Staying Active & Raising Money for HIV/AIDS

Hello Dear Reader,

Along with being a blogger, I'm also a former (current) Facebook junkie, social activist, dog lover, development worker, former couch potato, marathon-runner wannabe, rice crisper (the official name for those who love all things rice crispy-related), a BIG DREAMER, social butterfly, homebody, A DREAM Do-er, lover of random quotes, and the daughter of a family that believes volunteerism is a lifestyle. You'd be surprised, but somehow all of these seemingly unrelated and absurd qualities come together nicely...let me tell you a little story:

My Monday morning routine is not complete without a review of the "health" section of the New York Times. Ever since the International HIV/AIDS Conference in Vienna a few months ago, several articles have been published addressing HIV/AIDS: voices of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), treatment, national and international funding streams, and encouraging findings regarding a microbicide gel that was shown to be up to 54% effective at preventing HIV transmission during intercourse. You wanna read the article? Here it is.

Billions of dollars have been donated to countries hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Without leaders such as George W. Bush and his President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)...yes, I just acknowledged (the) one (and only) good thing from the Bush era...hundreds of thousands of people have received HIV prevention messages, care and treatment; HIV negative babies are being born to HIV positive mother; and health systems are being strengthened. Unfortunately, however, people still continue to become infected and so the work must go on. Furthermore, donor funding is drying up in light of the soured global economy; there are huge costs associated with HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment; and there are other, cheaper-to-treat diseases out there. Shrivelling donor funds mean research such as the one in the article and HIV-related programming is suffering. This is where Facebook and a few of the other wonderfully eccentric qualities I possess come in...(sorry about that one :-)

After reading the NY Times article, I posted it on FB (as I usually do with HIV-related news). My friend, amazing source of motivation, volunteer, activist, fellow runner, foodie, blogger extraordinaire Linesiya read the article and was inspired to send this email to a few of her virtual running buddies:

The idea(s):
I was just reading (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/world/africa/04safrica.html?_r=1&hpw) about funders not getting involved in the trials to confirm the vaginal microbicide that could help prevent HIV/AIDS in women. They need about $42 million more to do the trial (my impression is that's just the first trial, and they need 2, plus money to get a distribution system going). It has me wondering what individuals could do with the Internet.

• Idea #1: Organize an event/race and give people time to raise funds (potentially make this international by having an event in Lesotho or South Africa as well?)
• Idea #2: Alternatively, we could just promote this project as a fundraising goal for people already doing races - some races (ie, the NY Marathon) let you pick an organization you are running for (although you seem to only be able to pick between charities the race endorses? Need to look into this).

I don't expect to be able to raise $40 million, but just contributing and raising awareness + involvement is something. Thoughts? This is absolutely the sort of project I'd throw myself into, but only if I can get some support/help/someone-to-help-stay-on-track. I know you are all very busy - even if you can't help, please send me your thoughts/feedback - I tend to dream big and feedback will help keep me from taking on more than I can chew.

Wow, what a great idea...to organize fundraising events (marathon? 1/2 marathon? 10K? 5K?) to support HIV research and local, HIV-focused organizations!...I said to myself, as I was sitting on my couch cuddled up to my buddy Beef-Wellington, dreaming about rice crispy treats!

Similar to Linesiya, I'm a BIG DREAMER and when the spirit moves me, a BIG DO-er. Plus...as we've discussed in previous posts...I need some LOCAL races to hone my running skills! I jumped on the idea and ran with it (pun not/intended). This is the email I sent out, minus the introduction, to about ten people working in Lesotho:

So, you're probably wondering why I'm reaching out to you. The answer is both varied and pretty simple: I've seen you at the gym; I've seen you running or know that you're involved in sports/fitness; You are working in the HIV/development arena; and I have your email address!

If you are interested in raising money for and awareness of HIV research and local, HIV-related programs, join me for a brainstorming session next week (date, time, & location TBD). Furthermore, if you know of any other interested parties, please forward this email along.

Hopefully, together we will be able to raise money, support Basotho in a fun and unique way, and stay active all at the same time!

The people I sent the email to have forwarded it along and so far, seven super excited people have signed up...and the day isn't even over yet!

When I was in Peace Corps, volunteers started and continue to raise funds for the Longtom Marathon, which, in turn, raises money to send star rural South African students to private school. The Longtom (for short) has been going strong for years now. If Peace Corps South Africa can do it...hell, I, along with support from others, can do it too!

Thanks Linesiya for the fabulous idea! This is a perfect example of the action behind the saying, "think globally, act locally".

How can you get involved with something you're passionate about, which will also benefit others? Every action counts!

On another note, I made it to the gym this morning for a bit of strength training. Oh, and my old trainer said that he can squeeze me between his other clients for about 30 minutes, every other week (when mad-dog trainer is on the evening shift). Boom!

Well that's all for now! I'm going on vaycay until Tuesday, so I may or may not be in a position to post training updates.

Until next time...one foot in front of the other...mile after mile...keep it moving!

Yours in (dreaming big, doing big) training,

Dani