Transdiaspora Network’s Newsletter

• Introduction
• Announcements
• In Voice – Sex and Loyalty
• Special Report – Community Survey
• In Other Words

INTRODUCTION

Happy spring, TDN followers! And what a spring it has been to celebrate the five year anniversary of our organization! We are so grateful for the support TDN has received over the years and the tremendous opportunities we’ve had to work in communities across New York. This year, we’re proud to reach across our borders with TDN’s reach as well. This month, Capracare volunteers and one of our board members, Susan Wile Schwarz, are on a trip to Haiti to promote health, including the implementation of our HIV prevention curriculum. According to CapraCare Executive Director Jean Pierre-Louis, “the skills gained by our volunteers will be put to great use in Haiti. Our volunteers were transformed by the TDN’s innovative and creative ways of teaching HIV/AIDS prevention.” This way, we are creating the foundation of TDN’s international social development platform.

We also have other reasons to celebrate. Justice is on the way for the Trayvon Martin case. Our staff has grown even bigger, we’ve launched a new interactive website, and we’re ironing out the final details to our yearly benefit event – the biggest one yet! So many new things are in the works, so read on and stay tuned!

To get updates about TDN, remember to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Yon Lam,
TDN Communications Coordinator

ANNOUNCEMENTS

TDN Annual Benefit Cocktail and Awards

Transdiaspora Network will mark its milestone 5th anniversary with its Annual Benefit and Changemakers Awards Ceremony on Friday, May 25th, 2012. In addition to drinks, dancing, live music, and raffles, this year’s Benefit will feature the unveiling and presentation of the first annual TDN Changemakers Awards.

In its inaugural year, the TDN Changemakers Awards Ceremony will honor two community leaders who we feel truly exemplify the spirit of Trandiaspora Network and the change we are creating in the world. The Awards will recognize innovative individuals in the community who inspire us and push us to do more. We hope to shine a light on visionaries who are taking the lead in the capacity building, youth development, and HIV/AIDS prevention space and providing living examples of the power of dedication and hard work to change the world, one teen at a time.

The Changemakers Award Ceremony will take place at 7pm on Friday, May 25th, 2012 at the beautiful Jerome L. Greene Performance Space in downtown Manhattan. Please join us as we toast present and future community leaders, celebrate how far we have come, and ensure a bright future as TDN continues to grow and expand our reach.

TDN got new team members!

Transdiaspora Network is delighted to welcome Bai Xue as our Research Coordinator and Makeenda Nia John as our Youth Affairs Coordinator. Bai holds a Masters degree in Statistics from Columbia University and a BA in Finance from Fudan University in Shangai, China. While in China, she worked as a Marketing Assistant for HSBC Bank China, and China Minsheng Banking Corp., where she was responsible for maintaining customer databases, analyzing data, and conducting market research. Bai joined TDN in February 2012 and looks forward to applying her statistics knowledge to promote positive social change.

Nia is a high school student at Brooklyn College Academy, who was accepted at our organization last year as an intern coming from the Sadie Nash Leadership Institute. She has published in our blog in two occasions and has gathered information to enrich our resources list at a local level. She is a Crown Heights resident and has experience in mentoring middle school students as well as volunteering for local programs such as Feeding the Homeless. Her biggest achievement so far is obtaining college credit in Philosophy, English, Psychology and Spanish Classes.

A New Website, A New Look.

As some of you may have noticed, we have a new and improved website! Successfully launched at the beginning of April, just in time for this newsletter, TDN’s new site represents the kind of organization we have become after 5 years of hard work and constantly challenging ourselves to reach a larger audience with our message of awareness and prevention: a dynamic, professional organization, always evolving and growing. “This has been quite an experience,” our web strategist Dylan N. Gluck says, “I have learned from this job a lot.” We hope you’ll take advantage of its interactive features, including the community blog, and share your feedback with us. We would love to hear what you think!

Community Day at Columbia University.

TDN President/Founder Ariel Rojas conducted a Dance Mediation/Storytelling Dynamic workshop at Columbia University School of Social Work where he had an interactive dialogue with social work students about giving a different value to HIV prevention in the intersection of music, dance, non-verbal communication, negotiation practices and cultural upbringing. One of the participants, Lily Brent give us her testimony: “The Afro-Caribbean Dance Mediation / Storytelling Dynamics workshop challenged me to literally step outside my comfort zone and use dance as a metaphor for dialogue about safe sex. In describing my experience to the group, I explained that in my youth I studied classical ballet. Ballet is a dance language with proscribed rules, different from the free-styling we were asked to do in the workshop. Using dance as a language for HIV prevention, it’s important to remember the different traditions and varying rules for engagement that people bring to the conversation.”

TDN Makes Inroads On College Campus.

Twice, Transdiaspora Network visited Vassar College in less than a month. On March 22nd, TDN Research Coordinator Bai Xue, along with Kenny Hernandez, a volunteer teen from Montefiore Hospital’s Adolescents AIDS Program, attended a luncheon with Ricardo Bracho at the ALANA Center. Mr. Bracho is a playwright, screenwriter, teacher, AIDS activist, dramaturg, performer, and journal editor. Our young team raised HIV prevention awareness among Vassar students and have a fruitful exchange of ideas with faculty from the Hispanic Studies and Political Sciences departments about creating a more open dialogue between the college and young community members. (photo album)

On April 12th, Paul Robeson High School students, along with English teacher Stefanie Siegel, made a historical trip to the campus where they retreated for the day to address issues of HIV prevention and homophobia among teenagers. They were also able to have insightful conversations around the topic of race and higher studies education with Vassar students and faculty from different departments, including a talk with Edward Pittman, Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life and Diversity. (photo album)

Advocacy Goes to Albany: Reunión Latina 2012.

L to R: Maria E. Alvarez, Partnership Team Leader, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Gulliermo Chacón, President, Latino Commission on AIDS; Monica Sweeney, Assistant Commissioner, NYC Department of Health; Alvaro Carrascal, Senior Vice President, American Cancer Society; Ariel Rojas, President/Founder, Transdiaspora Network.

As TDN President/Founder Ariel Rojas attended the two-day event, Reunion Latina provides us with the opportunity to bring all of our experiences together in one powerful forum, in order to influence legislators, social and civic leaders. Attendees, including service providers, media representatives, elected officials, community leaders and their partners, experts in the field, and people living with HIV/AIDS participate in workshops and panels that highlight critical issues and promising solutions pertinent to those who are working to break the cycle of indifference and stigma in some of our nation’s most affected communities. (photo album)

TDN Board Member at Youth Summit.

TDN Board Member Elkhair Balla participated in the recent Municipal Credit Union Youth Summit, educating youth on health and wellness. His company, B Condoms, held two seminars as part of the Municipal Credit Union (MCU) Youth Empowerment Summit. The Summit was put together by MCU, Hot 97.1, WBLS 107.5 and the United Federation of Teachers. Elkhair was honored with an award for his commitment to the community. Click here for a video segment on the event.

TDN at National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

Based on Transdiaspora Network’s trademark prevention approach, the educational workshop brought our groundbreaking curriculum to a diverse group of Brooklyn middle and high school students on February 7th, 2012. Here is the testimony of Maxine Cooper, Consumer Health Librarian at Brooklyn Public Library: “For those who have concerns regarding the explicitness of HIV/AIDS information, Transdiaspora Network provides a different approach in getting young people to look at themselves. How they see themselves is very relevant to how they behave as individuals. When they become aware of themselves and the true reasons for their negative behaviors, perhaps they can better understand their needs to take preventative measures to protect themselves not just against HIV and AIDS, but other negative behaviors, as well. Discussions on self-esteem and interactive methods for self-awareness is a great way to get young people to look at themselves in a more positive light, and to foster and encourage better decision-making in their lives. On National Black AIDS Awareness at the Central Library, I saw a class discussion, and a separate group of about 8 young men communicating positively in discussions led by Transdiaspora Network. Although, I didn’t hear all that was being transpired in the sessions, I did witness the ‘art of communication’.” (photo album)

Hoodie March Honoring Trayvon Martin

On February 26, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed as he walked to a family member’s home from a convenience store where he had just bought some candy. He was only 17 years old and his murder has divided the nation.

TDN President/Founder Ariel Rojas and board member Alexis Diaz stepped up calling for justice and made an statement as our organization support the most vulnerable population: the youth.

IN VOICE

Sex and Loyalty.
By Safiya Mattis, TDN trainee and CapraCare volunteer.

How does one establish their own beliefs system? One can say that with maturity and growth in life comes the establishment of core beliefs. Some may even say that one’s experiences in life can play a role in this process. While all of this is true, the foundation is usually first established by one’s culture. Culture includes factors such as religion, patterns of behaviors, thought processes, values and belief characteristics. While some may deviate from their cultural upbringing, others base their value system on their cultural foundation. In today’s modern times, we see that society also plays a role in developing one’s morals or what is deemed acceptable.

Everyone has personality traits that they can appreciate in themselves and notice in others. One such trait is loyalty; an understood commitment between persons. Loyalty is a valued trait in the relationships formed in one’s life. One such relationship where loyalty is excepted is between men and women. For most, when intimacy is involved a sense of loyalty is expected. However, this is not always the case. The value of sex and loyalty can be shaped by culture and society. When I think about culture and society, how the male and female is defined plays a role how sex and loyalty is valued. Speaking from my own Caribbean background, I see the role that gender plays. Women are taught that loyalty to their man consists of acts of servitude; basic maintenance of the household. Sex is often times seen as a scared act shared between the woman and her mate. This is how a woman is supposed to act and anything done outside of this norm is seen as unacceptable. Men show their loyalty by providing a home and maintaining financial stability with their household. In regards to sex, some men believe it is acceptable to have intimate relationships with other women besides their mates. At times, males believe these sexual experiences with other women do not speak to the loyalty to their wives. Society often looks pas these behaviors and is excused as acceptable behavior. This a prime example of how culture can create certain ideas that viewed differently.

One’s culture plays a role in many aspects in life. In some cultures the value of sex and loyalty are viewed differently based on gender. These views are influenced by the expectations placed on males and females.

SPECIAL REPORT – Community Survey

A Historical Success.
By Bai Xue, TDN Research Coordinator.

Our community survey effort represents a new approach of collecting data at a more local level, in order to shape the way Transdiaspora Network delivers its services to young members of the Brooklyn community. We want to know, neighborhood by neighborhood (Bed Stuy, Brownsville, Crown Heights), how community members reflect about issues of HIV prevention in their own social context. Through this effort, we will have a better understanding of why these areas continue to contribute astonishing numbers to HIV infection rate statistics. We want to collect information that is relevant not only to professionals in the field, but also to community leaders, elected officials and policymakers. This way, we can develop new strategies to prevent the spread of HIV and fight its social stigma, reinvigorate our advocacy efforts and create action plans that support more impactful, efficient, sustainable and cost-effective programs.

-May 31, 2012- that is the day that I will never forget. Twelve undergrad volunteers from Columbia University, led by TDN President/Founder Ariel Rojas and me, did the unthinkable in the Brooklyn area on a rainy and chilly day. For most of the student volunteers, the streets of Brooklyn were brand new. Luckily, we had help from Pastor Kenneth Bogan, a local spiritual leader who provided valuable advices on our survey questions, and Mrs. Bogan, an experienced medical service worker who has served the three communities we surveyed for the last 40 years.

It was rainy and chilly in the morning, but the students were still very excited about our adventure. When it finally stopped raining at around 11am, we took the subway to the first neighborhood: Brownsville. Our task was not easy because most of the people we hoped to survey did not feel like stopping and listening. Others were suspicious about what we were doing and refused to talk about a sensitive topic like HIV/AIDS.

I was glad to see that our volunteers overcame these obstacles through their persistent efforts. Mrs. Bogan advised us that it was easier to survey people in restaurants, laundromats and beauty salons than on the street. After several attempts, the volunteers started to gain experience on how to introduce the topic and how to convince people who were suspicious to strangers. When we switched neighborhoods from Brownsville to Crown Heights, the number of surveys jumped from 40 to 110 in Crown Heights, a clear testament to our continuous learning and hard work!

This survey is no doubt a milestone in the history of TDN. The data we obtained covered three different neighborhoods with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We interviewed 220 people, ranging from teenagers to the elderly. More importantly, we spread the word of HIV prevention around the whole community by distributing 300 condoms donated by b Condoms as well as a few hundred of Brooklyn Knows HIV Testing Initiative promotional cards. (photo album)

Broadened Horizons: Reflections About The Survey.
By Diane Ning, Rishan de Silva, Jennifer Sekula and Angela Leverich (Columbia Community Outreach volunteers).

Our experience with Transdiaspora Network took us places we’ve never been before and broadened our horizons. It offered us a great opportunity to get out of the Columbia bubble and to go see many areas of Brooklyn we would have otherwise never visited. We have rarely, if ever, gone to Brooklyn, and the few of us who have gone, did not stray far from the areas of Brooklyn closest to Manhattan. Through our day of surveying people with Transdiaspora Network, we welcomed the opportunity to experience firsthand four different areas of Brooklyn – Crown Heights (two areas), Brownsville and Bedford Stuyvesant – and learn a lot about Brooklyn’s turbulent and rich history from Bettye Bogan.

We really enjoyed talking to the variety of people that we encountered throughout the day. Diane was very surprised by the number of people who were unsure of what heterosexual meant, while Angela was surprised to encounter an illiterate young man in KFC. Rishan and Jennifer also had some memorable moments, including meeting the President of the 73rd Precinct City Council and being forced to reflect upon own own opinions towards HIV/AIDS when a subject refused to answer the questions without hearing our own thoughts.

The idea of surveying 350 people seemed very daunting, especially with the slow start in Brownsville. The speed picked up quickly though as we became more and more efficient with the increasing number of people we surveyed. We were each able to survey more than four people in Bedford Stuyvesant in under half an hour! Diane feels that this experience definitely helped break some of her initial inhibitions with talking to strangers on the street and asking them very personal questions. For her first survey, she felt very awkward reading out loud each and every question to the man who was fixing the Bogans’ church. After that, the whole group learned to try to avoid reading the questions aloud, if possible.

Similarly, Jennifer also overcame her fear of approaching people in the street and eventually became comfortable with asking random people personal questions for a good cause that would positively impact the community. She found it interesting how different styles of approaching people led to different reactions and outcomes and tried to use her observations effectively as the day went on. In addition, Rishan learned that people come from varying backgrounds, which informed their opinions on these issues, contrary to what he had originally thought. Rishan also experimented with wording and figured out that if he made it seem like a moral obligation towards the subjects, he was more likely to receive responses.

In addition, we found that surveying people indoors on such a cold and rainy day was the most effective. Places like restaurants, where people were going to stay for a little while, or subways and bus stops, where people were waiting with little else to do, proved the most effective and had the lowest rejection rates. In addition, Angela and Diane found that going to crowded banks that had a long line to use an ATM was also effective. Rishan and Jennifer found that going into stores was not as successful as polling people at bus stops.

Overall, the experience made us all reflect upon the importance of HIV/AIDS education in the community and also made us more aware of how critical and entrenched of a problem it is. Our day with TDN taught us a lot about ourselves, our growing capabilities, and the deep value of reaching out to other people.

IN OTHER WORDS…

“Do continue to believe that with your feeling and your work you are taking part in the greatest; the more strongly you cultivate this belief, the more will reality and the world go forth from it.”

– Rainer Maria Rilke

Transdiaspora Network^TM is a New York-based human capacity building non-profit organization conducting HIV prevention awareness and community-based, culturally aware preventive mentoring for a population of youth at high risk. In addition, it facilitates identification of community resources, empowerment based interventions, and educational approaches to increase health literacy. The RIPPLE Program (Dance Mediation, Storytelling Dynamics, the Social Photography Workshop) and the BOLD Initiative provide solutions that increase self-awareness and assertiveness. For more information about our organization, please visit www.transdiasporanetwork.org.

©Transdiaspora Network, April 2012

April 17, 2012   No Comments

• Special Editorial
• Announcements
• In Voice – Interview with Michael Pradieu, Vice-President & Co-Founder, EDEYO Foundation
• In Other Words

SPECIAL EDITORIAL

With our bellies full with holiday feasts and our resolutions made, 2012 has officially begun in full stride. This January, Transdiaspora Network wants to make its own resolution. We would like to remember and continue to support those tragically affected by the earthquakes that hit Haiti two years ago. In this installment of the TDN newsletter, we will commemorate the passing of the second anniversary of the earthquakes  and continue to show our support for their ongoing recovery efforts. We will also see how other groups, both here in the United Stated and in Haiti are working toward this end as well. We should not forget that Transdiaspora Network activated an emergency response just seven days after the tragedy, collecting clothes and medical supplies. In February 2010, TDN volunteer Mike Henriquez crossed the border from the Dominican Republic into Haiti and hand-delivered TDN’s donations (Archive: 2010 January Issue, 2010 March Issue).

The two-year anniversary has come and gone this January, but Haiti and its post-earthquake landscape still stands waiting in need. In the last 24 months, the international community has poured out its support, including billions of dollars in funds, relief products and volunteer support. Countries in South America, such as Brazil have relaxed their visa regulations to Haitians and employ thousands of displaced earthquake refugees. Billionaire Denis O’Brien, president of Digicel, has also been a presence since the beginning, pledging to build 80 schools by 2014. He believes his private investment of countless millions may also be a savvy business move as well; Haiti is the largest consumer of his mobile goods.

