Youth AIDS Conference November 30th, 2006


Hello Everyone,

I had the honour of speaking at the Youth AIDS Conference November 30th at the Caboto Club. It was a wonderful experience being able to speak in front of over 250 students from the Public School Board. In my fifteen minute presentation, I spoke of the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania, and asked that everyone become aware and involved. My entire presentation is below, and soon, I will be posting the video and slide presentation of my pictures.
Thanks for staying with me.


Youth AIDS Conference

Good morning everyone or as they say in the African language of Swahili - Habari Zaasabuhi. I would like to begin with a special thanks to Dana Boyd, who has invited me here today to share with you the wonderful experience I had this past summer during a volunteer trip to Tanzania, East Africa. I also owe a special thank you to Julia Weissar who put together the powerpoint presentation of my pictures that we just watched, Thank you both ladies, very much.

This past August, I volunteered through an organization called Cross Cultural Solutions with the purpose of providing HIV/AIDS education and prevention strategies to members of a community that has been completely ravished by this epidemic. It is my hope that today by sharing with you some of the pictures, stories and struggles of the beautiful people I had the honour of working with, you will see the importance of stepping up and doing your part both locally and globally to help in the fight against a disease that has claimed so many lives. The need in Africa for education and prevention is overwhelming, but we have to remember that here in Windsor/Essex (our own community), HIV is also a reality, and as the title of our conference implies... it is up to us (Generation Y) to dare to be strong and commit to being a part of changing our world... one step at a time.

Back to Africa... let me begin be telling you that everything in Africa is different. Life moves at a much slower pace. They even have a saying in Swahili for this called Pole Pole , and we were warned well in advance that life there really does run in slow motion. There are no luxuries, electricity is rarely available at all during daylight hours without the use of a generator, water is unsanitary and undrinkable, food is scarce, and worse of all, the spread of HIV is out of control. I learned early on, that there are many contributors to the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS : lack of education, and the horrible rumours that circulate on how you can cure yourself, tribal rituals which affect 50% of the population encourage unsanitary mass circumcision and natural child births where HIV is passed from mother to baby. Worse of all though, is the negative stigma that comes with a positive HIV test result. You see, people are too afraid to be tested in fear that they will be deserted by their friends and family, and left alone to die. This is a very common occurrence in the community and is the reason so many continue to spread the virus without even knowing they are infected.

The picture you see here speaks to this concern. During my first few days in Tanzania, our volunteer group was asked to play a soccer match against the positive test club. As their name implies all the men you see wearing blue are HIV positive. They asked us to play against them with the hope that if their community could see North American (Mzungus) feeling safe enough to engage in sport with them, then maybe their community members and relatives would decide not to treat them as outcasts. We played our hearts out, lost miserably but were overjoyed at the outcome. With tears in our eyes, we watched as community members descended from the stands after the game to shake the hands of the men they had once disowned. The team thanked us through a translator. We were all very overwhelmed. We owed them the thank you for teaching us the lesson of acceptance. This is one example of how a small act can make a world of difference.

The next part of my story takes us to the focus of my work in Tanzania - a non-profit organization called WAMATA located in the heart of Arusha where we were staying. The purpose of this organization was to reach out to the most vulnerable and at risk members of the community affected by HIV. My focus here was teaching English to 20 girls between the ages of 14-21, all orphans of AIDS. The girls would walk to WAMATA everyday. This might not seem like much of a big deal, except that their walk typically took between 1 to 2 hours, they came to school on an empty stomachs, and left behind anywhere from 3-6 siblings for which they were the only guardian. English was only taught if a volunteer was available, but the girls saw it as their ticket to a better life. Because they had to care for their dying parents the girls had to drop out of public education and relied on places like WAMATA solely, since once you drop out of public education in Tanzania, there is not ticket back in. My classroom was a very small room lit only by sunlight. We had no resources to work with and the idea of a photocopier- typically a teacher's most important tool, was out of the question. I had a very small chalk board, and 3 pieces of chalk. The girls had no desks, and sat on small backless benches and wrote on their laps. I realized how much they valued supplies when they showed me their pencils (no bigger than your pinky finger) wrapped preciously in a small piece of cloth, tucked away in their pockets for safekeeping - to think a pencil was that important to them... The girls spent the morning learning English and the afternoon learning to sew. I learned that the girls only ate one meal a day which was provided by WAMATA and consisted of a cup of porridge and a piece of white bread. Let me repeat- that was their only meal in a day because the rest of the food however scarce when to their siblings. This was a very had concept for me to swallow, and it amazed me that they still had such bright smiles. It was in their eyes though that I saw pain and exhaustion, and wondered how the world could be so unfair.

