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World AIDS day hits home
 Media Credit: Blair Schlichte/ Staff Photographer SCSU senior Esthalla Thorpe performed the Regional Dance Saturday for World AIDS day put on by OPAA. The all-day event was dedicated to the African continent that has been severely affected by HIV and AIDS viruses.
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On Saturday, around 100 community members gathered in Atwood Theater throughout the day to acknowledge World AIDS day, learn about the impact of AIDS in Africa, and get ideas about what can be done to eliminate the problem.
The day kicked off shortly after 2 p.m. with a welcome from Yorgun Marcel, the president of Organization for the Prevention of AIDS in Africa and the presentation of the South African National Anthem by Kash Ahua. The day continued as members of OPAA and African Student Association shared poetry, cultural dances, an informational power point presentation, and an assortment of speeches.
“It’s inspiring to see the commitment of students in OPAA do what they can to transform the most devastating situation in the world,” said Frankie Condon, English professor and advisor of OPAA.
Condon went on to discuss what individuals becoming aware of their privileged position in the world and of the country they live in, can do to make an impact. This year the members of OPAA have decided to do what they can with their awareness of their privileged societal position by trying to raise $10,000 to donate to an organization called PACT, aimed at helping people in Zimbabwe become economically independent by helping them create small scale businesses.
Lou Mitchell, the keynote speaker who recently retired from the organization and has since started a non-governmental organization to help AIDS victims around the world gain access to unaffordable treatment drugs, flew in from Washington to spend the day with the students and community members. For Mitchell, who transformed his career from a priest to a social activist specializing in international development many years ago, the event was energizing and rewarding.
“What the students are doing pulls together people in SCSU with people in impoverished communities in Africa,” Mitchell said with a smile. “You may never see the people you are helping or know them, but they will know who you are.”
The money that OPAA is raising specifically might help in residents develop businesses ranging from weaving scarves to buying oranges to sell to their community, to agricultural processing.
“This alone is not going to solve the big problem; nothing big or small will do that,” Mitchell added. “The only way to solve that is through grassroots learning and educating others.’”
Since a great deal of effort is directed at the prevention aspect of AIDS, Mitchell has started a new NGO focusing on the cure.
“While everyone is talking about prevention the real issue is that drugs are here and poor people can’t afford them,” Mitchell said.
Due to the U.S. patenting system, drugs that reduce and slow down the effects of AIDS are out of reach for many. For example, drugs that reduce the transmission probability and improve the quality of life for AIDS sufferers, cost between $12,000 and $15,000 in the United States. In Africa, although those prices have been lowered to $500-$700, they are still out of reach for people who earn less than $1 a day. So far Brazil is the only country where the government is treating AIDS patients for free. Right now some drug companies in Bombay, India are coming up with generic versions of the drugs. However, they are facing a great deal of resistance from American drug companies. In the mean time, people remain untreated and the cycle of AIDS continues.
“I do what I do cause I like contributing to a better quality of life for people,” Mitchell said. “Now that I’m 72 years old, I don’t get many chances to interact with young people; but I’ll definitely go home and sleep well tonight because (of the positive energy of the) young people I met today.”
For fifth-year student and participant Derartu Abera, the OPAA event served its purpose.
“The whole thing was successful and turned out even better than I imagined,” Abera said. “I think a lot of people really got the idea that this is not just an Africa thing, it’s something that will effect the world and everyone has a responsibility.”
Sharon K. Sobotta can be reached at: [email protected]
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