In response to the current situation, TDN program participant Nia John concluded: “Though Haitians seems to be making advances and making better lives for themselves by traveling to Brazil, they still need as much help as possible. Haitians are indeed receiving help in places like Brazil, where the authority figures and citizens have hope in them that they can indeed make an improvement in their lives. The help that these Haitians are receiving in Brazil is wonderful, but what about those that aren’t given the same opportunities as those Haitians who are being given help? They should be given help because they deserve a chance at success just like the rest of us. Brazil is already doing a marvelous job at helping Haitians receive the help that they need and so is Digicel. Although Digicel doesn’t always get its way, it has been able to help Haiti by requesting that more schools be built in order to educate the children of Haiti and that it be given as much aid as possible in order to rebuild the Caribbean country. People like Denis O’Brien have been involved in making sure that all that Haitians have been ‘promised’ on cameras, is indeed being put into action for them.”

This dim light of hope for Haitians should just be the beginning of their recovery. Four months ago, we marked the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks across the eastern coast. Today, we are still re-building Ground Zero. Six years ago, we witnessed one of the worst natural disasters on American soil devastate the Gulf Coast. Today, we are still rebuilding New Orleans.

Haiti remains a least developed country faced with the same struggles to rebuild. Haitians have culture and natural beauty and markets and schools that have been devastated. Haitians need continued international recognition of the issues and support for their recovery. Organizations such as CapraCare and Edeyo, featured in our newsletter this month, have done a tremendous job of supporting the Haitian community and creating a gateway for information about the slow and steady re-growth of the ravaged cities across Haiti. Read on to see how they’ve contributed and how you can too. As William Shakespeare once said “‘Tis not enough to help the feeble up, but to support them after.”

Remember that 2012 also marks our 5th anniversary. To get updates about TDN, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you for your support throughout these years.

Yon Lam, TDN Communications Coordinator

ANNOUNCEMENTS

TDN Shows Love for Haiti

On January 19th, Founder and President Ariel Rojas and Board Member Susan Wile Schwarz represented TDN at CapraCare’s Second Annual “Show Your Love for Haiti” benefit in downtown Manhattan. The benefit, which featured live musical performances, traditional Haitian foods, and a special presentation on the history of Haiti, recognized three community members for their work in support of the Haitian diaspora community. CapraCare Board of Directors Vice-Chairman Cordell Brown presented awards to Manhattan Deputy Borough President Rosemond Pierre-Louis; Elsie Accilien, Executive Director of Haitian-Americans United for Progress; and Samuel M. Pierre, Vice President of the Haitian American Caucus and Brooklyn Borough Director for the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit.

“CapraCare is grateful to Transdiaspora Network for their steadfast support and truly helping made the event memorable,” said Jean Pierre-Louis, CapraCare’s Founder and Executive Director. “On behalf of the people of Haiti, we say a big thank you to Transdiaspora Network.”

All proceeds from the benefit will support CapraCare’s ongoing community health services in rural Fonfrede, Haiti. Since 2009, CapraCare has provided access to medical care, mental health services, and health and nutrition education to the Fonfrede community. In collaboration with local health care providers and medical facilities and international health and public health experts, CapraCare provides extensive training to a cadre of volunteer health workers in the Fonfrede community. Through its network of trained volunteers, CapraCare has established the School Health Education Program, provided earthquake relief and mental health services, and launched a youth leadership initiative. For more information about CapraCare’s work or to learn about how you can help, go to their website.

TDN commemorates the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

In honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, On February 7th, Transdiaspora Network will partner with the Brooklyn Public Library to share our groundbreaking approach to prevention. Our team has tailored our Dance Mediation and Storytelling Dynamic module for this particular day. In this special workshop, TDN’s own youth participants will engage their peers in an innovative dialogue about HIV prevention and social empowerment.

Black Americans make up just 14% of the U.S. population, yet they account for almost half of those living and dying with HIV and AIDS in this country.

Black Americans make up just 14% of the U.S. population, yet they account for almost half of those living and dying with HIV and AIDS in this country. The growth of these disparities is a particular concern during the current economic crisis, with a disproportionate rise of poverty and unemployment placing these communities at even greater risk for infection. Factors associated with poverty directly and indirectly increase the risk for HIV infection and affect the health of people living with HIV, including limited access to high quality health care services, housing and HIV prevention education. Additionally, other sexually transmitted infections, whose rates are already high in Black communities, can significantly increase the risk of contracting HIV. Moreover, stigma and homophobia continue to prevent many Blacks from seeking HIV testing, prevention and treatment.

End of the Year, But Still On Duty!

L to R - Karen Aletha Maybank, Assistant Commissioner, NYC DOHMH; C. Virginia Fields, President/CEO, National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS; Jasmine Staton, HIV Youth Peer Educator, John Jay College; Ariel Rojas, President/Founder, TDN.

Thanks to World AIDS day, December was a busy month for TDN. President and Founder Ariel Rojas made a guest appearance on Bonita Radio’s “Cool-turéate!” show. Bonita Radio is an online station based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. To listen the interview, click here. Also in December, Ariel was honored to attend the New York premiere screening of “Many Women, One Voice: African American Women & HIV” at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, hosted by the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. The screening was followed by a panel discussion featuring NYC DOHMH Assistant Commissioner Aletha Maybank and Jasmine Staton, an HIV Youth Peer Educator at John Jay College.

L to R: Lindsay J. Safran, Gov. Cuomo Executive Chamber; Wendy Prudencio, NYS Department of Labor; Ariel Rojas, Transdiaspora Network; Jennifer Rivera, Gov. Cuomo Executive Chamber.

On another exciting note, Transdiaspora Network conducted a very strong Year-end Appeal Campaign (read our letter), and we also contributed to the statewide holiday toy drive, organized by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office to benefit families in communities affected by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.

IN VOICE

Interview with Michael Pradieu, Vice-President & Co-Founder, EDEYO Foundation.
By Wilson Joseph, TDN Web Assistant.

At the end of last year, Ariel Rojas asked me to contribute a piece to January’s special newsletter dedicated to the second anniversary of the catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12th, 2010. As we all know, this earthquake is perhaps the worst natural disaster to strike the Caribbean in recorded history. An estimated 200,000 to 250,000 people perished as a result of this terrible tragedy. I myself have lost several people that were very dear to me, and two years later, I’m still haunted by the images of the aftermath that I saw on television. But I was also incredibly touched to see how the world responded to this catastrophe; more than 50% of households in America donated to disaster relief as a way of helping out, and today, even though mainstream media organizations have long since shifted their focus away from Haiti, many individuals continue to work tirelessly to remind people that Haiti’s situation is still extremely precarious. I had the opportunity to sit down with one of these people for a quick talk about his work there. Michael Pradieu is a co-founder of Edeyo, an organization that is dedicated to provide a decent education and hope to children in Bel Air, one of the poorest slums of Port-au-Prince. For those of you not familiar with the language, edeyo means “help them” in Kreyol.

Wilson Joseph (WJ): First of all, can you tell us about how Edeyo started?

Michael Pradieu (MP): One night, a childhood friend of mine, Unik Ernest, and I were hanging out. He had just returned from what had become an annual trip to Haiti where he delivered Christmas presents to children in Bel Air. That night we talked about how happy the children were, but we also talked about the hopelessness of the situation in which those children found themselves. Yes, they were happy to have those new shiny toys, but what about tomorrow? The future? Do they have one? You know, it wasn’t the first time he and I had such a conversation but this time we wondered what “WE,” not politicians, could possibly do to help out. In fact, Unik’s mother, Maude, had urged him several years ago to use his clout as a successful event planner in the entertainment sector to help the disadvantaged in Haiti. But that night we agreed that we could no longer talk about it and just be upset.

We didn’t know what we were going to do exactly. We first started by doing a lot of research. Our initial instinct was to do something having to do with health. So we reached out to people like Doctors Without Borders to see if perhaps we could get involved with vaccination projects or something to that effect. But things like that were already being provided by other groups. We were quite concerned about duplication of services; there are a lot of NGOs in Haiti providing all kinds of services. For years, Unik had raised money to support all kinds of things in Haiti, but this time we wanted to be more hands on.

Slowly, education started to become the most obvious choice. The sheer complexity of it all can be very scary, but we realized that any honest discussion about Haiti, or Haiti’s problems, always led to the very same issue: the lack of educational opportunity in a country where over 50% of the population is under 25 years old. It was at that point we decided that, whatever we do, it would have to be in the area of education. We thought if at least we can provide these children with an adequate level of literacy, it would take them a long way. It’s at that point that we thought about a school.

WJ: So now you decided to do something; what were some of the challenges that you faced early on?

MP: To be honest with you, it was quite daunting. We knew exactly what we wanted to do, but one of the challenges was to find someone on the ground that we could completely trust to represent us in Haiti. Trust in our organization is quintessential to us. Maude Saab was that person for us.

Another challenge was building that bond with the community. This was extremely important. However, we were greeted with a lot of skepticism. Coming to a neighborhood, designated by the UN as a “red zone,” and telling these people that you want to help build a school for free and support more than 300 children, naturally, people’s first reactions were “Why are you here when society has written us off? What’s in it for you?” Well, we do it for free; it is our responsibility as children of Haiti to give her a hand up. The community quickly understood that we are not here because we had political ambitions or because we wanted to enrich ourselves. Since then, the bond between Edeyo and the community has been very strong.

Finance was a challenge. We knew that, whatever we do, it will have to be financed. Luckily, we had some experience in that area because, like I said, Unik had raised a lot of funds in the past to support diverse causes in Haiti. So in the beginning, a lot of our efforts went into raising money and establishing contacts on the ground.

WJ: What was the hardest thing about it early on?

MP: We treated hard things as a challenge and overcoming them emboldened us. In November 2007, we had 88 children when we first opened the school. By the second year, we had about 275 students and just before the earthquake we grew to 300. We even had to move to a bigger location in order to accommodate all the students. These were all kids who would not have gone to school at all if not for our school because the vast majority of schools in Haiti are tuition based. So we were growing steadily because the need was there. We were extremely proud of our accomplishment and were looking forward to accommodating more kids in the future as well as implementing more programs from which the children could enrich themselves further until the earthquake happened.

WJ: How was the school affected by the earthquake?

MP: It was devastating; the whole building collapsed during the earthquake. Luckily, when it hit that afternoon, everyone had already gone home. But six of our students, ranging from age three to seven, did die from the earthquake. We actually have a memorial for them on our site every year on that day. Very few people in Haiti weren’t personally affected by this. Some families lost 20, 25 people just like that. I myself have lost some acquaintances. It was a surreal experience. We immediately put together a team to travel there to assess the damage. It was clear to us that we were going to have to start from scratch. But throughout the whole ordeal, we never stopped supporting the kids and the community. We sent two missions ASAP with doctors, nurses, all sorts of supplies, including over 100 tents that can shelter a family of five each. We insisted that the teachers continue to keep the children occupied even when we were operating under tents. This was essential because, after a tragedy like that everyone, but especially the children, is susceptible to mental health issues. We thought that keeping them busy was very important. Our food program, the one hot meal we serve daily from the beginning of Edeyo, never stopped either.

WJ: It’s now been two years, where is Edeyo now?

MP: Well interestingly enough, we had to go back to the first building where the school started, the one we had outgrown. It was still standing so we hired engineers to inspect it and secure it. They gave us the green light to move back there. In the two years since then, we’ve built an annex on the lot next door and have been operating there until we make permanent plans.

WJ: What does the future looks like for Edeyo and Haiti?

MP: Well we see these children as Haiti’s best resource. We continue to be inspired by their intelligence and the promise they hold. Educating this young population is perhaps Haiti’s biggest challenge and eventually its biggest reward. We at Edeyo realize that our effort is meaningful. Obviously, we can only do so much. We are taking care of 300 children in a country where over four million children need the same help. But we think that what we’re doing is most important because we are laying down a template that we hope can inspire others to follow. There are thousands out there who want to help but don’t know where or how to start. Hopefully, by looking at our story they can see that all it takes is laying down the first stone and then the rest will follow.

IN OTHER WORDS…

“In the past 40 to 50 years, Haiti has seen it’s best and brightest leave for other countries for numerous reasons. A few years ago, the New York Times reported that as many as 84% of the country’s professionals live outside the country so there’s a need to prevent not only this phenomenon of brain drain, but also to add new talents to the pool.”

– Michael Pradieu

Transdiaspora Network^TM is a New York-based human capacity building non-profit organization conducting HIV prevention awareness and community-based, culturally aware preventive mentoring for a population of youth at high risk. In addition, it facilitates identification of community resources, empowerment based interventions, and educational approaches to increase health literacy. The RIPPLE Program (Dance Mediation, Storytelling Dynamics, the Social Photography Workshop) and the BOLD Initiative provide solutions that increase self-awareness and assertiveness. For more information about our organization, please visit www.transdiasporanetwork.org.

©Transdiaspora Network, January 2012

January 24, 2012   No Comments

• Introduction
• Announcements
• In Voice – Interview with Johnny Guaylupo, Program Coordinator, Housing Works
• In the News
• In Other Words

INTRODUCTION

With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, Transdiaspora Network and its members have a lot to be thankful for this year. It’s been a whirlwind start to the fall, with a mischievously snowy Halloween and a chilly November. It’s the fall of new healthcare legislation, Occupy movements across the globe, and economic changes that will shape our future for years to come. TDN has absorbed the energy of change and been busy at work creating new partnerships and planning great events this season. We’re looking forward to seeing more of our followers in the coming months. As Theodore Roosevelt stated, “Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.”  To get updates about TDN, remember to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Yon Lam,
TDN Communications Coordinator

ANNOUNCEMENTS

TDN is an MSL Be:Cause Grant Finalist!

Transdiaspora Network has been selected as one of four finalists for the 2011 MSL Be:CAUSE Community Connected Grant. Most notably, we are the only startup group amongst the contestants, made up primarily of well-funded and longstanding organizations. The theme for this year is “New Yorkers Helping Neighbors” and we are excited for the chance to win $100,000 in pro-bono professional PR and communication services from MSL Group. On Wednesday, November 9th, TDN gave a presentation at MSL headquarters to the grant jury detailing how TDN’s mission would be better served with their help and thus better serve the New York metro community. We look forward to results shortly!

Board Member Receives Exceptional Service Award!

Transdiaspora Network Board Member Elkhair Balla received the Exceptional Service Award for ‘Bridge-Building Across Cultures’ from Nation to Nation Networking (NNN) at its 4th Annual International Diaspora Award Dinner on Thursday, October 13, 2011. This award was given to Mr. Balla because of the work he has done around national testing day in NYC and expanding of b Condoms mission into Africa and the Middle East.

Elkhair was also attending the National Minority AIDS Council’s (NMAC) U.S. Conference on AIDS in Chicago, Illinois, from November 9th to the14th. The mission of the United States Conference on AIDS is to increase the strength and diversity of the community-based response to the AIDS epidemic through education, training, new partnerships, collaboration and networking.

DOHMH Invitation to Community Workshop.

As part of the efforts to promote collaboration between their community partners for the upcoming year, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and Community Partners have invited Transdiaspora Network to this workshop “Networking with your Neighbors: Identifying New Opportunities for Linkage to HIV Primary Care and Support Services.” The objectives of this interactive workshop are to: 1) provide Brooklyn Knows partners with updates on the Initiative’s progress and plans for the year ahead; 2) present Brooklyn HIV data pertinent to our work; and 3) foster collaborations between agencies located in the same neighborhoods. This half-day workshop will be at the Brooklyn Public Library, Stevan Dweck Center, at Grand Army Plaza on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 1:45 PM.

New partnerships: Housing Works and Brooklyn Historical Society.

These partnerships allow for TDN to reach further into local communities and glean from experienced community groups the necessary channels to communicate with individuals. We share the tools of experience and youth leadership with Housing Works’ LGBT Youth Program and the Brooklyn Historical Society’s Crossing Borders, Bridging Generations Initiative to grow and enrich neighborhoods that need our help.

TDN Works with Sadie Nash Leadership Project.

This year TDN welcomes four high school interns from the Sadie Nash Leadership Project, which was founded in 2001 to promote leadership and activism among young women, strengthening, empowering them and equipping them to be agents for change in their lives and in the world. Our interns are participating in Sadie Nash Leadership Project’s Community Action Placement (CAP) during which they will exam the structure and leadership of our organization, work alongside with staff and develop a thorough understanding of Transdiaspora Network.

According to Chanelle, one of the CAP interns, “there are not that many organizations that want to prevent HIV, and to see one and hear about it makes me think there are people in the world that care about our safety.” Through this experience, these young girls will develop valuable skills and training related to service learning and leadership. Please join us as we welcome Nalyn, Nia, Chanelle, and Keyana as TDN’s 2011-2012 CAP interns.

Celebrating National Latino AIDS Awareness Day.

In order to bring the National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) to the forefront, Transdiaspora Network (TDN) partnered with the Latino Caucus at Columbia University School of Social Work (CUSSW) to offer a panel discussion “HIV/AIDS and Latinos: Dancing from Tradition to Prevention” on October 13, 2011. The panel was rich with experienced and dedicated individuals such as Melissa Faith Ramirez, NLAAD Director, and Johnny Guaylupo, Housing Works’ LGBT Youth Program Coordinator, as well as Dominique Dupont-Dubois, TDN Program Manager, and Franchel Mendoza, CUSSW Latino Caucus representative. All brought new depth of knowledge for future Social Workers who will venture into working with the Latino community. Moreover, the Latino Caucus attempts to provide CUSSW students with the idea that Latinos are not homogenous. Latinos are individuals with different wants, dreams, and desires that are necessarily not found in research and literature. Transdiaspora Network and panelists provided information on how important it is to use language that caters to adult and young Latinos and how constructs vary within the Latino community. “As a social work panelist,” said Franchel Mendoza, “I was able to share my knowledge and experience on HIV/AIDS and how it affects the community I live in.”

