Hey AMSA Turkeyheads,
Bono, Ashley Judd (check her out in the splendid new movie, "Frida" along
with Salma Hayek) and African AIDS activists are coming to town to talk
about AIDS!
Well, at least they're coming nearby. Check out the midwestern tour they
are undertaking in a few days! If only we knew that they were coming as
close by as Iowa, we could have worked the magic and convinced them to come
here.
In between bites of turkey, I may actually try to send a last ditch
desperate plea for them to stop by MN on their grand tour - I know, highly
unlikely given the short timeframe, but at least they may consider
supporting us in our current and future efforts, or maybe even come after
their tour for Human Rights Day.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING Turkeyheads!
Quy
P.S. Megan (at PHR), do you know who we can contact regarding the Midwest
AIDS tour?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Megan Gaydos" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "AMSA Health and Human Rights" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2002 10:09 AM
Subject: [hhr] AIDS Events - Bono & Ashley Judd in Heartland Next Week!!
As you may have heard, leading AIDS/debt relief activist and U2 singer Bono
is going to tour the midwest next week with actress Ashley Judd and several
African AIDS activists. He is going to be speaking in 12 "heartland" cities
in 8 days to drum up support for efforts to combat global AIDS.
If you are in one of the cities below - please try to attend this event! It
will be educational, inspiring, and action-oriented!
If you are a health professional student living in one of these cities,
please consider creating and bringing a simple quilt panel demonstrating
health professionals call to action on global AIDS. For more information,
please email Megan Gaydos at [log in to unmask] or go to:
http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/aids/quilt.html
If you are not in one of these cities, but know of others who are, please
forward this message to them and encourage them to attend the events!
If you cannot attend these events, but are interested in doing something for
World AIDS Day, please visit: http://www.phrusa.org/students/hiv.html for
ideas!
*******************************************************
Lincoln, Nebraska
University of Nebraska
Lied Center Box Office
1-800-432-3231
Iowa City, Iowa
University Box Office
1-800-346-4401
Wheaton, IL
Wheaton College
630-752-5390
Indianapolis, IN-
Location TBD- Please watch for announcements!
Louisville, KY
NE Christian Church
9900 Old Brownsboro Rd.
***************************************************
Info on DATA 's Heart of America Tour:
Stops:
Dec 1 -- Lincoln NE
Dec 2 & 3 -- Iowa City and other stops in Iowa
Dec 4 -- Wheaton IL; Chicago
Dec 5 -- Indianapolis
Dec 6 -- Cincinnati
Dec 7 -- Louisville
Dec 8 -- Nashville
DATA
1317 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
DEBT AIDS TRADE AFRICA
November 22, 2002
For more information, call (212) 843-8025
HEART OF AMERICA TOUR: AFRICA'S FUTURE AND OURS
KICKS OFF ON WORLD AIDS DAY;
BONO, ASHLEY JUDD AND AFRICAN FRIENDS HEAD TO THE HEARTLAND
Sunday, December 1 marks the beginning of the Christmas season. It is also
World AIDS Day. In Africa that day, like every other, 6500 men, women and
children will die of AIDS and another 9500 Africans will be infected with
the disease. It does not have to be this way. African determination matched
with American leadership, know-how and faith can beat this plague.
Bono, Ashley Judd, African entertainers and health workers will be setting
out on the Heart of America Tour on World AIDS Day to spread awareness of
the AIDS emergency and the opportunity we have now to stop it. They will
visit seven heartland states in seven days, meeting thousands of people who
want to know more in church halls, colleges and coffee shops--and local
heroes who are already making a difference in their communities.
Bono said: "We've been invited by people in the heartland to talk about the
AIDS emergency in Africa, hear what people have to say, and see what we can
do about it. A preventable, treatable disease is killing 2.5 million
Africans each year, leaving behind generations of orphaned children. This
generation of Americans has the opportunity to change the course of
history."
