December 15, 2002

I am leaving for the USA tomorrow, and will be returning January 6th. These past few weeks have been very hectic with many ups and downs from being mugged (nothing stolen) to winning a Rotary World Peace Scholarship.

In my village, we have been focusing on HIV prevention workshops since December 1st, International AIDS Day. We obtained over $5,000. US from the World Bank, so we had t-shirts made (which I designed), held a few informational workshops with theatre and videos, and organized a march of over 100 people. The march was great because the agricultural association president changed the lyrics to a well-known Portuguese song and made it relate to the current AIDS pandemic. "Millions of orphans, their parents dead from AIDS. We must disseminate information." This is a rough translation, but it was a really great tool to teach people about the severity of the HIV/AIDS situation and get them singing.

I made three large banners, one of which promoted condom use and arranging only one partner, which I thought would get some people thinking. It was the banner that the three to twelve year-olds carried while chanting 'STOP-PEE SEE-DAH' (Stop SIDA = Stop AIDS in English). I just kept laughing to myself because they put two syllables in 'stop' and marched with such energy through the valley even though there weren't any onlookers. In that sense, the march was badly planned because it went from our village to another one five miles away, but there are really almost no houses along the route. However, I told myself that on this particular day, it was the 100 participants in the march that were learning the most. I was particularly touched to see one of my promiscuous male neighbors holding a banner and watching my every word when I spoke at the half-way point -- finally I felt some hope that things may change here.

In my remaining months in Cape Verde, I will be focusing on my women's painting group to get a finished, marketable product out for tourists and Cape Verdeans with disposable income. I will also help the drip irrigation garden become more successful, and continue to work with Rotary to get 240 wheelchairs shipped by next May 2003.

Wishing you a warm holiday season.