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Sharing Hope, Stories
Free public forum to give inside look at AIDS situation in Africa
BY DAVID DICENZO
Numbers don't tell the entire story when it comes to Africa's AIDS pandemic. Members of the University and Guelph communities will get a more in-depth picture of the crisis at a free public forum called “Sharing Hope: Stories From Tsepong” March 5 on campus.
The forum, which is being held in conjunction with U of G's ongoing Masai Project: For Africa, for AIDS, for Hope, runs from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Peter Clark Hall and will feature stories from doctors and volunteers on the front lines in Africa.
“I believe we are too often bombarded with statistics about the pandemic, and we rarely have the opportunity to hear real stories about the situation in countries like Lesotho,” says James VanderBerg of U of G's Multi-Faith Resource Team. “This forum is an opportunity to hear those stories and begin the work of translating them into much-needed change. At stake is our ability to listen to and understand the principles and values required to address this pandemic.”
Scheduled to speak at the event are:
- Murray MacKenzie, a founding member of the OHAfrica board and former member of the Ontario Hospital Association board, who returned from Lesotho in January;
- Jamie White, a pediatric registered nurse who recently completed a one-year posting at the Tsepong HIV clinic in Lesotho;
- Dr. Brian Cornelson, an HIV primary-care physician and director of the HIV family practice clinics at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, who also worked at the Tsepong clinic; and
- Guelph doctor Anne-Marie Zajdlik, who is spearheading the city-wide Masai Project to raise $1 million for an AIDS clinic in Lesotho.
U of G's Masai Project is one part of that initiative. The University's goal is to raise $100,000, largely through the sale of $5 red and white beaded bracelets that are handmade by a rural women's co-operative in Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal, Africa.
To date, the University has raised close to $50,000, says Claire Alexander, special projects co-ordinator. “We're only halfway to our goal, so it's important for members of the University community to realize that this campaign is still going on and that we still need their support.”
The bracelets are available at the U of G Bookstore, and although the March 5 forum is free, organizers are encouraging participants to buy a bracelet in lieu of admission.
In addition to the speakers, the forum will include a question-and-answer session and singing by student Alexander Kalimbira. Zajdlik will also discuss the synergy happening among the Guelph community, the University and her non- profit organization.
“The three of us are working together, and the impact it's having is amazing,” says Alexander.