TDN at PrEP community forum in Chelsea.

On October 18, 2011, Ariel Rojas and Tessa Scott of TDN had the opportunity to attend a PrEP community forum in Chelsea. PrEP, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, is typically a 90 day treatment of antiretroviral medications given to prevent HIV infection. To kick off this forum, Dr. Roy Gulick, Professor and Chief of Infectious Diseases at Cornell University and head of Cornell’s Clinical Trials Unit, presented on the latest findings from PrEP trials in Africa, Asia, South America, and the US. He highlighted a few key points 1) Uninfected people on PrEP had a lower infection rate compared to those on the placebo; 2) Amongst those who became infected, those on PrEP had a dramatically smaller HIV viral load than those on placebo; 3) PrEP wasn’t beneficial for people who are already infected; 4) Not all studies showed a lower HIV incidence rate for those on PrEP – a study in Africa showed no difference amongst heterosexual African women, so that trial was stopped early and prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to not recommend PrEP in women.

Dr. Gulick’s presentation was followed by a diverse panel question and answer session of community and board members to answer questions and concerns from the community about HIV and PrEP. Overall, the energy and passion felt from so many dedicated and concerned people at this community forum was inspirational and reminded us of how much more there is to do and how much we need to work together to continue our progress.

Community Fair at Wingate School.

On Saturday, November 5, 2011, TDN participated in the First Annual Community Health Fair at Wingate High School in Brooklyn. The theme was “A Better Life Through Healthy Decisions”. The fair had a great turnout and included skits, HIV-testing, and even face painting provided by various organizations throughout the borough. The TDN team met many wonderful individuals including social service professionals, healthcare providers, area residents and high school students who showed interest in learning more about our organization’s program. The event also gave us a chance to know other groups that are pulling together with us to make sure our underrepresented communities have real alternatives to enjoy a healthy environment regardless of their socio-economic status. We look forward to keep participating in future fairs and interacting with other Brooklyn-based organizations and local residents.

Benefit Gala “Innovation in Africa!” at the United Nations.

On November 8, 2011, TDN President and Founder Ariel Rojas was invited to attend an evening of celebration, learning, and advocacy at the Institute of International Education’s Edgar J. Kaufmann Conference Facility. The United Nations Association Young Professionals honored Kennedy Odede, President & CEO of Shining Hope and Founder of The Kibera School for Girls, for his pioneering work in Kenya. The Keynote Speaker Mr. Patrick Hayford, Director of the United Nations Office of the Special Advisor on Africa enriched the evening through his breadth of international experience and excellent connoisseur of Africa’s milestones. Kenyan Ambassador Josephine Ojiambo added her comments to the Award stating that “innovation is to see change as an opportunity more than a threat.” The event was full of good spirit as well as surprises, including the presence of Malaak Shabazz, daughter of the late Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. The Gala was an excellent opportunity for New York professionals to interact with individuals who represent the best of innovation within the global African community. A portion of the proceeds were donated to the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets—a global, grassroots campaign to raise awareness and funding to fight malaria in Africa.

IN VOICE

Interview with Johnny Guaylupo, Program Coordinator, Housing Works.
By Yon Lam, TDN Communications Coordinator, in collaboration with Marilucy Lopes.

Housing Works is an organization that provides housing and related support to low-income and homeless individuals infected with HIV/AIDS. They believe that housing saves lives and are committed to improving health outcomes for their clients through a spectrum of services that stabilizes the lives of New York City’s most vulnerable residents. Housing Works considers that people living with HIV/AIDS must lead the fight to eradicate the disease, a struggle that includes access to health care and supportive services and an end to AIDS stigma. According to them, clients have the right to life of dignity, to receive the highest-quality medical care, to live in environmentally responsible housing, and to achieve self -sufficiency through community and support programs. TDN had the opportunity to interview Johnny Guaylupo, Staff Representative and Program Coordinator at Housing Works Inc.

1. Where do you see the value of TDN’s mission and goals?… TDN simply provides a non-traditional HIV prevention model which can add to the other models we already offer at Housing Works.

• Introduction
• Announcements
• In Voice – A Glimpse Into A September 11th Reflection
• In the News
• In Other Words

INTRODUCTION

Summer is coming to an end. This last season, the Big Apple witnessed the force of Mother Nature: a 5.8 magnitude earthquake and the menace of Hurricane Irene, which shut down the city that never sleeps. Transdiaspora Network (TDN) weathered the tempestuous summer and is ready for new challenges and fruitful endeavors. We are off to a good start. TDN received an official invitation from New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to become a full partner in their Brooklyn HIV Testing Initiative. The organization also received a grant for the second year in a row from the Credit Suisse Foundation for our dedicated contribution to improve the living standards of minority groups in New York’s metropolitan area.

As our Communication Associate Federica Rangel says, “our main message, promoting HIV prevention awareness, has reached new places, extending beyond our initial aim. We feel excited and positive about our plans and new projects in the upcoming programming cycle. We raised our bar, and we will continue to work hard and challenge ourselves in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and to reach more and more young people on a larger scale.”

On a personal note, I would like to thank our team members Sophie Cardona, Federica Rangel, Marilucy Lopes, Dominique Dupont-Dubois and Aparna Bhasin for their efforts and good contributions to our newsletter’s 20th issue as well as Karen Lander from the Jewish Community Relations Council, and Julie Golia from Brooklyn Historical Society. To get updates about TDN, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Ariel Rojas, MS, MA
TDN President & Founder

ANNOUNCEMENTS

TDN Welcomes New Additions.

We are delighted to inform our followers and the general public that the TDN crew has four new acquisitions. Marilucy Lopes, who is an outstanding graduate student at Columbia University School of Social Work and has worked with us in the past implementing an HIV prevention focus group at a high school in The Bronx, will be in charge of our newsletter layout, social media, public relations and program evaluation, as TDN Communications & Research Coordinator (if you scroll down, you will be able to read her reflection about the recent commemoration of September 11th).

Dominique Dupont-Dubois is a recent graduate from the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health where she focused on reproductive and family health. As our Community Outreach & Public Health Advocate, she hopes to use the knowledge and skills she has gained to interact with local communities, especially of Caribbean decent, in order to help them gain better knowledge of and access to reproductive health care services and empower them with the information to better care for themselves and their families.

Aparna Bhasin, who will be developing our international platform, is a recent graduate of Columbia University’s School of Social Work with a concentration in International Social Welfare and Public Policy. She is from Mumbai, India, and has spent most of her life in vibrant inter-cultural communities. Ms. Bhasin spent the last year as an intern for UNICEF, supporting the Global Study on Child Poverty and Disparities. Ms. Bhasin has a keen interest in international development that is focused on local, sustainable capacity-building and youth development.

The last new team member, but not less, is Tessa Scott who holds an MPH from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and currently works at Weill Cornell Medical College doing clinical trials. As TDN Research Associate, she will develop the organization’s research strategy at the community level in Brooklyn, and assist in program evaluation activities.

Annual Board Meeting: Fashioning The Future.

TDN formally welcomed two new board members at its Annual Board Meeting in June this year: Alexis Diaz, who will be focusing on TDN’s minorities leadership and program development efforts; and Elkhair Balla, who will strengthen our approach to community-based enterprises and special events.

Ms. Diaz recently earned her MSW from Columbia University. She is currently pursuing her social work license, and has served as a peer educator at the Union County HIV Consortium. She is keenly interested in sexual health education and in helping more young people of color graduate high school instead of going to prison; particularly young people from queer communities. Ms. Diaz’s family is from Puerto Rico, and she will advise on how to make TDN’s programs as inclusive as possible, while developing our presence in more diverse communities across the city.

Mr. Balla is a mentor, investment banker and social entrepreneur. Prior to co-founding the B Holding Group (parent company of b condoms), he worked as an Investment Banker for several multinational corporations. He also co-founded Citiology.com, a social network site. Mr. Balla is a native of Sudan and enjoys mentoring NYC Youth and raising funds for African and New York City causes through his event company named L’Altruist. He also sits on the Development Board at VillageCare. Mr. Balla will assist TDN in developing public-private partnerships with local business and community-based enterprises.

Apart from the usual programmatic and financial updates, this year’s board meeting focused on capacity building and strategic planning objectives aimed at developing TDN’s long term plans for sustainability. Building strong relationships with local businesses and the corporate sector, strengthening our presence in the community and forging new partnerships for our programs, creating a Youth Advisory Board, and developing the organization’s Board and fundraising capacity were all on the agenda.  With our five year anniversary just around the corner, TDN is excited to push forward its agenda as it plans an exciting celebration for this landmark year.

TDN Attends Congressional Briefing in Washington DC.

In preparation for National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (October 15), there was a Congressional Briefing in Washington DC this Tuesday morning, September 20, 2011. This is the chance for health and community advocates to help Congress better understand the Latino HIV/AIDS crisis. Hispanics, along with African-Americans and men who have sex with men are the most affected by HIV/AIDS. While Latinos/Hispanics in the U.S. represent only 16% (U.S. Census Bureau) of the population, they make up 20% of new HIV infections in 2009 according to the Centers for Disease Control. Hispanic/Latino men are newly infected with  HIV at a rate three times that of white men. Among women, Hispanic/Latino women are newly infected by HIV at a rate four times that of white women. At the briefing, advocates for Latino health spoke to Congress about these and other facts and encourage the Congressmen and women to take steps toward helping prevent more individuals from being infected. Transdiaspora Network was represented by our Community Outreach & Public Health Advocate Dominique Dupont-Dubois.

Why TDN International?

The United Nations Millennium Development Goal 6 is to have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. However, every day over 7,000 persons become infected with HIV and young people aged 15-24 account for about 41% of new adult HIV infections around the world. The HIV epidemic has had a devastating impact on communities, societies and countries. In places most affected, life expectancy has been reduced as much as 20 years. Young adults, the future of a community and society, are the most at-risk population resulting in increased household poverty in many countries.

This epidemic spreads differently in different places: for example in sub-Saharan Africa, young women are two times more likely to be infected than their male counterparts; while in Latin America and the Caribbean, the opposite holds true. There are differences in risk behaviors and attitudes, that require HIV prevention and treatment interventions be tailored to fit the specific needs of a population.

Transdiaspora Network (TDN) helps to create a body of knowledge that is dynamic and transferable; with HIV prevention and awareness focused at the individual level, and close attention to cultural diversity and community needs. It is NOW that youth around the world need access to effective HIV prevention in their schools, and awareness in their communities to combat continuing stigma and discrimination. TDN has the potential to apply transferrable knowledge and experiences to the global community, at a time when it is needed most.

New Community Partnerships.

Recently, TDN Founder and President Ariel Rojas and TDN Community Outreach & Public Health Advocate, Dominique Dupont-Dubois met with a representative of NYC Business Solutions, a set of services offered by the Department of Small Business Services, run by the Brooklyn Chambers of Commerce. This office, based in Brooklyn and in other areas in NYC, works to help individuals start a business, by providing help with office staffing, financial and legal issues, getting certifications and educational help. The Brooklyn Chambers of Commerce works to help small business owners express themselves through entrepreneurship, allowing them to start, operate and expand their businesses. TDN will work with Brooklyn Chambers of Commerce via NYC Business Solutions in order connect with further organizations in the Brooklyn area and expand our outreach to different areas of the Brooklyn community.

Over the summer, we were also invited to join the Brooklyn Knows HIV Testing Initiative. The Brooklyn Knows project, headed by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, is a borough-wide HIV testing program. It is a public health effort to increase HIV screening throughout Brooklyn and is similar to the Bronx Knows HIV Testing Initiative. The goal of Brooklyn Knows is to increase HIV testing in the area so that we can reduce the number of late HIV diagnoses and improve the linkage of HIV-positive individuals to care. As a member of the Brooklyn Knows HIV Testing Initiative, TDN will work to make sure that individuals throughout Brooklyn know their HIV status by encouraging testing through our youth programs and outreach activities.

Annual Coney Island Beach Outreach.

On July 22, TDN participated for the first time in the Brooklyn Outreach Workers 11th Annual Coney Island Beach Outreach. Representatives from the NYC Department of Health and Diaspora Community Services, among others, were present. We were honored to be invited to this amazing outreach effort in Coney Island as part of the Brooklyn Knows HIV Testing Initiative. We spent the day handing out condoms and information about TDN and promoting the Storytelling Dynamics program. We also met with many other organizations. Temperatures hit a record 104° F (40°C) making it the HOTTEST DAY in NYC’s history! Overall, it was a fun day, filled good music, food, lots of condoms, interaction with people passing by and a very enthusiastic vibe among participants. We look forward to participating again next year.

Cultivating the Next Generation: Storytelling and HIV Prevention.

Brooklyn’s culturally rich and vibrant neighborhoods have always been home to great writers: Truman Capote’s Brooklyn Heights, Paul Auster’s Park Slope, Edwidge Danticat’s Crown Heights, and Jonathan Lethem’s Boerum Hill. But our beloved borough is also a haven for great readers, bookstores, and 60 branches of the Brooklyn Public Library. These days, Brooklyn’s literary spirit is stronger than ever (six 2011 Pulitzer Prize winners live here!), and Transdiaspora Network (TDN) aims to foster that enthusiasm throughout all of our communities by developing, even more, our RIPPLE program’s Storytelling Dynamics module. We are pleased to tell you that TDN made it to the second round of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation 2011 Awards. The awards are for small youth-led initiatives that educate and/or give out responsible and accurate information about HIV and AIDS targeted at young people within their communities. Results will be announced at the end of November 2011.

As a component of the RIPPLE (Reflective Interaction Promoting Prevention & Learning) program, Storytelling Dynamics provides youth with the social, relational and personal skills needed to help prevent HIV transmission. Through active listening about HIV basic facts, but more importantly, through listening to each other’s stories and understanding how their cultural upbringing has influenced their perceptions and actions towards prevention and healthy sexual decision-making, youth learn by association not only how to protect themselves from infection, but how to make positive and healthy decisions regarding their sexual activity.

A Carnival and Its Legacy.

The 44th West Indian American Day Carnival/Parade took place this year on September 5th. Organized by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA), the parade showcases the various nationalities and cultures that make up the community, in all its vibrant colors, musical pulse and spice.

Colorful masqueraders, exuberant dancers and more than 60 decorative floats and 40 costume bands brought to life this year’s central theme of “One Caribbean Family,” as they made their way down Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, past crowds of on-lookers from all over the country. The parade is one of the city’s largest outdoor events.

But the carnival provides more than just entertainment and revelry, explains Yolanda Lezama Clarke, president of WIADCA. The effort to promote Caribbean heritage and its rich cultural legacy has made the process of assimilation a much easier experience for Caribbean people. For Patricia Haynes of Barbados, for example, “the Carnival has given dignity to wearing the mark of ‘West Indian’ when it was not always popular to do so.”

The two-time Grammy winner and iconic figure of Caribbean music and culture, Pablo Milanés, also enjoyed the festivities as a spectator among the thousands of New Yorkers that lined the parkway.

Celebrating 20 Years of Advancement in Crown Heights.

This summer the Crown Heights Community Leadership Council (CHCLC) developed a community project called “Crown Heights Summer of Celebration.” The goal was to emphasize the positive achievements and energy in the area as well as to create excitement and awareness around the many existing services and organizations in this neighborhood. Labeling the many efforts and events in Crown Heights under a common logo and mission statement helped to create partnerships among the organizers and recognition among the residents.

On August 18, as a culmination event for this community project, CHCLC commemorated the 20th Anniversary of what has become a cultural touchstone in American culture: the Crown Heights riots. Twenty years ago, for three bloody days (Aug. 19-21, 1991), Crown Heights was the scene of ethnic tensions, mob attacks, thefts, confusion, and fear. The reception, led by Ife Charles from the Crown Heights Community Mediation Center and Rabbi Eli Cohen from the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council, was held at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum featuring Ruth Messinger, President and CEO of the American Jewish World Service (AJWS), as the guest speaker. Along with musical performances by DeScribe, a local Jewish rap artist who is inspired by his relationship with spirituality, and The Mighty Sparrow, the legendary “Calypso King of the World”, eight awards were presented to various community leaders and institutions to honor their commitment to bringing new opportunities to the community and enhancing the quality of life in Crown Heights. Elected officials spoke in support of this vibrant and diverse community. NYC Speaker Christine Quinn, Assemblyman Karim Camara, NYC Council Member Letitia James, NYS Senator Eric Adams, NYC Comptroller John C. Liu and CM Mathieu Eugene were in attendance as well as US Congresswoman Yvette Clarke. TDN President and Founder Ariel Rojas was also invited to this special commemoration where the arts, the community and the youth were celebrated and Crown Heights’ vibrancy and cultural diversity were highlighted.

Brooklyn’s Health: Past, Present, and Future.

