skin infection according to the phone consultation i had with my doctor). i don't want to look at it because it's so gross, and yet, i do. ew ew ew. help me!

what a great souvenier from Belize.

More Belize!

I found a study conducted on Belizean adolescents regarding HIV/AIDS. It's a bit old, published in 2004, but interesting to read.

http://her.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/19/6/730

Listen to this segment on the cultural factors to a high rise in HIV/AIDS in Belize.
Once you open the link, click on the "online" in RealPlayer, at the bottom.

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?hint=4&DR_ID=35568

re-flek-shun

Well, let's start by saying that Belize hasn't left me yet! I came home last week with hives on my feet - an allergic reaction to some bug bites I think. I went to the doctor and got some ointment which helped with the itching, but now I have developed this huge swollen thing on the bottom of my foot that is starting to throb. Oh fun. More seriously though, just this morning i was missing hearing the Belmopan Rotaractors talk in Creole!

I think our trip was very successful, especially considering that this was the first such trip that Rotaract had organized, and that we did so fairly independently. I think we all did a great job of stepping up to the challenge of developing presentations in a relatively short time frame. My favourite part of the trip AIDS outreach-wise (though it's really hard to pick a favourite) was the Teacher's Workshop. I think we did a terrific job of developing that workshop and presenting it. I was really impressed with how smoothly everything flowed from one section to the next. I think for next time, doing the role plays earlier during the workshop might help to get the participants more involved.

I also really liked the AIDS fair that we did in the marketplace, because we reached out to a population that was very little informed about AIDS. I think we should find a way to organize some follow-up work with this group, becuase while we gave them lots of brochures and information, I wonder how likely they are to read it. As we were handing out the information I imagined myself in their position and figured I wouldn't read this information on this disease that I had only just heard about. I would probably feel very unclear about the disease and also feel that "it won't affect me."

Oh - this is a slight digression, but I was reading an article yesterday about some new disease that infects the bloodstream and eventually leads to death. The disease can be contracted through mosquitos and other insects, and some other ways (I didn't quite understand those - it was very technical). But it can also be passed on through blood to blood contact, much like AIDS.

Ok, I actually made that "disease" up to illustrate my point. When you read about it, did you think, "this could affect me? Maybe I should read up more on this disease?" Probably not. I think it takes repeated information to make a person understand the severity of a disease like AIDS. Moreover, I imagine that some of the people we spoke to at the fair probably weren't literate. So just handing out information isn't enough, as that is making two assumptions: (1) that the recipient can read it and (2) that the recipient actually does read it. Don't get me wrong - I still think what we did in the fair was very valuable, but I also want to highlight that there's more that we can - and should - do with this population in particular.

On a different note, I was surprised by how much the school children already knew about AIDS. I think our technique of going into each classroom and asking the children what they thought of when they heard "AIDS" was a very good way to gauge their knowledge and adapt our presentation to what they already knew. It also engaged the students and forced us to be flexible. I really enjoyed how Tom and Jon in particular used little anecdotes and scenarios to engage the kids and make them relate to some of the bigger concepts of AIDS (eg. responsibility for one's actions) at their own level. That is one of the great things about volunteering as a group - everyone has different strengths and assets that they are able to offer.

One way in which I hope we changed Belize is by reducing the stigma around AIDS. I think the country has been doing that on a regional / national level - I was impressed by the number of AIDS awareness posters/murlas I saw on the highway, in schools, in the marketplace. I think we may have helped reduce stigma on a more personal level. Whether it was asking the school children whether they could tell by looking at us if any of us had AIDS, combined with Lisa speaking, or Adam's moving speech about treating all with respect (I don't know if you noticed but some of the kids clapped specifically after Adam's part), or painting alongside the HIV-afflicted family - I think these all had an impact on reducing stigma.

Switching gears a little bit, I want to talk a little bit about the local Belizeans. At the Rotaract meeting on our first night, I was absolutely blown away by the passion that these people had for addressing the issues in their country . Caribbean and other island countries are often stereotyped as "laidback," yet I think very few people think of these countries in terms of what we saw that night. The conviction that people like Shelly, Dave, Buca man (I never learnt his name!) had to better their country was incredible - I have honestly never witnessed anything like it.

And then there's Mike, who is one of my heroes. I don't know if many of you had a chance to talk to Mike, but I did and I learnt a lot about him. First of all, he went to school at Madison, but chose to return to Belize. That alone should be admirable, given what we learnt about the number of Belizeans who migrate to and stay in the U.S. But did you also know that Mike comes from a family of 20 children and all of them - except him - stayed in the U.S.? And that though he's a doctor, sporting his Nautica polos, he actually works in free clinics and provides free medical treatment? (He gets funding/sponsors from the U.S. for his costs, salary etc.) He is such a selfless man, not only in giving up a job offer in the US to return to Belize, not only in providing free treatment, but also in giving up his time to run the Belmopan chapter of the National AIDS Commission (which, by the way, receives no funding from BNAC directly and has to raise its own funds).