Ashley Judd said: "I believe Americans truly want to reach out and make a
difference. No mother should face giving her own child a death sentence by
HIV/AIDS in childbirth. Every father should have the hope of living to see
his children grow up. This tour is about showing that we can help bring hope
back to millions of African families."
There is a growing movement, including Pope John Paul II and Secretary of
State Colin Powell, who believe that the health crisis in Africa is the
critical moral challenge of our time. President Bush is traveling to Africa
early in 2003 to see the crisis for himself and see what more must be done
to beat AIDS.
The tour will open in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Sunday, December 1, and travel
by bus to Omaha, Iowa City, Dubuque, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati,
Louisville, and Nashville, with formal and informal stops in smaller
communities along the way.
The Heart of America tour is sponsored by DATA, a new non-profit
organization that aims to raise awareness about the crisis of unpayable
DEBTS, the urgent need for more and better development assistance,
especially to fight AIDS, and the unfair TRADE rules that keep AFRICA poor.
DATA works to bring politicians, celebrities and civic activists together as
campaigners to strengthen public support for U.S. leadership in helping
Africans build a better future. # # #
Agnes Nyamayarwo
TASO AIDS clinic
Agnes Nyamayarwo is a nurse from Kampala, Uganda. She had left nursing to
raise her eight children when her husband died in 1992. After she
discovered that he had died of AIDS, she went to be tested C and discovered
that she too was HIV positive. But more was to come. She then learned that
she had unknowingly passed on HIV to her youngest child in childbirth, one
of 1400 African mothers who unwillingly give their children the disease
every day. He died at age 6. She held herself responsible for his death.
Her eldest son, who is not HIV positive, was teased at school and treated as
if he too had AIDS. He suffered severe depression, ran away from home and
never returned.
But Agnes refused to give up. She planned ahead for her family after her
death, compiling a ˇ°Memory Bookˇ± for her children, filled with stories
about her, her family, her character, about her children when they were
growing up. But she also looked for a way to give her life meaning, and
help prevent others from suffering what had happened to her.
She began to volunteer for a community AIDS organization called TASO (The
AIDS Support Organization). TASO volunteers, many HIV-positive like Agnes,
work in neighborhoods all around Kampala, teaching people and families how
to prevent HIV/AIDS and providing support to the sick and their families.
It provides food and medicine, promotes avoidance of risky behaviors, and
works to end discrimination against people living with AIDS. TASO is
recognized around the world as a leader in providing innovative, affordable
support for people living with AIDS. TASO, and its courageous citizen
volunteers like Agnes, have been a major part of Ugandaˇ s success story C
reducing AIDS prevalence rates from 15 percent of adults ten years ago to
just 5 percent today.
Agnes herself is now on anti-retroviral AIDS drugs that have helped her stay
healthy and keep working to help the vast majority of Africans who have no
access to those lifesaving medications. This month, her daughter will
graduate from college.
The Gateway Ambassadors
The Gateway Ambassadors are young people ages 10-18 from the West African
country of Ghana. They auditioned from all over the country to attend
performing arts school in Accra, the capital city. As part of their
education, they share their faith and heritage through performance.
The eight Gateway Ambassasdors performing on the Heart of America Tour are
performing throughout the United States to raise money for college
scholarships, and to spread hope about Africaˇ s greatest resource, its
children. With great joy, enthusiasm and spirit, they sing the good news
about Africaˇ s people, their spirituality, and their values and
determination in fighting war, poverty and AIDS.
The Gateway Ambassadors have performed at the White House for First Lady
Laura Bush, the Today Show, on Wall Street, and before thousands of people
in the United States and Africa.
***************************************************************
Physicians for Human Rights
promotes health by protecting human rights.
To learn more, go to: www.phrusa.org
Megan Gaydos
Program Associate - National Student Programs
Physicians for Human Rights
100 Boylston Street, Suite 702
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 695-0041
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