On Monday, September 12, the Masters in Public Health Program at Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus presented a vibrant and thought-provoking event, “Brooklyn’s Health: Past, Present, and Future.” Julie Golia, Public Historian, and Robin Katz, Outreach and Public Services Archivists, both from Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS), spoke to an audience of students and public health professionals about the rich history of public health in Brooklyn. They used materials from the collections at BHS to illustrate new paths of research for public health practitioners.

Golia and Katz discussed the impact of disease and urban growth on a diverse and changing group of Brooklynites: from seventeenth-century Native American communities decimated by smallpox, to activists in 1960s Bedford-Stuyvesant demanding better sanitation services. New York City’s geography played an important role in their story. For example, until the 1814 establishment of an efficient steam-powered ferry system in Brooklyn, the East River served as a biological barrier, preventing the spread of infectious diseases from crowded New York City to sparsely populated Brooklyn. Using maps and archival collections, they also emphasized the importance of changing immigration patterns. Over the course of the XIX and XX centuries, growing numbers of immigrants from Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean swelled Brooklyn’s population, prompting new public health needs and new institutions and reform organizations. Finally, Golia and Katz discussed the relationship between public health and activism. They highlighted organizations like the Brooklyn chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), which in 1962 organized a civil disobedience program called “Operation Clean Sweep” in order to demand more frequent garbage removal in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Golia and Katz concluded by pushing students of public health to incorporate Brooklyn’s history into their analysis of public health inequities today. To learn more about this remarkable 148-year-old institution, you can visit their website.

No-copay Birth Control As Basic Preventive Health Care.

Last month the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) approved recommendations from the Institute of Medicine to make birth control available with no copay for those with health insurance. And young women who access health care through religious affiliated colleges and universities should not be denied basic health coverage simply because their college does not want to provide it. In order to ensure that more women have access to birth control, the DHHS specifically included contraception as basic, necessary preventive medicine covered by insurance without copay. This would mean that religious affiliated colleges and hospitals would need to include this basic preventive coverage in health plans for their students and employees.

Not surprisingly, the conservative right wing is urging U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to expand an already unnecessary “religious exemption” rule. Expanding this language would affect religious affiliated schools, hospitals and more, allowing Catholic colleges and other institutions to offer health plans without covering birth control. Learn more about the issue. Sign the petition against this proposal. Access to birth control is basic preventive medicine for women!

A Battle Against HIV/AIDS Discrimination.

In August, a lawsuit was filed in federal court against one landlord and four New York City realty companies, Manhattan Apartments, Abba Realty Associates, Soni Realty, Askarinam Realty, and Kimberly Place Realty, for violating the civil rights of disabled New York City residents living with AIDS.

Under the federal Fair Housing Act and New York City’s Human Rights Law 3, it is illegal to refuse housing based on disability. In addition, Local Law 10 prohibits landlords from refusing service based on lawful source of income, such as HASA housing subsidies and Section 8 vouchers. Individuals who encounter illegal housing discrimination are encouraged to call the Fair Housing Justice Center for assistance at 212-400-8201.

IN VOICE

A Glimpse into A September 11th Reflection.
By Marilucy Lopes, TDN Communications & Research Coordinator

I was sitting in my 10th grade biology class when it happened. I witnessed the events of September 11th, 2001 live on television as they unfolded some 20 miles from where I was sitting in the state of New Jersey. I can still remember feeling the fear, confusion, anger and sadness that many people have described that day, but there are two things that I will never forget. When asked to write this piece, I thought I might share this story in hopes that my reflection on this 10th anniversary of the attacks is something we can all share and remember.

The silence and the smell were two things that have stuck with me. I remember walking my dog the evening of September 11th, relieved to be alone for the first time that day where I could try and make sense of what had just happened. Walking around, I remember the eerie silence. Everyone seemed to be home. Parked cars everywhere, lights on in homes, but there was no movement anywhere. It was so quiet. No cars riding down the street, no one outside talking, no planes in the sky, not even a breeze. And unfortunately, for many people in my town their world had in fact stopped—they never came home. The next morning, I remember thinking I had dreamed the previous day, but when I went outside I knew it had been real.

I stepped foot outside and the air smelled like smoke or something burning. I knew the smell was coming across the river, from The World Trade Center. The smoke cloud was visible for days, but the scent is what got to me. That might be weird for some people to see as affecting someone (especially after everything that happened that day), but that is what really triggered the thought of life and death into my head. I wanted to go on with the day as if nothing had changed, I did not want to think about the tragedy, but even breathing was a reminder. The scent in the air kept reminding me of tragedy and death.

Fast forward to today, and I have had 10 years to think about what happened that day, the next morning, and every day since September 11th, 2001. So many things were out of our control that day and the days following. I could not control what had happened, how people felt, or what the air smelled like, how the neighborhood looked or how it sounded. The only thing I could control was what I decided to do that day, where I went, who I spoke to, what I said, etc. I felt how the environment and events that took place were affecting me, but I also knew I could control how I reacted to them and what I chose to do with what I felt.

Now, ten years later, I find myself continuing to form and practice a balance between the things I can and cannot control. I practice this balance by trying to focus on what matters most to me in life and what kind of life I envision for myself. Making choices that align with my dreams and visions for my future are the ones that make me feel value in my life. The anniversary of September 11th helps me reflect on how there are some things in life we will never fully understand, predict or control, but for the things we can do we should make the most of them. Life is short and for many souls who are taken unfairly and too soon, it is a disservice not to treasure being alive and making the most of our time here.

IN THE NEWS

New AIDS Cases Dropped 25% This Year, City Reports

(…) The number of adults newly diagnosed with AIDS dropped to 2,225 in the 2011 fiscal year, which ended June 30. That total was 25 percent lower than the total the year before (2,969 cases diagnosed), and 47 percent lower than in the 2003 fiscal year, when there were 4,164 new cases, according to the Mayor’s Management Report, which was released Friday. Dr. Monica Sweeney, assistant commissioner of the Bureau of H.I.V. Prevention and Control in the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said the decline was a “proxy for improved care.”

“It’s not that people are not infected” with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, she said. “It is that they are taking medications, they’re able to be more adherent, treatment has become easier.” But she added that the number of people newly diagnosed with H.I.V. has also been going down, though those numbers were not included in the report.

She said that the improving numbers had raised concerns among public health officials that the public might become cavalier in their behavior. “Many people who are not infected have what we call treatment optimism,” Dr. Sweeney said. “Why bother using a condom? Why bother not having multiple partners? — and people are still getting infected — because of the success of the treatment,” Dr. Sweeney said.

New infections were most common among men under 30, especially black and Latino men, who have sex with men; black women; and to a lesser extent Latino women, she said.

On the other hand, she said, because of programs directed at pregnant women and drug users, it is rare for babies to be born infected, and “people getting infected from intravenous drug use has gone from the thousands to 185” in 2009, the last year of complete data available.

The historic numbers tell a striking tale of an epidemic that crested and then began to fall as the means of transmission became better understood and drug treatment was simplified from a handful of pills to a single capsule containing three medications.

City charts show 52 new diagnoses of AIDS before 1981, rising to 160 in 1981, 540 in 1982, 1,097 in 1983 and then soaring to a peak of 12,745 in 1993 before beginning a gradual decline to the present levels.

(…)

[Excerpted from The New York Times Blog, By Anemona Hartocollis, September 16, 2011]

IN OTHER WORDS…

“Effectiveness does not necessarily come from the power of personality or the ability to mobilize thousands to a cause. It can also emerge from careful, thoughtful, and creative planning undertaken by a group committed to change, along with the tenacity to see it through to completion.”

– F. Ellen Netting

Transdiaspora Network^TM is a New York-based human capacity building non-profit organization conducting HIV prevention awareness and community-based, culturally aware preventive mentoring for a population of youth at high risk. In addition, it facilitates identification of community resources, empowerment based interventions, and educational approaches to increase health literacy. The RIPPLE Program (Dance Mediation, Storytelling Dynamics, the Social Photography Workshop) and the BOLD Initiative provide solutions that increase self-awareness and assertiveness. For more information about our organization, please visit www.transdiasporanetwork.org.

©Transdiaspora Network, September 2011

September 20, 2011   No Comments

• Introduction
• Announcements
• In Voice – The BOLD Initiative and Bounce School Making History
• In the News
• In Other Words

INTRODUCTION 

Transdiaspora Network mourns the loss of Edouard Glissant, the great Caribbean thinker, writer, and poet, who died in Paris this past February. He stated once that “contact among cultures infers a relation of uncertanity”. In these turbulent times, we must remain steadfastly focused on our goals in order to enact positive change in an increasingly complex world. Following his train of thought, we want to propel decisive mutations for change in the quality of our future.

The past few months of the New Year have been momentous and difficult for many people around the world. Major earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan have brought devastation and loss affecting thousands of people, while democracy movements across the Arab world and mass protests in favor of worker’s rights in Wisconsin have brought the issues of equality and freedom to the forefront of the nation.  

With Spring coming, it is time to evaluate how we can grow and improve in the new year as we rouse ourselves from Winter. With that in mind, as of this issue I have been appointed Editor-In-Chief of the newsletter by our President and Founder Ariel Rojas. While the newsletter will continue to provide you with relevant news on HIV issues as well as pertinent scholarly articles, I hope to bring about a renewed vigor and growth in the coming months by providing content that brings you closer to the people and work of Transdiaspora Network. Focusing on articles that demonstrate the human aspect of our organization, I will strive to bring you more pieces about the people who work here, the people we work with, and the community we work within. 

As part of that goal, this issue contains an interview with the BOLD Initiative’s new intern, Sherill-Marie Henriquez, who has started an innovative new project with Brooklyn youths called Bounce School. 

I am open to comments and suggestions anytime at meckstat(at)transdiasporanetwork.org. 

Mateo Eckstat
Editor-In-Chief 

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

TDN at Barnard College’s Civic Engagement Night  

At the end of February, Transdiaspora Network was invited to the Civic Engagement Networking Night at Barnard College where several students showed an interest in learning about the organization’s innovative approach. Emily Neil, one of the participants, shared her thoughts with us: “I think the message of empowerment and youth leadership inherent to [Transdiaspora Network] is significant in both its role in HIV prevention as well as the creation of a positive self-image and confidence among young people.” 

Conference Examines Role of Heterosexual Men in HIV Prevention 

On February 25, Transdiaspora Network Founder and President Ariel Rojas attended the conference “Young Women of Color, Heterosexual Men and their Role in HIV Prevention” organized by the Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition. At the conference he discussed the lack of communication between local high schools’ health coordinators and HIV-related social service organizations in sharing data about critical HIV/AIDS indicators at a neighborhood level. He pointed out that while social service organizations connected to prevention programs have worked diligently for many years to improve their effectiveness through data collection and accurate statistics, they have neglected an important element of public health strategy by not making this information more available to the public, particularly local schools. 

TDN New Community Partnerships 

Transdiaspora Network is pleased to announce a new partnership with the School for Democracy and Leadership at Wingate Campus High School in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Possessing one of the largest NYC populations of both Caribbeans and people living with HIV/AIDS, Transdiaspora Network’s entrance into the Crown Heights community is an important step in the fight to prevent the spread of HIV.  In addition, through the diligent work of our Columbia University social work intern some exercises from our RIPPLE Program’s curriculum have been implemented at Bronx Bridges High School in Soundview, the Bronx. 

National Campaign Supporting the Affordable Care Act 

As a member of the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance, Transdiaspora Network signed a petition supporting full implementation of health care reform under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This legislation will attempt to reduce the spread of HIV through new coverage requirements and the creation of a Prevention and Public Health Fund in every state. New requirements will include full coverage for certain preventative screenings, including HIV testing for pregnant women and those at increased risk for infection. This is an important step in helping the one-fifth of people with HIV who are unaware of their status get medical care that is not only lifesaving but also suppresses the virus, greatly reducing the risk of transmission to others. The Prevention and Public Health Funds will invest in evidence-based prevention programs at the community level, retooling our approach to preventing chronic diseases such as HIV. This will improve the overall health of communities and avert more costly medical expenses. 

TDN Jazz Benefit Concert: Cyrille Aimée, Special Guest 

As part of this year’s fund-raising efforts, we are planning our 4th Annual Benefit Concert, to be held on May 12th, 2011 at Canal Room in Tribeca. This event will bring culture and music to the New York community while promoting sustainable solutions to fight HIV/AIDS.  

Our special guest this year is Cyrille Aimée, a very talented Dominican-French jazz singer and 2010 finalist in the Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition, who will be performing in support of our social endeavor. We expect 200 guests or more, and hope you will be able to attend the concert. We are counting on your support as we work to fulfill our organization’s goal of advancing HIV prevention one teen at a time. Stay tuned for new developments. 

Crown Heights Against Violence  

Save Our Streets (S.O.S.) Crown Heights reports that Crown Heights North (the 77th precinct) has gone more than 30 days without any shootings in the neighborhood. Save Our Streets is an innovative anti-gun violence program that utilizes outreach, public education, and case management to stop shootings and killings in Crown Heights. With 75 shootings in 2010, there is an urgent need for this program and your support! 

Proposal Ending Abstinence-Only Program 

On March 15, 2011, Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Representative Barbara Lee of California introduced the Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act of 2011. This bill would end funding for abstinence-only sexual education programs, which have been proven to have no impact on teen behavior, and redirect that money towards the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), which supports demonstrably useful comprehensive sex education programs. This is an important bill that has the potential to help stop the spread of HIV among youth populations. Please learn more about the bill and take action. 

The BOLD Initiative Making Inroads

Transdiaspora Network is pleased to welcome a new intern to our organization’s BOLD Initiative, Sherill-Marie Henriquez. She is raffling a $840 gift card from CLAY Health Club + Spa to support her project. The proceeds will help the project to organize a museum field trip. To learn more about the raffle, visit Bounce School’s website or contact us at bounceschool(at)gmail.com.

In this issue of the newsletter you will find an interview where she shares details of her background and role within our initiative.

TDN New Pilot Project: Access to Supportive Intervention (ASI) 

To extend the educational support offered to our teens regarding HIV prevention issues and other topics, Transdiaspora Network have initiated a pilot project for the next three months called Access to Supportive Intervention (ASI), in which our program participants will have access to a life coach. In the next issue of the newsletter we will have a new column called The Coaching Corner, written by our Certified Professional Coach Maria Caso and our Editor-In-Chief Mateo Eckstat, that will give an inside look at Maria’s interaction with program participants. We welcome Ms. Caso to Transdiaspora Network, who would like to share this motivational statement with you: “In many of the things you attempt, the odds will be against you. Fortunately, the odds don’t really matter. After all, the odds were very much against you ever being born in the first place. And yet here you are. Whether it is with your health, your wealth, your relationships, or anything else, the odds don’t determine your results. Your thoughts, actions, words, focus, commitment and persistence are what create the results you get.” 

IN VOICE 

The BOLD Initiative and Bounce School Making History
By Mateo Eckstat, TDN Editor-In-Chief 

Hailing from Union City, NJ, just across the Hudson from Midtown Manhattan and now a sophomore at Columbia University, Sherill-Marie Henriquez* is leading an innovative project with high school students called Bounce School, which has been integrated into her work with Transdiaspora Network’s BOLD Initiative internship. We discussed her background, how she became involved with TDN, and what a typical day in Bounce School is like. 

M.E.: Give me some background information about yourself–where did you grow up, what’s your family history, and what are you doing now? 

S.M.E.: I grew up in Union City, NJ. I lived there my whole life until I left for college. My sister and my mother moved here from the Dominican Republic about twenty years ago, a little while before I was born. Now I go to school at Columbia and go back to Union City about two times a month. 

M.E.: What was it like growing up there? 

S.M.E.: Hudson County has a very large Latin American population. Union City used to have the second highest concentration of Cuban immigrants in the nation. So I grew up in a diverse place. We had Cubans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Japanese, Chinese, Indians, Salvadorians, Hondurans, Colombians, Guatemalans, so we had to be diverse, right? 

M.E.: What led you to start working with Transdiaspora Network? 

S.M.E.: I went to a civic engagement networking event at Barnard, and I was really just trying to get a feel for different non-profits and trying to find a summer internship in the education field. 

I was already working on a project I had started called Bounce School. I really wanted to spread the word in case people could refer me to other resources, but I did not expect to find such immediate help. I went up to Ariel and after talking to him for a few minutes and looking through the TDN brochure, I noticed some big similarities between the BOLD initiative and Bounce School. Both focused on teaching students of Latin American and African American descent through a cultural lens and in a relaxed, alternative classroom setting. I told him about Bounce School, and he asked if I would like to apply for the BOLD Initiative internship.  

M.E.: Could you tell me more about Bounce School and how it got started? 

S.M.E.: I developed the idea after taking a course called Latin American Civilization and another one called Contemporary Issues in Education. For the first time I saw how today’s injustices have their roots in historical events. Those two classes allowed me to reflect upon my own education, what was missing, and how it shaped me. Learning about things like the Spanish Conquest and what it means to be Latin American was so important to my growth as a student and as a teenager transitioning into adulthood, and I thought it would be great if we could bring that kind of cultural pride and identity awareness to teenagers. My curriculum focuses on teaching critical thinking, questioning historical sources, being aware of our own biases, and discovering how we have been shaped by the stories with which we grew up.  

M.E.: Could you give me an example of a typical class? 

