¿Y Entonces...?

My colega told me that we were going to give a charla to the homosexual/transgender population of Jalapa with CEPS about HIV, STDs and overall well-being. I was beyond excited since Nueva Segovia is a rather conservative department and I have not encountered many openly-homosexual people up here. Jalapa, especially, is known for it's machismo and though I was happy to participate in the presentation, I was skeptical of the turnout.

We had about 15 people show up to the presentation (that we held at a bar that doesn't open till later in the night); they were all very friendly and knew they were among friends and could be open, honest and trusted in our environment. The presentation started with a CEPS member going over the basics of STDs. I then started my presentation of different kinds of STDs while the CEPS rep showed pretty graphic photos of what I was talking about. I also discussed HIV, and during all of our presentation, we had representatives from MINSA giving free HIV testing. Of the 15 that participated, only 4 got tested, and they were all, luckily, negative for the illness.


After my part of the presentation, CEPS went on to talk about the importance of condom use, while referring back to what I had previously mentioned. After that brief session, we went on to talk about the difference between "sex" and "gender"..."sex" referring to what separates men and women biologically and "gender" referring to what we are perceived as in society. Given that, we had about 8 volunteers get up and give us a "fashion" show in which they had to walk down the runway three times: the first: as masculine as possible, the second: as feminine as possible, the third: as themselves.



We had a lot of laughter and a ton of fun, and I'm happy to say I gained confianza within the small group that showed and I'm looking forward to working with them more in the future. It was about a 3-hour long presentation, and while the rain was pouring hard outside, the sun was shining and the rainbows were certainly bright in that bar that day!

Fame and HIV: 10 of History's Biggest HIV-Positive Celebrities

YAY!!!!!

C/S America departing in mid-January to work in programs involving HIV/AIDS, malaria and nutrition*!

I have looked at the Peace Corps Wiki site and it could be Nicaragua (Jan 10), Panama (Jan 10), or Ecuador (Jan 18)!

We we so excited!!!!!

shortformblog:

Headway in the fight against HIV: A drug called Truvada is effective in preventing AIDS contraction up to 73% of the time, according to two new studies carried out in Africa. The drug has been tested before with less stellar results, but researchers now suspect the earlier study may have been flawed. The catch with preventative drugs, of course, is that you have to remember to take them before the risk presents itself, but still, this is great news. source

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June 27: National HIV Testing Day

hardcorpscarli:

Go to the link to see how you can get involved:

• Find a testing center near you


• Learn about awareness campaigns


• Become involved in fighting against HIV/AIDS

June 5: 30 years of AIDS moments to remember

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the CDC’s announcement of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This is a slideshow of the disease throughout the years. Also, feel free to browse the website to see organizations that you can donate to.

As always, I’m a supporter of the Colorado AIDS Project, a non-profit that helps those living with HIV/AIDS, and those at risk, to make healthy choices for a self sufficient, enhanced quality of life. CAP provides innovative, individualized services to those most in need, educates high risk populations, and advocates for social and health care equity.

CAP empowers those living with or at risk of HIV to live healthier, enhanced lives by providing two different sets of services.