As you can imagine in a very short time, I became very close to these girls and decided that the least they deserved was a comfortable desk to sit at. With the help of the head tailor - Silvano, we began the coffee fundraiser. The girls worked all afternoon to sew cloth coffee bags. We had a screen stamp made with the AIDS awareness symbol, and filled the small bags with Tanzanian coffee. In less than 3 weeks, we were able to sell over 200 bags and in turn were able to purchase a sturdy desk for each girl. The best part though, is that this project proved to be sustainable, and the volunteers after me have continued this initiative and have helped raise much needed funds for the organization. When the girls received their new desks, they were overjoyed, and picked me up and twirled me around the room. I explained to them after, that the project was a success because of their hard work and that they were TRUE heroes. The head tailor - Silvano thanked me endlessly and told me that I would one day be repaid for all of my hard work. I thought to myself that just seeing the joy in my girls' eyes was more payment than I could have ever hoped for. This was a true success story, but unfortunately, not all of my experiences in Africa were as heart-warming.

One of the projects of WAMATA is to make home visits to members of the community who have become too sick to leave home. Volunteers would bring them basic necessities like sugar, oil and bread to help them make it through their final days. The woman and older man you see in this picture are dying. An opportunistic infection has taken over their bodies, and their immune system is too weak to fight it off. AIDS has ultimately won the battle. With a guide and a translator, we walked for 2 hours to meet these people who lived in remote areas, in homes that were completely run down. It was in meeting them that I learned a very valuable lesson that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. They invited me into their homes, told me their stories, but in their eyes, I could see profound fear. Imagine how humbling it was when they opened the loaf of bread I brought them to offer me a piece. I found that simply amazing. These people knew they were dying, yet still found a way to smile. It was in these moments that I realized that back in Canada we hear only about the statistics of AIDS, people become numbers, and that it becomes easy to change the channel, and turn the page. What seems to be missed though is that every one of those numbers, has a story, a loving heart, a family who they are so scared to leave behind. They are all someone’s mother, father, brother, sister son or daughter. Their story however is about to end, and there is nothing they can do now but wait. In this moment I vowed to bring their stories with me back to my own community, to encourage my own friends, family and community members to stay involved, informed and active in the fight against HIV/AIDS. You see here in North America, we have the knowledge and tools to protect ourselves, but we mustn’t be afraid to talk about HIV, and most importantly, we mustn’t forget the many people who aren’t as fortunate.

I have been very lucky to have made my dreams of visiting Africa become reality. Back at home, my work continues. With the help of my students at Western Secondary we have begun a pen pal project with the girls at WAMATA. Twenty students most of whom are in the audience today have written a letter including pictures and stories of their own lives. It is our hope that these letters will remind the girls that they are in our in our thoughts. Although communication has been very difficult, I am trying to bring the coffee project to Canada, so that I can help them fundraise here at home, and I continue to keep up a blog - an online journal- I maintained during the trip. Locally, at Western we participate in the annual AIDS awareness day through CANFAR where we supply our student body and sell candy-grams with a small pamphlet explaining how HIV is spread and prevented. There are so many opportunities to become involved, and a true reward in knowing that your commitment may help to save lives.

As you look at the picture above and read the quote that is shared by all Tanzanians - "We Share Our Poverty" and as you look into the eyes of the children of Arusha, take your own step either small or large, locally or globally, to make HIV a nightmare of the past. Let’s work together for a brighter future for our world.. One step at a time.

We are generation Y and together we can take the small steps that really can change our world.

I would like to leave you now with one final message that begins with a quote from Anne Frank...

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. ~Anne Frank

You are all ambassadors of our future… Let’s work together as Generation Y to stop the spread of AIDS. Please keep yourself informed… Care about those you may never meet. Talk about HIV. Protect yourself. Don’t be afraid to get tested, and become one of the small steps that changes our world.
Thank You~ for your time and attention both from myself and my friends in Arusha - We really do appreciate this opportunity.