S.M.E.: For our second class I brought in six primary documents – letters and articles I got from my Latin American Civilization class, written in the 16th and 17th century. I placed one in front of every seat, and as soon as they had had enough time to read, I started singling them out and asking questions about the documents: what is the format? If it’s a letter, who is it from, who is it to? What is it describing? What year was it written? Where was the person who wrote it from? What role do you think this person played in the conquest? What clues do the documents give us to indicate this? What else can we learn about their lives through these documents? 

I asked them to infer things, to question assumptions, to examine little details. I asked a bunch of questions, because I wanted to lead them to a certain conclusion rather than lecture them. When a student finally said that there are at least three sides to history: the truth, one side, and another side, I knew we were in the right place. Soon after that came the realization that we cannot simply trust hearsay, textbooks, or primary documents as legitimate truths in and of themselves. 

After that we played a game called Step into the Circle. After reviewing our community rules which ensure that we are creating a safe and confidential space in which to have discussions, I read about twelve statements. After each statement, the students who identified with it would stand up, look each other in the eye, and shake hands. All of the students who remained seated clapped for them, celebrating their peers’ identities. For example, one of the statements was “I identify as a Native American.” Another was “I grew up in a single parent household.” After each statement, we all sat down and had the option of elaborating on our choice. So when I stood up after saying “I grew up in a single parent household,” I shook hands with other students who also came from single parent households, while our seated peers clapped for us. When we were seated, I explained that although my mother was divorced, we lived across the hall from my aunt for most of my childhood, so it was really more like having two moms. 

M.E.: So as the class moves on through history will the class begin to focus more on Transdiaspora Network’s goal of HIV prevention? 

S.M.E.: Yes, our next class will begin with slavery, move on to slave rebellions and independence movements in Latin American colonies, and end with an introduction to HIV/AIDS in the Latin American and African American communities. The class after that one is about immigration, and that’s where the diaspora element comes in. 

M.E.: That all sounds amazing. What is it like to start a project like this? It must be difficult to balance with school, doesn’t it? 

S.M.E.: Well, yeah. Columbia University isn’t exactly taking it easy on me! But I know that now is the time when I have the best motivation, connections, and resources to start something like this. 

*Sherill-Marie Henriquez is a sophomore student at Columbia College who is interesting in pursuing a career in Education, specifically urban and Latin American education.  

IN THE NEWS

Caribbean HIV/AIDS Summit Opened In Bahamas

There has been an alarming increase in the transmission rates of HIV/AIDS among 20-49 year-olds in The Bahamas, according to recent statistics. Even more alarming is the fact that since 1994, AIDS has been the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15-49. But the problem is not only immune to The Bahamas, but throughout the region as well. In order to combat this disturbing trend, over 80 participants from throughout the region convened in the capital yesterday, to attend a three-day Caribbean Regional HIV Prevention Summit at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort. 

The summit is being co-sponsored by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Ministry of Health. Participants at the summit represent several government agencies, national AIDS programmes, technical and policy experts, civil society organisations, programme implementers for MARPs and OVPs, multi-lateral and bi-lateral and regional organisations, and representatives from local organisations and networks supporting MARPs and persons living with HIV. 

 They discussed and share strategies on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. The Caribbean is the second most HIV affected region in the world as AIDS continues to be the leading cause of death among adult Caribbean males and females ages 25-44 years. 

 Opening the summit was Minister of Health, Dr. Hubert Minnis, who said while the national HIV/AIDS programme continues to be a global model, the country still has its challenges of providing adequate service to most at risk people (MARPs) and other vulnerable populations (OVPs) in HIV prevention programming, namely immigrants. “Fear of detainment by undocumented immigrants remains a barrier that hinders adequately reaching the immigrant population,” said Dr. Minnis. “Consequently, efforts to strengthen and expand prevention interventions aimed at individuals most at risk and people living with HIV to protect their health and reduce the risk of HIV transmission to sex partners and children are clearly needed.” 

 As there are currently no provisions for multilateral country agreements that address the continuity of medications between health systems in respective countries, Dr. Minnis said treatment becomes another challenge. While the focus has always been on the prevention and the comprehensive care of individuals infected with HIV, access to health care – regardless of immigration status – becomes a tenet of the Ministry of Health. 

 “The Government of The Bahamas has put in place policies and practices that facilitate reaching MARPS and OVP’s. One such policy that specifically facilitates the operation and scope of HIV/AIDS related services is the provision of medical care for persons with needs regardless of their ability to pay. Antenatal care, including the provision of antiretroviral therapy, is provided free of charge to all public patients. This has also been extended to all registered HIV positive patients in the private and public health sector.” 

 According to Dr. Minnis, the Ministry of Health with help from PEPFAR, will continue its efforts to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. “Since the very first case of HIV/AIDS was identified in The Bahamas, the death rate from HIV has been reduced by 70 per cent. The Bahamas went from 300 deaths from AIDS every year to around 70 for the last two years,” said Dr. Minnis. 

 Participants in the three-day summit were challenged to creatively think of ways to promote HIV/AIDS prevention, stigma reduction and public awareness in the local community. 

[Excerpted from The Bahamas Journal, By Andrew J.W. Knowles, March 16, 2011] 

IN OTHER WORDS…

 “Worldliness is exactly what we all have in common today: the dimension I find myself inhabiting and the relation we may well lose ourselves in. The wretched other side of the worldliness is what is called globalization or the global market: reduction to the bare basics, the rush to the bottom, standardization, the imposition of multinational corporations with their ethos of bestial (or all too human) profit, circles whose circumference is everywhere and whose center is nowhere.”

– Edouard Glissant

Transdiaspora Network^TM is a New York-based human capacity building non-profit organization conducting HIV prevention awareness and community-based, culturally aware preventive mentoring for a population of youth at high risk. In addition, it facilitates identification of community resources, empowerment based interventions, and educational approaches to increase health literacy. Our Afro-Caribbean Dance Mediation, Storytelling Dynamics, the Social Photography Workshop and the BOLD Initiative provide solutions that increase self-awareness and assertiveness. For more information about our organization, please visit www.transdiasporanetwork.org.  

©Transdiaspora Network, March 2011 

March 22, 2011   No Comments

• Introduction
• Announcements
• In the News
• In Other Words

INTRODUCTION

Transdiaspora Network keeps believing in the future, but most importantly we believe in the endless potential of our youth. Our team recognize each young person’s uniqueness while providing personal empowerment and new strategies to practice HIV prevention. We are working even harder to improve our program’s curriculum and to be more effective in our community outreach expanding TDN’s social diversity. We are not afraid of being patient.

For 2011, our organization is envisioning a new expansion with the creation of the BOLD Initiative to inaugurate a culture of genuine promises where college students can come on board with a renewed sense of social commitment and voluntarism. This new year, everybody is welcome to contribute and elevated our expectations. Join us in our believe that youth empowerment and prevention are related to opportunity and achievement. Please visit our website and let us know how you can help to further our mission.

Would you like to know what is our New Year’s resolution? Here it is: Local action. Global message. One teen at a time!

Ariel Rojas, MS, MA
President & Founder

ANNOUNCEMENTS

TDN invited to International Conference at UN Headquarters

Based on our innovative curriculum to educate culturally diverse teens about HIV prevention, TDN has been invited to participate in a day-long conference at the United Nations, focusing on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, with special emphasis on the subtopics of Poverty, Education and Global Health. The conference, held on January 14th, will offer information and updates of the progress being made toward the MDGs, one of which is combating HIV/AIDS. The conference is organized by The Committee On Teaching About the United Nations (CATUN), which provides educators worldwide with opportunities to learn about the work of the UN and community organizations, and to learn how to integrate global awareness into learning and teaching at all levels.

In recent years, attendance at the CATUN conference has reached and even exceeded 800 participants from countries in Latin America, Europe and Africa as well as the United States. In addition to speakers and panels, the conference includes an Info Fair of UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others whose work connects with the conference theme. This space provides materials and activities that can be replicated in classrooms and elsewhere.

TDN Partners With The Children’s Museum of the Arts For Haitian Art Festival

Transdiaspora Network is partnering with The Children’s Museum of the Arts (CMA) to promote a Haitian Art Festival, designed to serve the Haitian-American community of New York City and the tri-state region. The festival will be held on February 5th and 6th, 2011 at CMA’s SoHo facility, 182 Lafayette Street in Lower Manhattan.

The festival will feature a variety of hands-on, artist-led workshops teaching traditional Haitian art and folk art. On February 5th, contemporary Haitian-American artist Jean Dominique will lead a painting exploration of Haitian culture. Mr. Dominique will be sharing his own artwork that captures the movement of Haitian music and the essence of a traditional marketplace. Drawing inspiration from his paintings and actual objects, visitors will have the opportunity to work with Mr. Dominique on their own watercolor paintings. Additionally, storyteller Bethie Dominique will share traditional Haitian folktales accompanied by Emmanuel Louis’ rhythmic Haitian drumming.

On February 6th, the festival’s activities will continue with the traditional drumming, singing, and dancing of BONGA (www.bongamusic.org). Following each performance, families will have the opportunity to participate in interactive workshops led by the guest performers. There will be also artist-led workshops exploring the visual art traditions of Haiti. For more information, contact the museum at 212.941.9198.

The BOLD Initiative: A New Endeavor

Transdiaspora Network has opened up a new space to engage young college students interested in trying new ideas to raise awareness and catalyze communal advancement in HIV prevention. We have named this new initiative The BOLD Initiative: Bridging Opportunity Leadership and Development and our first BOLD intern, Anyeli Arias, joined the program last fall. Anyeli is a Dance major at Hunter College and a student of Dominican-decent.

Anyeli decided to enroll in the Bold Initiative to expand her social knowledge and because TDN targets the concerns she feels most passionate about: helping children and social issues. Using her previous experience from the CARAS Dance Ensemble — a youth dance company that strives to empower young artists to express themselves through dance and to create works that explore social issues and spark dialogue for change – she was able to innovatively draw attention to issues specifically related to self-awareness and HIV prevention. During her internship, Anyeli worked on re-designing the curriculum for our new programming cycle of Dance Mediation and Storytelling Dynamics.

“In the beginning,” reflects Ms. Arias, “since I didn’t have any experience dealing with HIV-AIDS related issues, it was very challenging to incorporate that into the work, and to make it accessible to students. But as time progressed, it became easier, and I become better at developing the curriculum. The internship is something I feel very positive about.” During her internship, Anyeli received mentorship from Chelsea Downing, TDN’s Development Coordinator, and general supervision from TDN President and Founder Ariel Rojas.

New Brochure For A New Year

TDN has a new electronic brochure, thanks to the teamwork of our Graphic Designer, Dennis Chen, and TDN Board Member Sophie Cardona.

Successful Year-End Online Campaign

The social media online campaign “Where Do Babies Come From?”, which was designed by TDN Communications Director Federica Rangel and  ran during last month of 2010 on Transdiaspora Network’s community blog, was a resounding success, both on Twitter and Facebook, and surpassed all our expectations. During the three-week campaign, our blog received more than 200 visits from 11 countries, and more than 1,000 people accessed our campaign on Facebook, leaving colorful and insightful comments. Social media works! Click here to view the campaign.

Bed-Stuy Teens Help Neighbors And Set A Record

A group of Bedford-Stuyvesant teens turned last blizzard into a cash bonanza. The Bed-Stuy Foot Soldiers, teens who shovel, sweep and clean the neighborhood’s stately brownstones, earned nearly $5,000 last week shoveling snow – a one-day record for the group.

“This was the biggest storm we’ve ever dealt with, the biggest and the scariest,” said Foot Soldiers founder Barnabas Shakur. “There were four times I thought I was going to hit a car.”

The storm was a blessing for the group, part of Shakur’s youth nonprofit Project Re-Generation, which operates on a shoestring budget. Only about 20 of the Foot Soldiers’ 100 members were able to brave the snow last week and travel around the neighborhood in Shakur’s Ford F-150 pickup, stopping at houses and clearing the sidewalks, porches and steps.

Foot soldier Joey Horne, 19 years old, said he didn’t mind the cold – and felt good after an elderly woman thanked him for shoveling her out of her house.

IN THE NEWS

Kenya: 40,000 males undergo ‘cut’ in anti-HIV drive

More than 40,000 men and boys were circumcised during the festive season under a government-sponsored programme for the prevention of HIV. More than 250,000 males have been circumcised so far giving Kenya the highest number of young men circumcised under the HIV prevention programme in the world.

According to Dr Nicolas Muraguri, the head at the Kenya National Aids/STI Control Programme, a Rapid Results Initiative launched in December captured many males. The World Health Organisation (WHO) shows Kenya has reached more men than all the other 12 participating countries combined.

While Kenya had recorded 110,000 cuts by June last year, the other 12 East and Southern African countries had a combined reach of 49,000. By the beginning of December, during the World Aids Day, Public Health minister Beth Mugo said the country had exceeded targets and would scale up the initiative during the holiday season.

“Kenya is the leading country globally in the promotion of Voluntary Male Circumcision as a key strategy in HIV prevention with the service being offered in Nyanza, parts of Nairobi, Western and Rift Valley provinces,” the minister said. Studies have shown that male circumcision reduces the risk of HIV infection by nearly 60 per cent. The programme hopes to reach 1.1 million males and prevent an estimated 900,000 new HIV infections for over 20 years.

But the implementing team has raised new concerns. The project targets males over the age of 15 considered sexually active but during the holidays there is a heavy turnout of younger boys. “More than 45 per cent of clients were younger than 15. Circumcising such young boys will not have an immediate impact on the HIV epidemic, because most of them are not sexually active,” says the update.

[Excerpted from The Daily Nation, January 3, 2011]

IN OTHER WORDS…

“Promoting empowerment means believing that people are capable of making their own choices and decisions. It means not only that human beings posses the strengths and potential to resolve their own difficult life situations, but also that they increase their strengths and contribute to the society by doing so.”

– Charles D. Cowger

Transdiaspora Network^TM is a New York-based human capacity building non-profit organization conducting HIV prevention awareness and community-based, culturally aware preventive mentoring for a population of youth at high risk. In addition, it facilitates identification of community resources, empowerment based interventions, and educational approaches to increase health literacy. Our Afro-Caribbean Dance Mediation, Storytelling Dynamics, the Social Photography Workshop and the BOLD Initiative provide solutions that increase self-awareness and assertiveness. For more information about our organization, please visit www.transdiasporanetwork.org.

©Transdiaspora Network, January 2011

January 5, 2011   No Comments

• Introduction
• Announcements
• In the News
• In Other Words

Introduction

Across America and around the world, children are going back to school, getting ready for a new round of challenges, goals to achieve and expectations to meet. At the same time, Transdiaspora Network is preparing for a new program cycle and is actively recruiting participants into its programs. Amidst news of Koran-burning hatred and intolerance, TDN believes more than ever in the need to use culture as a lens to understand and resolve conflicts, and to foster communication and dialogue about the difficult issues facing society in this day and age. On another front, as we face a 9 billion dollar deficit in Albany and a dearth of innovative social programs, let us not forget our at-risk youth who need us to provide them with relevant support systems and programs to help them develop into self-confident, productive and responsible adults. As the study we highlight in the last section (In the News) of this newsletter shows,  formal education coupled with knowledge may be the best tool we currently have to fight HIV/AIDS.  At TDN, we work hard to arm at risk teens with the tools and thinking processes they need to plan better futures for themselves – and we constantly remind them that thinking ahead and making healthy decisions are part of their homework, every single day of the year. If you would like to make a donation to support our work, please go to www.transdiasporanetwork.org.

Ariel Rojas, MS, MA
President & Founder

Announcements

State Senator Savino Sponsors ‘Back to School Blast’

L to R: Diane Savino, NY State Senator; Ariel Rojas, TDN President and Founder

TDN President and Founder Ariel Rojas was invited to a “Back to School Blast” sponsored by State Senator Diane J. Savino. Parents and students received free school supplies, giveaways, safety tips and college-related information for the beginning of a new academic year.  Young attendees were treated to a visit by the Brooklyn Cyclone’s mascot, Sandy the Seagull and representatives from city and state local agencies, including the NYC Public Library System, NYC Dept. of Youth and Community Development and the NYPD that were on hand.

TDN at the Brazilian Day Festival

On a beautiful Labor Day Sunday, the TDN team – volunteers, interns, board members, past program participants and friends — headed out to midtown Manhattan to participate in the 26th Annual Brazilian Day Festival. It was our privilege to be the only non-profit organization promoting HIV prevention to be invited to attend, and we took advantage of the opportunity to spread our message of prevention to a varied and animated audience. According to the United States Agency of International Development, Brazil accounts for 57% of all AIDS cases in Latin America and the Caribbean, making our presence at the festival relevant and timely.  We interacted with all passers-by, old and young, parents and teens, New Yorkers and tourists, Brazilians and people from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The festival was a unique opportunity to raise awareness about HIV prevention in a new setting, and highlights the need for TDN’s work educating and empowering the next generation in the fight against HIV/AIDS across the spectrum of nationality and cultural origin.

TDN welcomes new team members

Sadly, board member Lina Cherfas and Research & Communications Director Susan Schwarz, are saying goodbye to us after two years of indelible commitment and hard work. We thank them fondly for their contributions and wish them all the best.

Chelsea Downing, TDN Development Coordinator

On the other hand, we are pleased to welcome four new members to our growing family, Chelsea Downing (Development Coordinator), Federica Rangel (Communications Coordinator), Jessica Liu (Health Reporter) and Jonatta Moore (Research Associate). Chelsea attended McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where she obtained a degree in Education. Her experiences working at health services clinics and at a support center for sexual assault survivors have inspired her to promote sexual health and safety among adolescents and teens. She currently works as a sexuality educator at a school in Brooklyn.

