Ignorance is never bliss

Last Saturday I attended a community health fair in the Trinidad community. It was a lot of fun and well planned (Great job, Ms. Juanita:))!!! There was a play reading about HIV/AIDS that I participated in. During the final week of practice, I shared with a good friend that I was doing this play. The person asked what part I was playing. I shared that I was playing the part of the 19 year old girl who struggles to tell her family that she is HIV positive. Now you would've thought I said I played a person who was going around shooting everyone and killing them because of this person's reaction. I was completely thrown for a loop. The person said, "you're playing the girl with HIV? Why? For real? Eeww!!! I would never play that role." I tried to remain calm but as they continued to tell me how bad it was to play a girl who is HIV positive, I could feel my blood pressure rising. Never mind the fact that art imitates life or plays/movies/tv are excellent ways to educate on issues that plague our community. I couldn't believe that this person compared having HIV to playing a role where I kill people. Don't get me wrong, HIV can lead to AIDS and a person can die from AIDS. But it is in no means a "nasty person's" disease. It is something that you can get when make some bad decisions. The same decisions that lead to unplanned pregnancies, STDS, and countless other things that are not considered a death sentence are the same decisions that can lead to someone being infected with HIV/AIDS: not abstaining from sex, sleeping with multiple partners without protection (remember condoms are only 98% effective, so there still is a chance), sleeping with one partner without protection who does not know his/her status, sharing needles, not getting tested and not knowing you have it and passing it on to others... I could go on and on but hopefully you get my point. This disease, when you engage in the risky behaviors I just mentioned, is something you can prevent by making wiser choices. Abstinence is the only sure way to prevent being infected. Protecting yourself with condoms is safer alternative. Educating yourself - Knowing what HIV/AIDS is, Knowing your status and the status of those you're involved in...

Knowledge is POWER! Know your status. Get tested!!!

For more info on HIV/AIDS, check out this websites....

www.metroteenaids.org

www.wwc.org

www.thebody.com

www.nmac.org

Why I Walk... AIDS Walk 2008

On October 4th, I walked in the Whitman-Walker Clinic's Annual AIDS Walk. It was so amazing. There were thousands of people who came out to walk and raise money to end HIV/AIDS. Congratulations to Whitman-Walker Clinic. They raised over $700,000 for HIV/AIDS Awareness Programs. My team, Team Miss Black DC, is still raising money through the end of the year to support. I've been working to raise awareness and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS for several years now but never walked in an AIDS Walk before this year. During the Walk, I begin to reflect on why it's so important to me... I mean, no one I know personally has ever died from AIDS, none of my friends have HIV or AIDS, or do they???

In D.C., HIV/AIDS is at an all-time high. 1 in 20 D.C. residents are infected with HIV. 8 out of 10 D.C. residents who are infected with the virus are African-American. 9 out of 10 women in D.C. who are infected are African-American. Crazy, huh? Especially when this is something that you can prevent. For most of us, we have the choice whether we get infected. We choose whether to have sex or not. We choose whether to use protection or not. We choose whether to get tested and know our status or not. The choice is ours. Choose to protect yourself. Choose to get educated. Choose to put an end to HIV/AIDS!!!

I was so moved by the people that walked in the AIDS Walk and wondered what their stories were and why it mattered to them... To me, it matters because too many people like me are getting infected and dying. Too many people are perishing for a lack of knowledge. I walked for my friends, my sister, my 10 year old niece. I walked for youth in DC who are don't know how deadly this disease is. And I will keep walking and talking to people about HIV/AIDS until we put an end to this epidemic.


If you're interested in helping Team Miss Black DC raise money for HIV/AIDS in conjunction with Whitman-Walker Clinic, e-mail missblackdc@hotmail.com.


For statistics and other information of HIV/AIDS, see the following websites:

http://www.wwc.org/

www.cdc.gov/hiv/stats.htm

http://www.stophivaids.org/
http://www.thebody.com/