Friday, December 29, 2006

"A single death is a tradegy, one million deaths is a statistic"

While we are abroad in Zambia Laura and I will be both working on HIV/AIDS related issues. Directly through health education, and indirectly as the 17% adult infection rate tears through daily life.

The AIDS pandemic continues to devastate sub-Saharan Africa. Two million people died from the disease in 2005 alone. Twelve million children have lost at least one parent.

The statistics are staggering.

"But we are not only talking of numbers here," says Paddington Mazarura of Zimbabwe, a career professional infected with HIV. "We are talking of people."

Bloodline is a beautiful and tragic video that is the story of these men, women and their children.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Where in the world. . .

I'm off to Zambia in just over a month's time and hope to use this blog to keep in touch with people back in the states as well as pass along some of what I learn abroad. But, first things first where on earth is Zambia! Zambia is a land locked country in the southern region of Africa just north of Botswana and Zimbabwe.



If that doesn't ring a bell it is just west of where Madonna adopted her son (Mawali) and just Northeast of where Anjelina Jolie gave birth to her child (Namibia). So I sure it's just a matter of time before Zamiba makes headlines in the gossip columns ;)


We will arrive in Lusaka on the 25th of January and after that it's off to destinations unknown!