L to R - Federica Rangel, TDN Communications Coordinator; Jessica Liu, TDN Health Reporter.

Federica came to the U.S in 2003 from her native country Venezuela. She is currently pursuing an M.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communications at New York University. She plans to use her skills to bridge the gap between technological advances and socio-economic challenges we face today.

Jessica was born in Hong Kong and grew up in sunny southern California. She attended the University of California, Berkeley as a Public Health major and served as the director of Alternative Breaks, a program that connects students with underserved communities through sustainable and community-based service-learning projects across the country. She now works at NYU Langone Medical Center and is applying to medical school, where she hopes to continue her investigation into the intersection of medicine, public health, and social justice.

Jonatta, who was born and raised in Liberia, graduated from University of Edinburg, Scotland, with a Master degree in Art History. In the recent past, she has worked for the National Museum of Scotland as a Research Assistant and has interned with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Social Photography Exhibition for National Latino AIDS Awareness Day

October 15th, 2010 is National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD). TDN is participating in this important day  by hosting an event of its own, a photography exhibit colored by the different meanings HIV prevention takes on for young people, depending on their local, religious and cultural communities. The photographs are gathered from TDN’s Social Photography Workshop which was launched last Spring, with the goal of helping teenagers engage with their surroundings more intently, and finding new spaces to express their thoughts and feelings about HIV prevention and related issues of self-perception, identity and family dynamics. The photographs, taken with disposable cameras and cell phones, are a vivid example of how dialogue and new meanings can be built using a variety of tools, not just words. Event details to follow soon.

After the Quake: HIV/AIDS in Haiti

The January 2010 earthquake destroyed Haiti’s health care system, which was once at the forefront of the struggle to treat and stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. “The world has moved on, but the situation in Haiti is not getting better,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe. “It is even getting worse.” It appeared that HIV/AIDS would become just another negative label added to the many that Haiti already held. However, international organizations such as GHESKIO and Partners in Health have educated people and have enlisted Haitians to help themselves, training residents in rural areas to administer antiretroviral drug therapy (ARVs) to others in their communities.

According to the report launched by the Pulitzer Center, HIV prevalence rates in Haiti fell from 9.4 percent in 1993 to 3.7 percent in 2003, among pregnant women tested, and to 2.2 percent among all adults by 2008. Then the earthquake smashed Haiti’s health care effort to battle the disease. The Haitian government estimated that 24,000 Haitians were accessing ARVs before the earthquake, but now the numbers show another reality where fewer than 40 percent had access to the drug therapy. Living in tent cities for internally displaced persons (IDP), hundreds of HIV positive people experience how their weakened immunity, and the unrelenting heat and rain, make them more vulnerable to diseases.  Sex in these IDP camps—both forced and consensual—will likely increase the spread of HIV.

Governor Paterson Signs Landmark Legislation to Promote HIV Testing

Last summer, Governor David A. Paterson announced the enactment of two bills to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS by updating New York’s HIV testing law to encourage increased testing rates and remove disincentives to participation in needle exchange and syringe access programs.

The Governor’s bill, which took effect on September 1, 2010, allows patients to agree to HIV testing as part of a general signed consent to medical care that remains in effect until it is revoked or expires. The bill also requires health care providers to offer testing to their patients between 13 and 64 years of age, as recommended by the federal Centers for Disease and Control (CDC), and facilitates authorization for testing in the case of certain occupational exposures to HIV infection.

“The enactment of this bill represents a significant step forward in combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic,” Governor Paterson said. “By making HIV testing a routine part of health care, this legislation will increase HIV testing rates, letting people learn their status and begin treatment at an earlier stage, which can significantly improve the length and quality of life and help reduce transmission of the disease.”

In the News

Education more important than knowledge in preventing spread of HIV

A new study suggests that simply teaching people the facts about how to protect themselves from HIV may not be enough to prevent the spread of AIDS in Africa.

Researchers found that villagers in Ghana who had higher levels of cognitive and decision-making abilities – not just the most knowledge-were the ones who were most likely to take steps to protect themselves from HIV infection. These cognitive abilities are what people develop through formal education, said Ellen Peters, lead author of the study and associate professor of psychology at Ohio State University.

“Knowledge about HIV and AIDS is important, but greater knowledge is not by itself leading people to take on healthier behaviours,” Peters said. “People really need the education that trains them how to think, to use their knowledge to plan for the future.”

This is one of the first studies to show the importance of formal education in helping to prevent the spread of HIV, outside of research done in relatively well-educated Western countries, Peters said.

[Excerpt from Sify News, September 9, 2010]

In Other Words

“If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.”

-Woody Allen

Transdiaspora Network^TM is a New York-based human capacity building non-profit organization conducting HIV prevention awareness and community-based, culturally aware preventive mentoring for a population of youth at high risk. In addition, it facilitates identification of community resources, empowerment based interventions, and educational approaches to increase health literacy. Our Afro-Caribbean Dance Mediation, Storytelling Dynamics, Social Photography Workshop, and The CarHIV Youth Society provide solutions that increase self-awareness and assertiveness. For more information about our organization, please visit www.transdiasporanetwork.org.

(c)Transdiaspora Network, September 2010

September 14, 2010   No Comments

• Introduction
• Announcements
• In Voice – On the Film Sex in An Epidemic
• Opinion – New Tools For Talking About HIV
• In the News
• In Other Words

INTRODUCTION

With students out of school, many families heading out of town to escape the city heat, and a slow news cycle, the summer usually provides a chance to sit back and catch our breath. However, with a lingering economic crisis and dwindling health budgets, the fight against HIV/AIDS remains at a fever pitch. The most notable development came just last week with President Obama’s announcement of the National HIV/AIDS strategy. The new strategy will focus on three main goals: reducing the number of new infections, increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes for people living with HIV and AIDS, and reducing health-related disparities.

In his speech unveiling the plan to the public, the President emphasized that the federal government cannot accomplish these three goals alone. “Yes, government has to do its part,” he said. “But our ability to combat HIV/AIDS doesn’t rest on government alone. It requires companies to contribute funding and expertise to the fight. It requires us to use every source of information – from TV to film to the Internet – to promote AIDS awareness. It requires community leaders to embrace all – and not just some – who are affected by the disease. It requires each of us to act responsibly in our own lives, and it requires all of us to look inward – to ask not only how we can end this scourge, but also how we can root out the inequities and the attitudes on which this scourge thrives.” It is with this knowledge in mind – that we need to look inward, dig deep, and harness all of our creativity, innovation, and resources to fight this disease – that Transdiaspora Network steadfastly continues its work empowering the next generation in the fight against HIV/AIDS.   If you would like to make a donation to support our work, please go to www.transdiasporanetwork.org.

Susan Wile Schwarz, MPH

Communications & Research Director

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Two New Studies Show Promise in Fight Against HIV
Two African studies published this week showed the much-needed signs of hope in preventing transmission of HIV among women and girls, the two groups at highest risk of infection in the region. The first, a small South African study of both urban and rural women, found a significant reduction in chances of becoming infected among women who used a vaginal microbicidal gel compared to those who had used a placebo. Women who used the gel most regularly reduced their chances of infection by 54 percent. While the study findings need to replicated on a larger scale before significant funds can be allocated towards its production, the initial results were heralded as game changing. “This is the first time that there’s been a tool that women can use to protect themselves from becoming infected,” explained Dr. Bruce Walker, a Harvard Medical School professor who was not involved in the study.

The second promising study, based out of Malawi, found that if poor schoolgirls and their families received small monthly cash payments, the girls had sex later, less often and with fewer partners, thereby reducing the likelihood of sexually transmitted infections. A year and a half into the study, results showed that girls whose families received payments were less than half as likely to be infected with AIDS or herpes viruses than those whose families had not. The likelihood that the girls would agree to sex in return for gifts and cash declined as the size of the payments from the program rose, suggesting the central role of extreme poverty in sexual choices.

Local Leader Join TDN Board
Transdiaspora Network is pleased to welcome Onel Mulet as a new member to our Board of Directors. Onel Mulet is a Brooklyn-based producer, composer, and musician whose nearly 30-year career has taken him all over the world. A Miami native of Cuban descent, Onel has lived in New York since 2002. Before relocating from Miami, he worked on community-based cultural initiatives through the Iroko Afro-Cuban dance theater, a Miami Beach based non profit he helped to establish and grow. Since 1995 he has been organizing events that indulge his love for cultural diversity and dedication to public service.

Meeting Examines Impact of HIV on Young Women of Caribbean Descent

Yvonne Graham, Brooklyn Borough Deputy President, receiving a Certificate of Appreciation from YWCHAC Executive Director Claire Simon

On Tuesday, June 8, TDN President and Founder Ariel Rojas was invited to speak at the Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition (YWCHAC) meeting in honor of National Caribbean HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Over 90 service providers in the New York City area participated. The meeting focused on the needs of young women of Caribbean descent, particularly examining what puts them at risk for HIV and the role of heterosexual men and family.  Rojas spoke of the need to engage heterosexual men in the conversation about HIV prevention and include them in outreach efforts.  Brooklyn Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham gave the keynote address and was joined on the dais by panelists from the Caribbean Women’s Health Association, Diaspora Community Services, Iris House, Brooklyn Comprehensive Care Perinatal Network, and HHS Office of Women’s Health Region II. YWCHAC is an organization by and for young women of color whose mission is to address the structural factors that impact the lives of young women of color ages 13-24. For more information about YWCHAC and its programs visit www.statusispower.org. To see more pictures from the event, click here.

Latino AIDS Awareness Day to Focus on Early Testing
National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) will take place on October 15, the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month. NLAAD was established in 2003 in response to the impact of HIV and AIDS in Hispanic/Latino communities nationwide, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. NLAAD is a national community mobilization and social marketing campaign that unites the Hispanic/Latino community in efforts to raise HIV awareness; promote HIV testing, prevention, and education; draw attention to other critical health issues such as Viral Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), and Tuberculosis (TB). NLAAD is also a capacity building opportunity that aims to improve the ability of community based organizations, faith based congregations, and local health departments to provide HIV testing, prevention, and education services through collaboration and partnership opportunities.

In 2009, NLAAD solidified support from 420 partners who together organized 350 events in 35 states across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This year’s theme, Save a Life, It May be your Own. Get Tested for HIV, speaks to the critical role HIV testing and prevention education play as a result of late testing realities faced by Hispanic/Latino communities. By facilitating partnerships; hosting community events to encourage people to seek HIV testing, counseling, and treatment; and by developing and disseminating prevention strategies, NLAAD promotes healthy communities.

For more information on NLAAD 2010 or if you have any questions, please contact Melissa Faith Ramirez, NLAAD Director, (212) 584-9315 or mramirez@latinoaids.org.

Positive Youth Ambassadors to Convene in Dallas
The National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) will host its Positive Youth Institute on August 11-15, in Dallas, Texas. The Positive Youth Institute is a retreat designed exclusively for HIV-positive youth between the ages of 18 and 24, with the goal of providing HIV-positive young people from across the country with the life skills required for good health. The retreat will work towards developing more than 100 positive youth ambassadors who will bring the knowledge obtained in the course back to their communities. Through their participation in the retreat, the HIV-positive youth ambassadors will learn how to build sustainable leadership among other community youth, increase engagement in HIV prevention campaigns and initiatives targeting youth, and reduce community experiences resulting from HIV-related stigma. The workshops’ focus run the gamut of social and medical issues and in the past have included topics such as public presentation, resume building, media, creative arts, medical care and treatment, and body image.

For more information on the Positive Youth Conference and for registration and scholarship forms please click here.

Harlem’s North General to Close
After more than 30 years of serving the East and Central Harlem communities, North General Hospital is scheduled to shut its doors in the near future. Throughout its history, North General remained the only black-minority-operated, voluntary community teaching hospital in New York State. In the words of a recent editorial lamenting the hospital’s demise, “it has been a place where you could find doctors who were particularly sensitive to the health issues of our community, and you could feel safe and not question whether doctors understood or really cared about you and your issues…For many African Americans who have been afraid of health professionals and the health care system, the hospital has been an oasis, a place where you could really trust the doctors and nurses because they were fully invested in our community.” Despite full accreditation status and a newly renovated emergency room, without the backing of wealthy benefactors, the hospital has fallen hundreds of millions of dollars into debt. The Institute for Family Health will take over North General’s walk-in and primary health care clinic while the Health and Hospital Corporation will turn the rest of the facility into a long-term acute care center.

Empire State Building Lights Celebrate Caribbean Week

Throughout Caribbean Week, the Empire State Building was lit up in blue, green, and yellow, which are considered the colors of the Caribbean. The Diaspora was highly engaged in a list of activities arranged by the Caribbean Tourism Organization. The week-long celebration kicked off Jun 6 with an annual Church service at St. George’s Episcopal Church, in Brooklyn.

IN VOICE

On the Film Sex in An Epidemic
By Ashley Villarreal, TDN Local Health Reporter

When Jean Carlomusto started her career in AIDS advocacy she was up against an invisible force. It was the mid-80s and the disease had just been “discovered” by America. Many dealt with this shocking news, which almost single-handedly focused on the gay population, with defiance. There was no way that the U.S. was going to condone, or ultimately, pay for such behavior.

In 1988, Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina was the voice of the public when he submitted an amendment to prohibit the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) from making funds available for AIDS education. Racy videos, sexual comics, and sexual conduct were the culprits of the decline of society, and with a strong conservative backing, Helms successfully helped turn the country against the fight for AIDS.

At this time, Carlomusto was just as active speaking out for the disease as Helms was speaking against it. Joining on as part of ACT UP, an organization described by one city’s newscaster as being “known for disruptive protest designed to draw attention to the spread of AIDS,” (at one point wrapping Helms’ entire home in a makeshift condom) Carlomusto began to work on campaigns to dampen the spread of HIV. It seemed the best way to do this would be to lead a discussion towards understanding what sex is about and being able to talk openly about what it shouldn’t be.

To Carlomusto, this meant signing onto sex-oriented advertisements like the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) “Safer Sex Comix” as a way to reach out to broader audiences that might be turned off by an abstinence-only discussion.

Almost 25 years later, Carlomusto has put together a fledgling film, Sex in An Epidemic, a way to look back on the progress we’ve made in the fight for safe sex. The documentary follows several interviewees diagnosed with AIDS, chronicling the rise of AIDS in America among the gay population, the backlash from mainly religious and conservative institutions, and the struggle the gay population had in trying to define the limits of protected sex. It seemed the general consensus of the era, which followed a seamless decade of “free love” and guilt-free encounters, was that safe sex was going to have to be invented not enforced. From this argument, two sides formed – one which rallied to develop an adequate response to the implementation of safer practices, and the other which chose to ignore the concern and psychologically minimize the cost by waiting to let science decide.

Nowadays, being gay does not automatically mean you have AIDS. Homosexual characters now play major roles in our popular culture, and celebrity stars are even applauded for “coming out” on national television. In many ways, we have changed the way we perceive “the gay disease.” Yet, the battle over how to prepare ourselves and our children for the argument of safe sex still remains one of the greatest challenges.

The most harrowing takeaway point from Carlomusto’s film is that we may have come along way since 1985, but we still have much farther to go. In analyzing the battle to appropriately assign blame to one group or another (in this case the gay population at the rise of the disease) and later on to African Americans during its progression, we have ignored the real issue at hand: America has a problem with sex.

Today, the CDC is a major source of funding for AIDS research and advocacy, and although its funding goes mostly to pro-abstinence education, overall, people support condom and contraception education. In 2004, a study by the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and the Kaiser Health Foundation showed more than half of parents and educators believed in what was called “abstinence-plus” education. Only 15 percent said they supported an abstinence-only curriculum. Yet, when educators were surveyed on whether or not they teach abstinence-only in schools, 30 percent of principals at public schools reported doing so.

Just last week, a public school in Montana publicized its goal to begin teaching sexual education in kindergarten. Protests erupted nationwide as adults and parents stood up against what they considered dangerous, not simply because of a curriculum open to the idea of sex, but one that teaches kids about anal sex and sex with objects to five-year-olds. Despite a lack of popular opinion from a clinical or scientific field, the message is clear: we don’t want to teach the next generation that being gay and having gay sex is okay.

There has been a lot of discussion recently that expands the focus of HIV prevention. It’s not just the gay population anymore. This past month, President Barack Obama stated that his Global Health Initiative for AIDS would focus mainly on black men in America. Press conferences held by pop stars such as Lady Gaga have focused on the lack of communication for increasing rates of infection of women with HIV. Even here at Transdiaspora Network reported a 2008 statistic from the CDC showing that rates of HIV infection were on the rise in children, and 1 out of 9 HIV infections were happening right here in the New York Metropolitan area.

Although this goes a long way to being more proactive about how we target the disease, perhaps the message of the film is not just that we shouldn’t forget about the gay community as a subset of society that still lacks a solution, but that we should analyze the history of how we have come to define safe sex. The film discusses defining what this means, going beyond the concept of condom-use to bring in ideas of real human bonds of trust and love as weapons for safe sex, while discounting the idea that AIDS just arises out of promiscuity. The real fight against AIDS may lie not within overcoming our sexual differences, but in the questions still left unanswered: why isn’t talking about sex more welcome in our society? Why has the struggle for sex education been so convoluted? And lastly, what does it mean to feel safe while having sex anyway?

