Kenyan native to talk about AIDS
More than two million people in Kenya have tested HIV positive and more than a half million Kenyans actually have the disease. Joseph Kariuki, a Kenyan native and Holyoke nurse is trying to do something about the AIDS epidemic. He will bring his message to students at American International College on Tuesday, April 22 at 7:00 p.m.
Kariuki will present "Where Have All the Parents Gone," in Professor Henry Benjamin's Biology of AIDS and STDs class in Amaron Hall, room 114. The public is invited, free of charge.
Kariuki is a member of SAFI, "Separating AIDS from Immortality," a grassroots organization that relies on ordinary people to generate ideas and identify issues that need to be addressed to fight AIDS. The goal of the organization is to start debate and ensure the dialogue reaches as many people as possible, especially those impacted by the disease.
"The AIDS pandemic has seriously exposed our inability to identify and solve social, economic and health problems," Kariuki said. "With so many AIDS related deaths in Kenya, grandparents are forced to raise the children," he said.
"We believe an holistic approach is needed. One that identifies the root problems that facilitate the spread of AIDS and hinder our ability and capacity as a society to deal with such problems."
The group is in the process establish a training camp in Kenya, to teach youths self-esteem, time management and goal setting skills, as well as basic health, business and leadership skills.
They also plan to establish a training camp that will serve as a breeding ground for original ideas and visionary leaders, who will lead Africa out of poverty and strife, and into economic and social prosperity, according to Kariuki.
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