The fight's not over yet.

I (briefly) remember learning about HIV and AIDS through my public school's sex education program. In elementary I remember being told with urgency that I couldn't get HIV by shaking hands with a kid on the playground, or even from drinking out of the same water fountain. I thought, "That's nice..." but didn't know what the fuss was all about. I never knew anyone with AIDS and outside of sex ed and the great Broadway hit Rent I heard virtually nothing of it.

This article, "Why so Little AIDS Coverage?" resonates well with me. In it, Allan Richards, chairman of Florida International University's Department of Journalism and Broadcasting, tells of how he had his students research HIV and AIDS in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and Palm Beach, Florida. Much to their surprise, they found that these cities have some of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the U.S. They found a correlation between local print and broadcast media reporting and the prevalence of HIV and AIDS. ....Basically, with this article and the other research I've been doing, it is clear that public awareness and HIV/AIDS rates go hand in hand.

All this is to say.. AIDS is definitely still around. You may have heard the stats; 20 million children have been orphaned by AIDS and another 20 million are due the same fate by 2010 (check out UNAIDS for more). One of my hopes with this blog is to not only inform people of the harsh truths surrounding the HIV/AIDS pandemic, but also to inspire them to do something about it. It's ironic that in my Sociology lectures we "label" seropositives (HIV-positive people) as "homosexuals," or "IV drug users," or the victim of an unclean blood transfusion... yet every time I think of "HIV" I think "Kwanele." I think of Kwanele telling me, "I love you MORE!" with a giggle and Sinethemba harassing me to teach him Kung Fu. Or that night when Mkhule finally softened up and showed a little affection, coyly informing me that, yes, he'd like a hug goodnight - but shifting back to the tough guy (he's 7) as soon as his caretaker showed up. I hope that Nothile, a 13-year-old HIV-negative girl who I spent every day with while in South Africa, stays seronegative. I hope that if it works out for me to go back to the Cottages, Kwanele and his AIDS-infected mother Thandi will still be there.

AIDS does not discriminate. And it has not yet given up its victims.

Jessica K. Nguyen
Accounting, Finance Class of 2010
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com