The documentary Sex in An Epidemic is still touring the film festival circuit and is expected to be available for purchase sometime later this year.  For rental, please send inquiries to info@outcast-films.com.

OPINION

New Tools For Talking About HIV
By Fahmida

There are several barriers that prevent people from talking about HIV. The negative stigma prevents people from talking about the disease. People feel as though if they talk about HIV, others will automatically assume that they are infected. Another thing that prevents people from talking about HIV is culture and religion. Many different religions forbid sex before marriage and other behaviors that may put you at risk, therefore if someone brings up the topic of HIV, family members that share the same religion, culture, and traditions automatically assume that you have the disease or are putting yourself at risk. It’s easily seen how much trouble people have to just talk about HIV, for people to even imagine learning about HIV prevention, and spreading the information about prevention is unthinkable.

Another thing that prevents HIV and prevention to be talked about is the lack of knowledge. In my own experience, I have seen that many people I know don’t know about HIV. They have heard about it, but other than the name, they don’t know anything about the disease. I also think that, with an older generation, such as my parents’, HIV is something they don’t want to talk about. It’s the mindset that they grew up with that doesn’t allow them to be open-minded about talking about HIV. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with their way of thinking because it’s something they grew up with; it’s just a more traditional way of thinking, and it’s not something we can change easily.

Not knowing how to bring up the topic of HIV is the main reason why people have trouble talking about it. However, the topic of HIV is not taken lightly when it is brought up. That’s why bringing it up in the right way is so important.

The Social Photography Workshop has allowed us to be able to talk about HIV in an easier way by using photography. We’ve seen that we can also use videos, dance, and movies to portray HIV prevention. Using these forms of expression allows a group of people to talk about HIV but by using the support of something many people can relate to. That way, the topic of HIV doesn’t come on so strong, and it’s easier for people to stay committed to the conversation and the topic.

Fahmida is a junior at Brooklyn Technical High School and graduate of TDN’s Social Photography Workshop.

IN THE NEWS

Editorial: Fighting AIDS on Limited Budgets

With the AIDS epidemic still spreading rapidly around the globe, public health programs have to use their resources a lot more effectively. The need for greater efficiency in a time of limited resources is an important theme of President Obama’s new national AIDS strategy. The same argument is being made by the United Nations agency that battles the epidemic and by Bill Gates, whose foundation plays an influential role in financing a global response.

While drug treatments are keeping more people infected with the AIDS virus alive in the United States, the number of new infections of H.I.V. has held steady at about 56,000 a year. The White House strategy aims to reduce that number by 25 percent over the next five years and to substantially increase the percentage of people who get tested and treated promptly.

To meet those goals, it calls for redirecting some of the $19 billion that the federal government currently spends annually on domestic AIDS programs to areas where the need is greatest and to groups at greatest risk, such as gay and bisexual men, blacks, Latinos and injection drug users. That sounds reasonable in tough times.

In the developing world, where drug treatments are also saving many lives, new infections are occurring at a faster rate than treatment is being provided. According to estimates from the United Nations, only a third of the 15 million people who need treatment are getting it and $27 billion a year is needed for the global fight – roughly $10 billion to $11 billion more than is now spent.

The United Nations agency is calling for a concerted effort to develop a less-costly and less-toxic single dose pill and simple, cheaper diagnostic and monitoring tests. It is calling for redirecting contributions away from middle-income countries such as China, India and South Africa, which should bear more of their own burden, to free up more money for poorer nations.

A final victory over AIDS will require research breakthroughs. Scientists seem increasingly optimistic that a vaccine will ultimately prove feasible. But that is still a distant dream.

[Excerpted from The New York Times, July 16, 2010]

IN OTHER WORDS

“So the question is not whether we know what to do, but whether we will do it. Whether we will fulfill those obligations; whether we will marshal our resources and the political will to confront a tragedy that is preventable.”

-President Barack Obama

Transdiaspora Network^TM is a New York-based human capacity building non-profit organization conducting HIV prevention awareness and community-based, culturally aware preventive mentoring for a population of youth at high risk. In addition, it facilitates identification of community resources, empowerment based interventions, and educational approaches to increase health literacy. Our Afro-Caribbean Dance Mediation, Storytelling Dynamics, Social Photography Workshop, and The CarHIV Youth Society provide solutions that increase self-awareness and assertiveness. For more information about our organization, please visit www.transdiasporanetwork.org.

(c)Transdiaspora Network, July 2010

July 19, 2010   No Comments

• Introduction
• Announcements
• In Voice – Taking it in Stride
• Opinion – Barriers to Prevention, by Jenyca
• In the News
• In Other Words

INTRODUCTION

We have many exciting happenings to share here at Transdiaspora Network, including the recent celebration of our Third Annual Benefit Concert and the completion our first Social Photography Workshop cycle. We are proud to announce that the next two newsletters will feature original opinion pieces authored by Workshop participants. However, despite our many tremendous achievements and developments, we would be remiss not to mention some disturbing local developments in the HIV/AIDS world. Mayor Bloomberg has proposed devastating budget cuts to the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) that would eliminate one third of the caseworkers who provide intensive case management for 11,000 poor people living with AIDS who reside in subsidized apartments and need help accessing public services. These cuts would not only destroy HASA but also violate a prior ruling mandating maximum client to caseworker ratios. While we sympathize with the budget crisis and the need to make cuts, we abhor and condemn the mayor’s decision to make these cuts at the expense of the city’s neediest and most vulnerable populations. TDN is now on Twitter, so please follow us for important news and developments in the community.

Susan Wile Schwarz, MPH
Communications & Research Director

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Benefit Brings Together Music Fans and Activists Alike

Benefit emcee Rhina Valentin.

On Saturday, May 15, Transdiaspora Network celebrated its Third Annual Benefit Concert with a performance by Grammy-nominated vocalist Xiomara Laugart. The Benefit, emceed by noted actor, producer, and director Rhina Valentin, included dinner, raffle giveaways, and featured a much-lauded presentation by participants from TDN’s inaugural Social Photography Workshop. “I appreciated how eloquently these young ladies spoke about the matter of HIV prevention…and their understanding of shifting the thought process,” said Valentin. Over 60 supporters attended the special event, including special guests from Frank Zimmerman and Susana Rios-Moore from NBC/Telemundo. The evening raised much-needed funds to support TDN’s continued programs with Brooklyn public high school students. “I’m thrilled with the tremendous showing of support from throughout the community,” said President and Founder Ariel Rojas. “The success of the Benefit is testament to the hard work and dedication of our extended TDN family and the youth who continue to spread our message of prevention in the community.”

To see more pictures from the event, click here.

TDN Founder Meets with Colombian Prevention Team
Recently, Transdiaspora Network President and Founder Ariel Rojas made a trip to Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, one of the most colorful Caribbean cities, where he was invited to visit DADIS (Departamento Administrativo Distrital de Salud), the local governmental agency in charge of developing health programs in the region. Ariel established a fruitful dialogue with the team of professionals responsible for the sexual and reproductive health program. Among other responsibilities, this team is charged with coordinating activities and designing local policies related to HIV/AIDS prevention in Cartagena, a city with a flourishing tourism industry, but also impacted by poverty, drug trafficking, prostitution, and infant exploitation.

According to Dr. John Mendoza, the team leader and psychologist by training, “Cartagena doesn’t have a high rate of HIV infections in comparison with the national average, but it has a high-risk population because of those who have been disfranchised by the lack of economic opportunities and displaced by the violent military actions of the guerrilla movement. We have to deal with the HIV-related public stigma as well. However, our program is creating new educational ways to involve the teenagers such as confidential counseling and giving away fashionable keychains where they can keep a pair of condoms.” Discussing the cooperative effort with local NGOs (i.e. Amigos Positivos Association, GEPS Foundation), Dr. Mendoza highlighted how DADIS is working to create a Cartagena-based District Committee of HIV/AIDS Prevention in the near future to help increase the level of prevention effectiveness in low-income towns and the tourism sector.

To see pictures from the meeting, click here.

Latino Commission Study Highlights Need to Reduce Stigma, Focus on Spanish-Language Population
In late April, the Latino Commission on AIDS released a new report entitled New York State Responds to the Latino HIV/AIDS Crisis and Plans for Action with strategies for coordinated statewide campaigns to mobilize community leaders, elected officials, and Latino communities in response to AIDS and promote a call-to-action to prevent and reduce the further spread of HIV.

The report was based on research conducted from January through December of last year, in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute. The research drew from throughout the state and included 28 bilingual focus groups and 400 one-on-one interviews to better understand how HIV/AIDS and other health challenges are currently affecting New York’s Latino communities.

In 2007, Latinos in New York State represented 16% of the population, but accounted for 30% of people living with HIV/AIDS. CDC data shows that Latinos progress to AIDS faster than any other racial or ethnic group, with 42% being diagnosed with AIDS within 12 months after learning of their positive HIV status compared to 34% late diagnosis among white non Hispanic and 35% among blacks.

“Among other important recommendations, this report calls for New York State to address the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS,” said New York Senate Health Committee Chair Thomas K. Duane. “This report illustrates the need for legislation that supports HIV testing as a routine part of health care and legislation that ends discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.”

“This report calls attention to the needs of some of our state and city’s most vulnerable populations,” said Dr. Monica Sweeney, the NYC Health Department’s assistant commissioner for HIV/AIDS. “To reduce HIV transmission, we must address social disadvantages that can foster risky behavior among adolescents and others. At the same time, we must strengthen outreach and education in the Latino community, and ensure that Latino immigrants feel safe accessing health care. New York City’s STD clinics never ask for health insurance or immigration status – and anyone can find one by calling 311.”

“Sexual activity is a leading cause of HIV infection for Latino youth and yet many don’t have access to sexual health education,” said Dr. Donna Futterman, Director of the Adolescent AIDS Program and Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Montefiore Medical Center. “New York State needs to mandate comprehensive sex education that is not abstinence only in all public schools to ensure that our youth are provided with education that includes self-esteem building, decision making skills, HIV/STI prevention and pregnancy prevention. This report calls reminds us that school based education is especially important for young people from homes where sexuality is not discussed.”

AIDS Walk New York Surpasses Annual Expectations
By Ashley Villarreal

The TDN AIDS Walk team.

On Sunday, May 16, over 45,000 people gathered at 59th Street and 5th Avenue to make the 25th annual AIDS Walk New York through Central Park to help fight HIV/AIDS. Thousands of individual contributors and corporate sponsors raised over $5.7 million for AIDS Walk New York (AWNY) and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) by donating their time and endurance to make the 10 km trek up the west side of Central Park.

Transdiaspora Network brought in over $300 in donations this year as our walkers enjoyed a breezy afternoon alongside a marching band, African drum group, and red, white and blue adorned cheerleaders encouraging them and other New Yorkers as they made their way up several paths to 110th Street.

After parading up the west side of the island, our walkers made their way back down Riverside Drive with the rest of the procession buoyed by supportive passersby and shouting onlookers. The size of this year’s walk has instilled hope in AIDS activists citywide and provided a new enthusiasm for programs and services that New York City has felt further pressed for in past years.

“Today’s massive turnout and fundraising results demonstrate that our community is ready to face the next round of challenges in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Infections among youths, minorities, women, and gay men are increasing, while government funding at all levels is decreasing,” said Chief Executive Officer of GMHC, Marjorie J. Hill, in a press release.

Since 1986, AWNY has raised more than $110 million for HIV programs and services in the tri-state area, and has grown into the largest AIDS fundraising event in the world. In 2009 alone, 45,000 participants, many of whom were members of nearly 2,900 corporate and community teams, raised more than $5.6 million for GMHC and 50 other tri-state area AIDS service organizations.

To see more pictures from the event, click here.

TDN Lends Support to When-To-Start Study
On Friday, April 30, Transdiaspora Network signed on to officially endorse a petition in response to a call for more research on antiretroviral treatment. Our goal, along with participating HIV/AIDS organizations, is to build public support for the over 4,000 volunteers who would assist in START (Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Treatment), a large-scale trial that tests for side-effects and drug resistance to long-term antiretroviral therapy. For millions of people living with AIDS, antiretroviral treatment is oftentimes the saving grace in the battle against a harrowing illness that still awaits a cure. This measure comes after the U.S. HIV Treatment Guidelines Panel changed its recommendation that patients should start treatment when they reach a 500 CD4 count, instead of 250.

TDN Participates on Girl Scout HIV Educators Panel

TDN President and Founder Ariel Rojas speaking at a peer education panel.

In early April, Transdiaspora Network’s Ariel Rojas, along with one of our youth program participants, represented the organization on a panel of youth-focused HIV/AIDS organizations speaking to a Girl Scouts of America group visiting from San Diego. Panel attendees had recently completed training to become HIV/AIDS peer educators through a collaborative project with Girl Guides in Kenya. Ariel spoke about TDN’s work cultivating peer educators and leaders here in Brooklyn and highlighted our special focus incorporating cultural perspectives into prevention and peer education.

To see more pictures from the event, click here.

IN VOICE

Taking it in Stride
By Ashley Villarreal

Darrell  found out he was HIV positive shortly after his partner at the time had already started to get sick. By this time, he half expected he’d wind up in the same boat. It was 1995 when a friend working at a rehabilitation center told Darrell about a clinic that was conducting free testing. When the test came back positive, he just about breathed a sigh of relief. For anyone else, the diagnosis would have been bad, but for Darrell, the news was good.

“When I found out, it was disappointing because at that point I didn’t want to be here anymore,” recalled Darrell, who grew up Barbados and moved to New York when he was seven years old.

By the time he found out about his status, he’d already survived rape, abuse for his sexual orientation, cut ties from his family, and a few years of homelessness and life on the street. The news of his HIV status was just another bump in the road. Shortly after being diagnosed, he found out his long-time partner would ultimately die from AIDS. “He was the world to me,” Darrell said. “I never thought I would have that again.”

These days, things are looking up for Darrell, 42, a consultant who lives in Brooklyn and recently met a new partner with whom he’s been for four years. Darrell seems to take each day in stride. With an attitude that embodies the cliche, “what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger,” he shrugs at the mention of his illness, a confident defiance in him that can only say, “that’s life.”

What really bothers Darrell now more than his own status is the perceptions of those around him who treat others unfairly for being gay or HIV positive because they lack knowledge or understanding – some going so far as to feed him off of paper plates.

“Some people just don’t want to take the time to learn and would rather be ignorant about it,” he said. “Society has gotten this way where we are just so dumbed down that the government can kind of push anything on us, and now just because somebody says something doesn’t mean it’s always true.”

Although the stigma that HIV is directly related to homosexuality is more powerful where he’s from in the Caribbean, where even holding hands in public can land you in the hospital (an issue which worried Darrell when approaching his new partner) he still feels stereotypes are alive and well in here New York. And the trend is anything but shrinking within the gay community, he said, which has shown its true colors with the advent of online dating as many singles often express cruel sentiments to screen for others who are “disease free.”

“People are just so superficial when it comes to these things and miss out on a lot of good people and kindhearted people because of their fears. And most times it’s their insecurities” he said.

Darrell said psychology taught him that many people doing the bashing often struggle with similar emotions, and the negative stereotypes that circulate don’t bode well for the way people think about themselves. Even during Darrell’s attendance at a local health center for people with HIV he saw these notions stretched even further.

“People that were around me had been in jail or were really into drugs and that was just the impression I got and it started to seem like that’s what they had to say about it and that that was what defines you,” he said.

Referring to himself as a “conservative gay,” Darrell noted that he often struggles with the image of just identifying as a gay man. “People just assume because you’re gay it means you wanna come on to them, and I’m like, ‘no, do you wanna sleep with everybody you meet? I don’t think so!’”

“The bottom line is that people make the same mistake no matter where they stand,” he said, and “think they can get away with sleeping with someone without protection if everything seems acceptable on the surface.”

“You don’t know anybody. Anybody can tell you anything,” he warned. “If somebody tells you it’s okay [to have unprotected sex] that should set off a red flag that sends you running because you know right there they don’t even care about themselves.”

At this point in his life, Darrell can only lend his own experiences as advice to others struggling with their identity or living with HIV. And although he’s lost friends along the way, both straight and gay, “the only real person you need to make peace with is yourself,” he said.

“You can’t run away from you – I tried – but this is who I am. People are gonna talk, but you just gotta be comfortable with you and stand up for you,” he said. “Life is just a fleeting thing. It’s just a whisper in the wind. You just gotta live. I say the hell with what other people say because they’re not paying my bills or putting clothes on my back, so you’re entitled to your opinion and I’m still going to be me regardless.”

OPINION

Barriers to Prevention
By Jenyca

Initially the barrier was just speaking of HIV. Whether amongst peers or strangers, I felt that that this was an issue. As the weeks progressed, and we got deeper into the details of HIV and HIV prevention, it was easier to speak about. Before this workshop, I’d think about HIV once in a blue moon, now I think of it more. It’s something important to be spoken about.

Now that I’m able to speak of it, a new barrier has formed – approaching it to people outside of this workshop. Adults are “too busy” to listen to what you might have to say, or we often catch them at a “bad time.” Even teenagers are difficult to speak to about this situation, or any situation for that matter. They just don’t care about things.

