In 2007, Slum Doctor Programme developed a program to educate people in the US about the extent and scope of the global AIDS crisis. Since then, we have educated thousands about the relationship between poverty, orphans, gender inequality, and the spread of HIV/AIDS. It has been our hope to initiate a conversation in our schools, homes, and public places about a shared responsibility for the well being of the world -- for those suffering unnecessarily from a preventable and treatable disease.
One way of beginning this conversation is to introduce the statistics from the regions hit hardest by AIDS. Another is to discuss the biology of AIDS to understand how it spreads and why it is so hard to treat and is incurable. Yet another way is to step into the shoes of someone whose life has been effected by HIV/AIDS. Each one of these perspectives is essential and necessary to create a culture of understanding around HIV/AIDS in our community, but alone they are incomplete. Our goal is to present as many perspectives as possible to lay the foundation for a holistic understanding of the complex network of issues that contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS. With input from local educators, AIDS experts, partners and friends in Africa, students, and teachers, we have created what we hope is a doorway to an ongoing conversation and eventually an active response to the global AIDS crisis.
Over the last 3 years we have presented to middle schoolers, high schoolers, senior citizens, elementary students, church groups, homeless teens, academics and college undergrads. Over time we have learned to adjust the content and media of our presentation to fit the time constraints and objectives of each group.
The Presentation
Every minute we have with students or community members is extremely valuable. In the time that we have, we hope to put a face with the AIDS pandemic and to bring awareness to the role culture, politics, economics, poverty, orphans, and gender inequality play in the spread of HIV. We do this through a mixture of images, video, stories, facts, and discussion. The facts are overwhelming, but are easily lost in the mix. We attempt to distill this information down into digestible and relevant numbers that create a better understanding and context for the current situation.
The presentation can be squeezed into a 45 minute class period or can easily fill a 2 hour course. Either way, we realize that we are just exposing the tip of the iceberg. The responsibility of continuing the conversation after our presentation falls on educators and group leaders.
The Educators
Slum Doctor Programme has been able to educate so much of our community with the hard work of a dedicated team of volunteer educators. Volunteer educators are students and community members with a passion for creating awareness and change in our community. To train educators, our education coordinator guides them through an in-depth overview of the AIDS pandemic in the United States and around the world and the influences that have contributed to its spread. We encourage educators to draw from past experiences, to help give a real and understandable context for AIDS. They also become experts in Slum Doctor Programme projects and how we carry out our work on the ground in Kenya and Uganda.
