Apparently, there are a lot of laws that aren’t being implemented. Children don’t know their rights, people with HIV or AIDs don’t know about their rights and they’re all being taken advantage of. Many are illiterate so when a doctor decides to ‘spay’ a woman who comes in for a normal test/procedure, he can sign away her right to have kids along with it.
The whites are now in the minority (though they’ve always been the numerical minority) and they’re ‘complaining’ that there aren’t enough of ‘them’ represented in parliament, or whatever. But they own the majority of the wealth and so they have power in that way. People are still cramped, there are no building codes and many children don’t have lights at night to do their homework.
I don’t know what the right answer is. I don’t know what the right thing to do is. For the first time in my life, I wanna go back to class. I wanna go back to America where we’ve got problems of our own. I don’t want to try to fix these problems out here anymore. It’s not my place.
And that's only part of why this year I'm very excited and pleased to announce that I'm writing for donations via my school's computer IN AFRICA! Not to Brag, but IT'S PRETTY DARN COOL!!!!
We arrived first in Johannesburg, South Africa, about a month ago...I mean, a month and half ago now. Wow. Okay, so we arrived in Jo'burg in the middle of January and immediately learned about the concept of UBUNTU: I am a human being because of other human beings. I walk in the way of all of humanity: we are all human, we are all living on earth, we are all part of something we can't quite explain but we are here. At the Human Genom Sequencing Project (where I met Desmond Tutu; no big deal) they said we are all African but in fact we are all Pangean. Welcome Home.
To give you the short version of my trip so far (and you can catch up with us in detail at cgenamibia.blogspot.com or my personal blog, acrabgolfin.blogspot.com): I remember the way our homestay families took us in as one of their own, with no signs of bitterness or anger. I remember the smiles and hugs from staff and students that went along with homesickness, happiness and learning about some really complicated history. I remember climbing Dune 7 and then the next day quadbiking over the same terrain and being so proud of myself for continuing, even when I felt frustrated or scared. And I remember thinking, throughout all of it, "Wow. This year's AIDS Walk is going to be profoundly different."
As many of you know because of recent emails, I'm interning here in Namibia with an organization called OYO: Ombetja Yehinga Organization. That is the Otijherero term for "Red Ribbon." I'm splitting my time between them and the AIDS Care Trust in Katutura. They've appointed me as the head of a new project at ACT: I'm going to create an Arts section for their afterschool program in Katatura. Along with this, I'm doing research about the sucess of arts programs for OYO's funding. I've been trying to learn more about fundraising because I know it's something I'm going to have to get really good at if I'm going to work in public service jobs (which, let's face it, that's just where I'm headed). Aaaaaand on that note...!
Let's put UBUNTU into action. Let's raise more money than ever this year. Let's make a difference all together.
Follow This Link to visit my personal web page OR click on the link to our group page, THE WOODEN SHOE and support the WHOLE GROUP!
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Thank you for supporting AIDS Walk New York and for helping to put an end to this epidemic.
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