The most important thing to a teenager is school, friends, family, clothes, material things, etc., probably not even in that order. Though they are the best people to teach things to, along with preteens and children, they have the attention span of a goldfish. However, I feel that though it is difficult to speak to them, it is still easier to speak to them than it is to speak to adults. Teenagers and young adults go to school and are used to spending many hours learning new things. Older people feel that they are wise enough already, and wouldn’t want to be burdened with an issue such as HIV.

Aside from all of this, another barrier is that people live in a fantasy world. They don’t like to discuss or face hardships. Many people don’t watch the news, not only because they are uninterested but because they don’t want to see the devastations going on in the world.

When something is looked down upon, people won’t admit to taking a part in it. Just like it’s difficult to speak about HIV prevention, or HIV in general, it is worse if you are a victim of it. But at the same time, it is better for a victim of HIV to speak about HIV because experience is the best teacher. The message and importance of prevention would be understood and more enforced.

Aside from the shame that some people feel, another thing that prevents people from engaging in effective HIV prevention is their cultural background or a feeling of embarrassment. Some people may feel or automatically assume that just because you start speaking of HIV that you have it and will begin to distance themselves from you. You will become the outcast of a group and others will soon isolate themselves.

Unfortunately, HIV has a negative stigma attached to it. We as a whole need to remove the stigma, band together, and stop the spread of HIV. Before going out and telling people to get tested, you first must find the correct approach. It only takes one person to make a difference, but it also takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and patience. Though getting tested may be a scary thought, it can relieve all the anxiety of not knowing your status. Unfortunately, with today’s mentality, people think it’s okay, or would rather not know anything about HIV and how much they’re putting themselves at risk.

The problem with some people may not be that they are afraid to tell their partner that they are HIV positive but that they don’t know. Some people even have the mentality of “you’re only young once, so live a little,” or “carpe diem.” Hardly do they ever take into consideration the fact that a little “fun” can leave a huge impact on your life that will not be for the better. Just like you wouldn’t jump off a building or a bridge without protective gear, you shouldn’t involve yourself in unprotected sexual activities.

Jenyca is a 17-year-old Brooklyn high school student of Haitian descent and participant in TDN’s Social Photography Workshop.  In the fall, she will continue her studies at St. John’s College in Queens.

IN THE NEWS

At Front Lines, AIDS War Is Falling Apart

By Donald G. McNeil Jr.

KAMPALA, Uganda – … Uganda is the first and most obvious example of how the war on global AIDS is falling apart.The last decade has been what some doctors call a “golden window” for treatment. Drugs that once cost $12,000 a year fell to less than $100, and the world was willing to pay. In Uganda, where fewer than 10,000 were on drugs a decade ago, nearly 200,000 now are, largely as a result of American generosity. But the golden window is closing.

Uganda is the first country where major clinics routinely turn people away, but it will not be the last. In Kenya next door, grants to keep 200,000 on drugs will expire soon. An American-run program in Mozambique has been told to stop opening clinics. There have been drug shortages in Nigeria and Swaziland. Tanzania and Botswana are trimming treatment slots, according to a report by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders.

The collapse was set off by the global recession’s effect on donors, and by a growing sense that more lives would be saved by fighting other, cheaper diseases. Even as the number of people infected by AIDS grows by a million a year, money for treatment has stopped growing.
Other forces made failure almost inevitable.

Science has produced no magic bullet – no cure, no vaccine, no widely accepted female condom. Every proposal for controlling the epidemic with current tools – like circumcising every man in the third world, giving a daily prophylactic pill to everyone contemplating sex or testing billions of people and treating all the estimated 33 million who would test positive – is wildly impractical.

And, most devastating of all, old-fashioned prevention has flopped. Too few people, particularly in Africa, are using the “ABC” approach pioneered here in Uganda: abstain, be faithful, use condoms. For every 100 people put on treatment, 250 are newly infected, according to the United Nations’ AIDS-fighting agency, Unaids…

“You cannot mop the floor when the tap is still running on it,” said Dr. David Kihumuro Apuuli, director-general of the Uganda AIDS Commission.

[Excerpted from The New York Times, May 9, 2010]

IN OTHER WORDS

“In today’s climate in our country, which is sickened with the pollution of pollution, threatened with the prominence of AIDS, riddled with burgeoning racism, rife with growing huddles of the homeless, we need art and we need art in all forms. We need all methods of art to be present, everywhere present, and all the time present.”

-Maya Angelou

Transdiaspora Network^TM is a New York-based human capacity building non-profit organization conducting HIV prevention awareness and community-based, culturally aware preventive mentoring for a population of youth at high risk. In addition, it facilitates identification of community resources, empowerment based interventions, and educational approaches to increase health literacy. Our Afro-Caribbean Dance Mediation, Storytelling Dynamics, Social Photography Workshop, and The CarHIV Youth Society provide solutions that increase self-awareness and assertiveness. For more information about our organization, please visit www.transdiasporanetwork.org.

©Transdiaspora Network, May 2010

May 25, 2010   No Comments

• Introduction
• Announcements
• In Voice
• Opinion – Battling Recruitment Resistance, by Shahana Hanif
• In the News
• In Other Words

INTRODUCTION

This winter has been one of the harshest in recent memory. When we weren’t digging ourselves out, snow storm after snow storm, we were slogging to work through the bitterest cold. In the past couple months, we witnessed great human suffering in Haiti and Chile, but we also reveled in great human triumph at Vancouver. And if recent days are any indication, springtime is closer than we think. In keeping with the spirit of the season, Transdiaspora Network continues to grow – welcoming new team members, inaugurating innovative new programs for teens, and celebrating our persistence and dedication with our third annual benefit concert.

We thank you, our friends, for your continued support.

Susan Wile Schwarz, MPH
Communications & Research Director

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Teens Gather for Social Photography Workshop

By Shahana Hanif

The first session of Transdiaspora Network’s ten-week Social Photography Workshop took place on Friday, February 19. The seven participants, females in the ages 14-18, are of Caribbean and Bangladeshi descent and hail from the Kensington, Bushwick, Downtown Brooklyn, and Prospect Heights neighborhoods of Brooklyn.

At the outset of the first session, participants introduced themselves and explained what motivated them to join the workshop. Rea, 14, explained, “every year at my school during AIDS Week, guest speakers with the disease share their story about living with AIDS. Though the stories dishearten me, they also inspire me to be strong. By participating in this program, I can learn more about HIV prevention and protection because the facts are just as important as the stories.” Jenyca, 17, who is looking forward to the photography aspect of the program, hopes to “understand HIV/AIDS visually through the art of picture-taking.”

After brief introductions, each participant was asked to “spit” the first word that came to mind upon hearing the term “HIV.” The participants were quick to associate HIV with negative words like “change, death, disrespect, ugly.” TDN President and Founder Ariel Rojas, who led the session, explained, “it is easy to point out the negative terms related to HIV. In the following weeks, collaboratively, we will look at HIV through positive images, building leadership among ourselves and in our community.”

In the upcoming sessions, the workshops will continue to encourage participants to look at HIV prevention within their communities in Brooklyn and promote a different way of thinking and talking about the subject that better reflects the reality of participants while at the same time empowering youth leaders to tackle the subject more dynamically and thoughtfully.

Jamaica Funds Education
The Inter-American Development Bank recently approved $45 million in financing to improve Jamaica’s education system and expand compulsory schooling from age 16 to 18.

The bulk of the funds will support education policy formation and the implementation of institutional changes needed to improve the quality of education, including curriculum reform and teacher trainer, and to increase the system’s efficiency and accountability. A portion will also be invested in building two secondary schools to accommodate up to 2,100 new students and upgrade information technology systems within the Education Ministry to improve use of data for policy and decision making.

Combined TB and HIV Treatment Improves Outcomes
Initiating antiretroviral therapy during tuberculosis treatment reduced mortality rates by 56%, according to study published February 25 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study, a randomized clinical trial of 642 patients infected with both HIV and tuberculosis, provides further support for arguments to integrate HIV and TB services.

“Despite World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines supporting concomitant treatment of the two diseases and urging more aggressive management initiation of antiretroviral therapy, treatment often has been deferred until completion of tuberculosis therapy because of concern about potential drug interactions, overlapping side effects, a high pill burden, and programmatic challenges,” said Salim S. Abdool Karim, MD, PhD, professor of clinical epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, pro vice-chancellor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, and principal investigator of the study.

Based on the results of this study, the World Health Organization guidelines for treatment of TB and HIV co-infection were revised in late 2009.

IN VOICE

Horror and Hope as Haiti Rebuilds
By Ashley Villarreal

When the earthquake hit Haiti, Mike Henriquez held his breath. He had family there and had traveled back and forth from New York almost every year up until 1995, in part, because of growing political turmoil. On January 12, the headlines streamed onto the New York Time’s Web site classifying the earthquake that hit Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, which houses over 2 million people, as a 7.0 magnitude quake. This would make it the most devastating disaster in the region in over 200 years.

“When I heard that, I knew it was going to be major,” he said. It wasn’t until days later that Henriquez learned a portion of his uncle’s home had collapsed on top of him, almost breaking his collarbone.

Henriquez, a civil engineer with the New York State Department of Transportation, had dreamed of one day being able to somehow help Haiti, a country that has historically suffered from political corruption, poverty, a lack in health services, and elevated HIV/AIDS cases for decades. “I always wanted to go down there and do something and I never have,” he said. “But as soon as this happened, I said this is the time now. I have to step up.”

After speaking with his sister, who had ties to several organizations focused on providing aid in the wake of the disaster, Henriquez decided to join with Proyecto America to bring services to remote areas. The organization, which formed in Uruguay around 1995, was about to embark on a five-day journey where over 100 volunteers would travel to set up tents each day to bring clothes, food, and water to some of the reported 1.5 million people who lost their homes.

In addition to joining the mission, Henriquez would also bring $300 in donations from Transdiaspora Network to provide medical supplies for the camp. Now, more than a month after the quake, Henriquez remembers his experience vividly.

When I asked Henriquez what surprised him upon arriving in Haiti, he laughed ironically, recounting the trip that left him with a lasting impression for which it was hard to have prepared. He tells about a tour his father took him on of the capital, the smell of burned flesh still lingering in the air. “It looks like a war zone,” he said. “I don’t know how else to describe it, the buildings that collapsed, it looks like it was just bombed.”

At the camp, situated in Croix-des-Bouquets, 8 miles from Port-au-Prince, the Proyecto America team set up over 50 tents that housed around 5,000 people. The camp was filled to capacity. Of all the supplies they brought, water was what many of the now-refugee Haitians needed most. “That was the biggest concern,” Henriquez said. “They would start fighting when they knew that it was running out, pushing and trying to get ahead of the line.”

Henriquez said that for many people at the camp, the story was the same. Their houses had been lost, many of their families had been lost, and now they had nowhere to go. Rarely did Henriquez see entire groups at the camp; the majority who came were mothers with babies, or children who came by themselves. There were hardly any intact families.

When Henriquez reflects on his trip, he strongly believes in the work he’s done but he understands why it would be difficult for others to act similarly. Most of the people he knows are second generation Haitians: they grew up here and are not familiar with the culture. He acknowledges that what people see and hear in the media might make them afraid to travel to Haiti. On the other hand, even though things are now worse, he believes they were in the process of getting better.

“My only advice is to say, ‘don’t forget about Haiti,’” Henriquez said. “The people there still need help, and there’s still a lot to be done over there. A lot of money has been collected, but I don’t think it’s enough yet.” It’s critical now that Haiti receive the support from the U.S. that it deserves and that help comes from outside to build better infrastructure and provide education so that people can raise their quality of life, he says.

“There really is no health care system there. Haiti basically has a complicated history where the extremely wealthy [control the majority of resources] and the extremely poor make up 95% of the people,” Henriquez said. “Hopefully we can build it back up, and I’m hoping the U.S. will take the lead. I don’t want them to just give the money to the Haitian government because it will disappear like it has in the past.”

Next month, Henriquez plans to travel back to Haiti to visit his family and will most likely team up with another organization to provide aid to those in need. Proyecto America also plans to revisit the country in May for Phase 2 of the rebuilding effort. Visit their website for more information: www.proyectoamerica.net.

OPINION

Battling Recruitment Resistance
By Shahana Hanif

I began the recruitment process for our Social Photography Workshop in mid-January with hopes of enrolling 5-10 prospective high school students. Our efforts to contact schools through the phone, in person, and via e-mail, met with shocking reception.

I planned to visit Bishop Kearney, an all-girls private, Catholic high school of which I am an alumna. On my first attempt to recruit students from Bishop Kearney, I was able to broadcast an announcement in regards to the Social Photography Workshop, an effort that yielded only three possible participants.

On my second attempt at Bishop Kearney, I aimed to recruit students who were involved in extracurricular activities related to the arts and health. Though I had connections to the club moderators, the teachers barred me from making presentations without permission from a higher authority. After several phone calls to numerous administrative personnel, I was still unable to obtain the necessary consent to present the program.

In the meantime, I made phone calls to several Brooklyn public high schools, including Midwood and Brooklyn College Academy. My partner, TDN Health News Reporter Ashley Villarreal, visited Midwood High School, and the response she received was similarly unreceptive. According to Rebecca Miller, Director of Community Affairs for the New York City Department of Education, “schools work to admit outside organizations on a case-by-case basis.” They have the right to decide whether the organization is legitimate, with goals that won’t put their students in danger.

I then took the outreach initiative to my Facebook friends. First, I set my default picture to the Social Photography Workshop promotional poster. I then sent a note to students ages 14-18. Five students showed interest and were willing to bring a friend. Some replied saying they have jobs and responsibilities at home. Kristen, 17, a prospective student, wasn’t shy to admit “HIV/AIDS is creepy. If the workshops dealt with breast cancer or another disease, more people would want to participate.”

If the students are not willing to join programs, what are they doing after school? According to the Afterschool Alliance, an organization based in NW, Washington, DC, working to ensure that all children have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs, research indicates that the hours between 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm are the peak hours for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and sex.

The Afterschool Alliance summarizes barriers to afterschool participation by older youth as including employment, lack of interest, the “relax” factor or desire to hang out after school rather than participate in an organized activity, and family responsibilities. They also cite other barriers such as transportation and financial constraints. Adding to these, my efforts revealed one parent who would not allow her daughter to participate because it was not “school-related.” Parents should realize that participation in high quality afterschool programming can be just as important as any academic requirement in school. Participation in programs like ours foster not only improved knowledge and awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention but also self-esteem, self-awareness, protection, and courage.

Though the recruitment process was a challenging one, I was able to enroll seven enthusiastic students by offering flexible attendance policies and an accessible location. For the next ten weeks, Transdiaspora Network is looking forward to what one student, Rea, 14, says should be an experience of “awesomeness and awareness.” The Social Photography Workshop not only promotes leadership, HIV/AIDS prevention, and hands on experience with a camera, but also acts as a bridge between school and community.

IN THE NEWS

UN: HIV/AIDS Leading Cause of Death and Disease Among Younger Women

By Margaret Besheer

The United Nations AIDS agency says in many societies young women and girls face discrimination and gender inequalities that can make them more vulnerable to HIV infection. The agency launched a new initiative Tuesday to reverse that trend and put women at the center of national and local AIDS response.

Suksma Ratri’s story is like that of many other women around the world. Separated from her physically abusive husband she found out that he was HIV-positive. She immediately got herself and their young daughter tested at a clinic in her native Indonesia. She tested positive, her daughter did not…

Suksma’s story reflects a bigger trend in global HIV/AIDS infection rates. According to UNAIDS, HIV is the leading cause of death and disease among women ages 15-49.

Across the globe, women make up fully half of the epidemic. And in sub-Saharan Africa, where some of the highest HIV rates are, 60 percent of the people living with HIV are women. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé warned that this has serious consequences for the health and mortality, not just of women, but their children as well.

“400,000 babies are born every year in Africa – 400,000 babies with HIV/AIDS,” said Michel Sidibé. “It means that amongst those babies which are born, we will have almost 30 percent of those babies will die before their first anniversary [birthday] if they do not have access to medicine.”

Sidibé says this is a symptom of a larger problem.

“Worse than that one, it means that 400,000 women, mothers, have not been checked, have not been having access to services, have not been able to at least avoid transmission from mother to child,” said Sidibé. “But also they will be at risk to not live with us for years to come.”

Sidibé says the new UNAIDS initiative aims to give women and girls the power to prevent HIV infection, by giving them the information and skills to negotiate when and how they have sex; to protect their human rights; and ensure their access to prevention, care and treatment. The five-year plan hopes to eliminate gender inequalities in HIV-prevention and treatment by getting governments, civil society and development groups involved in putting women and girls at the center of their AIDS response.

[Excerpted from Voice of America, March 2, 2010]

IN OTHER WORDS

“Human consciousness is given shape by images, rythyms, sounds, words: the tools of the artist. The potential power of art as a force for change has long been known to censors and dictators. It is a potential that can be fulfilled once we rediscover and proclaim the rightful and natural place of art and artists in the life of our people.”

-Ricardo Levins Morales

Transdiaspora Network^TM is a New York-based human capacity building non-profit organization conducting HIV prevention awareness and community-based, culturally aware preventive mentoring for a population of youth at high risk. In addition, it facilitates identification of community resources, empowerment based interventions, and educational approaches to increase health literacy. Our Afro-Caribbean Dance Mediation, Storytelling Dynamics and The Carib Youth Society provide solutions that increase self-awareness and assertiveness. For more information about our organization, please visit www.transdiasporanetwork.org.

©Transdiaspora Network, March 2010

March 10, 2010   No Comments