THEME INTERPRETATION
You are not a passenger in your own life. Things don’t just happen.
Every day you make choices. Those choices define your life as one lived
or just experienced. This year’s conference theme is one for the living:
“Get Educated. Get Tested. Get Involved. Get Treated.”
We cannot afford to be victims in a world where HIV claims another life
every 6 seconds. We have to act. Over the years I have worked with a
diverse population of individuals educating, testing and transitioning
them into treatment. They were college students, religious
organizations, civic groups and others---a number of whom thought they
were doing charity work for others. They were shocked to discover that
the face of HIV looked just like them. Prisoners and addicts, already
living with the stigma of societal disapproval and mistrust, have been
some of the most eager and openminded individuals to participate in peer
education. For them, these four short sentences have made all the
difference in the world. Through peer education training and testing,
participants have found new ways to be useful. Empowered by the
knowledge they have learned, they return home to friends and family,
church house and dope house, schools and jobs---able to dispel myths and
provide information on how to prevent the spread of HIV in their
communities. They know where to get information on testing and where to
seek treatment. Intimately understanding how stigma can do more harm
than the disease, these individuals are returning home and speaking up
in quiet, unassuming ways that
make a difference one person at a time. No one should be left behind
because of ignorance, fear or prejudice. Each of us can make a
difference if we take the
time to share with others and remember that it’s about living---living
free of HIV and supporting those already infected or affected until
there’s a cure.
Four short sentences tell us how to do it:
“Get Educated. Get Tested. Get Involved. Get Treated.”
In Service to the Community,
Christophre Woods
Director, Owensboro AIDS Taskforce
Grassroots Movement Builder, Kentucky Health Justice Network