Hi everyone!
I leave in a few hours for the summer, and it hasn't quite sunk in yet. I am going to miss everyone at home, especially Sarah, my parents, and Rocky. You should all stay in touch though! I'll have email access (kvnweiss@gmail.com) and an international cell phone, so I shouldn't be too far out of contact.
I am heading to Zambia as part of a team aiding in a research project called the Trusted Messenger Intervention (TMI). This is the brainchild of Dr. Oveta Fuller, a professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Michigan Medical Schoool. The goal of TMI is to help reframe HIV/AIDS through
science-based training of community faith leaders to more effectively
use their broad access and influence to address HIV transmission and
care for those impacted by HIV/AIDS. A desired immediate outcome is an
increase in the numbers of community leaders and others who complete HIV
counseling and testing (VCT) as a critical first step to controlling
HIV/AIDS. Knowing your status is vital as both a public health and personal measure. We seek to lessen the stigma associated with this disease and promote understanding and awareness.
HIV/AIDS, as a global pandemic, results from a viral infection that CAN BE PREVENTED. It has an impact on many aspects of community life. The lack of understanding often leads to lack of engagement by key leaders to
address the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Apathy, stigma, and a failure to use available steps and measures are not excuses, viral transmission can be curtailed.
Fieldwork for this Global Connections Course will immerse our team in a
sub-Saharan African community to extend what is learned in the
classroom about the impact of HIV as a human viral pathogen, AIDS as a
pandemic infectious disease and what happens in the context of other
microbes that cause malaria, tuberculosis, and measles. Together we will
work as part of a research team while living with families in the
southern central African country of Zambia (located directly north of Botswana).
I just took the first malaria pill, so it is all starting to sink in now.
Signing off for now,
Kevin