Wow, this is long. Ok, I am going to save for another post a list of things I would have done differently if I were to do this trip over again.

Truly unBelizable!

Well, guess what? I’m listening to our theme song—Akon, as I’m writing this. I promise I won’t digress into other random thoughts about my political views or the latest trends for spring 2007 :) So about Belize….it was quite an experience, and for me, it’s always hard to put my feelings and thoughts into words.

It would be selfish for me to only talk about how Belize changed me. The point of the trip was to provide something to the people of Belize—to give them a message about the epidemic that has hit the country pretty hard.

I remember sitting on a wooden bench in a local clinic in South Africa one afternoon during my break, when a svelte woman sat next to me. Maybe svelte is not the word to describe her. She looked like a walking skeleton—with sunken cheekbones. Too thin to be true. When I was back in the doctor’s examination room after the break, the same woman walked in and sat next to the doctor. A couple more girls were in the room shadowing the doctor as well. Just by looking at her, we all sort of knew what she had. I couldn’t understand the Xhosa words exchanged, but the doctor dismissed her after checking her tongue, which was badly sore with purple spots—one of the symptoms of the disease. She was trembling hard as she fought with gravity to lift herself up from the chair. She took small steps heading to the door, but with great effort. Every step that she took was not only excruciating for her, but also for me and the girls to watch someone suffer through the terminal stage of AIDS. The woman, who could barely walk, was alone. She didn’t have anyone to help her.

Around 20% of South Africa’s adult population is infected with HIV. With a population of 44 million, we’re talking about around 5 to 6 million people living with HIV, and 1.5 million orphans. That’s more than five times the population of Belize.

It’s a guilt-trip for me just thinking about the woman in the clinic—I could’ve helped her. But what could I—merely a student with no medical training or whatsoever—have done for her? She was in her final stage of AIDS too.

I think what we’ve done in Belize provides an answer to my question. I’m probably right in saying that I couldn’t really have helped the woman in the clinic. But I realized that I can help to prevent the spread of the disease, so that no one would have to go through such an ordeal.

I’m really proud of what we did to serve the people of Belize. We were able to use our “expertise” as youths to connect to the younger generation of Belize. In fact we’re all 19 and pretty young (right Nandita? :) ) We were able to render our message on the prevention of HIV/AIDS to one of the most vulnerable groups, and stand in the forefront of the fight against this disease. To the family that we’ve fixed the roofs for, we didn’t necessarily talk to them about HIV/AIDS but I believe we showed them that there are people from around the world who care about them and want to help them. What else did we do? We went on the Radio and TV to reach a larger audience. We passed out flyers in the market, where women frequent. For biological reasons, women are four times more likely to contract the disease from men. How unfair is that.

I truly hope that we did make an impact on the communities we’ve visited. It is up to them to absorb the information and to realize that they can be affected, and that they have neighbors who have been affected. What I would like to see in Belize is the mobilization of the community and the creation of an activist group like the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa. TAC has been a powerful force in steering the South African government in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Belize needs more people like Lisa who is daring to speak up about her status and fight for the rights of the people with AIDS. The government should also recognize the immensity of the problem, prioritize the fight, make funds more accessible, and implement a comprehensive surveillance system.

On the other hand, I don’t want to discount the efforts of the members of Rotary/Rotaract and Mike. Belize is gifted with people like them who are truly passionate about social issues. I was astounded by their love for the country and their efforts to heal their communities. I cannot emphasize how much respect I have for them.

I wonder how the course of the disease will change in Belize, perhaps five or ten years later. I’d love to return to do more work like this.

I’m back to wearing contact lenses again. Although I don’t miss about having conjunctivitis, I miss other things about Belize. How can you forget about riding at the back of a truck at the end of the day and appreciating the beautiful sunset in the clear sky? The taste of scrumptious tamales at the Belmopan market, or the barbeque chicken after a quick swim in the river? Pulling over the road to cheer for the cycling team, trying to decipher the Creole that your host’s sister speaks to you, and lastly, witnessing our supreme leader fearlessly venturing the holy Mayan cave Indiana Jones’ style with everything but her pants on?

I made fry jacks yesterday. Chatting with Phylicia usually took place in her kitchen when she was preparing for dinner. I was a bit dismayed that my fry jacks didn’t puff magically like how Phylicia’s always did.

On my kitchen counter lies an interesting Mayan pot that has a Jaguar head sticking out of it. At the same time, it has human arms and legs. It even has a tail. Next to the pot is my pebble that I salvaged from the river that we swam in. I find myself trying to re-create Belize all around me. And I am glad that when I become really sentimental just thinking about our times there, my punta CD is waiting for me in the boom box.