When not in Africa. . .

Open Letter to Rick Snyder: from a concerned customer

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 20:23:00 +0000

"The reinvention of Michigan must not leave anyone behind."

- Rick Snyder (Inaugural Address, Jan. 1, 2011)

Dear Governor Snyder,

Michigan has a long history with big corporations, many which have recently come under severe scrutiny. My generation has watched as numerous corporations from Enron to GM have put their own interests first and have hurt many communities, families, and people in the process. What Michigan needs is not tax breaks and improvements for corporations, but rather improvements for communities of people who are the heart and soul of our state.

I'm not sure where your economic and development theories come from, but a "shock doctrine" just won't work (just ask Jeff Sachs what the long-term benefits to the Bolivian economy were). There is no way that Michigan's economic slate can be wiped clean for whatever changes you want to push. Economic development is never independent of history or social consequences. The success of neoliberal economics in further marginalizing populations that are already marginalized is appalling.

In the name of the economy, you have submitted a budget plan that not only further marginalizes populations in need, but also allows for a future of corporate control in our state (emergency financial managers). Taxing pensions of the elderly, cutting incentives for the middle class, slashing tax credits for the working poor, eliminating health benefits for same-sex partners, and crippling the powers of unions and public employees are all powerful representations of your social agenda being masked by your "economic" reforms. There will soon be 2 classes in Michigan, the wealthy and everyone else.

Time and again, in economic development models implemented in communities around the world the need is not for an environment where corporations can thrive, but rather an environment where communities can build and create. People need to be empowered to grow their own communities and create opportunities for collaboration. If you truly believe that Michigan needs an "era of innovation" then you need to look closer at policies that will have long-term impacts for the state.

One long-term impact that you should highly consider is supporting an 'ideas economy' through higher education. Young people are struggling enough as it is to graduate with the least amount of debt possible and then find a job (one likely not in Michigan). Adding a 15% cut to higher education funding (on top of 18% cuts since 2002) will cause young people to consider more options outside of Michigan and force universities to fire numerous faculty and employees. How will our universities remain "world class" with these cuts?

Writing as a young person born and raised in this great state, I am concerned with your chosen direction. Reinventing Michigan shouldn't rely on failed economic models and policies of the past. Your campaign of hollow words paired with your short-sighted economic reforms demonstrates your lack of commitment to the State of Michigan and its people, who you are leaving behind in great numbers.

bicycles are for global health

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:45:00 +0000

In many cities across the US, cycling is growing in popularity and local governments are working to implement bike-friendly urban planning initiatives, but is it growing fast enough? The US ranks first in the world for percentage of population that is obese (34% for adults age 20 and older). Not surprisingly, the US also ranks near the low end for bicycle usage with 1% or less of its population using a bicycle.

Graph (above, Figure 2) from: Bassett, Jr., et al.,

Walking, cycling, and obesity rates in Europe, North America, and Australia, Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 5, 795-814

Bicycles have been around for a long time. There is a sketch for an early bicycle design in one of Leonardo da Vinci's pupils' notebooks from 1493. Over the years bicycles have been upgraded and modified, moving from being a luxury of the wealthy to the transportation of the masses. The advent of cars slowed bicycle usage in industrialized countries, but in less economically developed countries bicycles are still a primary mode of transporting people and goods. Likewise the production of bicycles has remained nearly double that of cars.

For many countries bicycles are at the front lines of public health, they just may not realize it. The US has been watching a steady rise in obesity rates as a result of inactivity and unhealthy diet choices. Many states and cities are working to implement programs to increase bike usage including: Rails to Trails projects, Bike sharing in Washington DC and Nashville, as well as increased bike lanes linking residential areas to commercial zones. These programs will all have a big impact of the health of the US population. The CDC states that the number on strategy for increasing physical activity is shifting from car trips to walking or biking. Bicycling Magazine notes that new bicycle commuters can expect to lose up to 13 pounds their first year of biking to work.

Graph (above, Figure 4) from: Pucher, J., et al., 2010

Walking and cycling to health: A comparative analysis of city, state, and international data, American Journal of Public Health, published online ahead of print

The benefits are huge, but that doesn't always make it easy for people to jump right on a bike. A recent study led by Dr. John Pucher of Rutgers University found a direct correlation between percentages of adults with diabetes and percentages of commuters biking or walking to work in 47 of the 50 largest US cities (Walking and Cycling for Health, August 2010). To state the obvious, the increase in programs that promote bike usage and the increase in people biking will have a very positive effect on the health of populations

However, the US isn't the only country working to get its citizens moving. Copenhagen (Denmark), known for being a biking city, launched "You won't believe it... You're safer on the bicycle than on the sofa!" A campaign run by the city's Public Health office, their goal was to get more people biking to work instead of taking their car for a short trip. The campaign told Copenhagen residents, "Lack of movement in everyday life is harmful to health, while physical activity keeps the body healthy. Daily exercise for at least 30 minutes prolongs life by up to 5 years, and cycling can thus help to prolong life." Even as a strong biking city even Copenhagen felt the need to better educate and mobilize its population. As can easily be guessed Denmark has a low rate of obesity at 9.5%.

In "developing" countries of the world obesity rates aren't the greatest health risk, nor is low physical activity often a common unhealthy lifestyle. The health risks in "developing" countries are often related to access to health services and emergency transportation. Surely this isn't an area where bicycles can have an impact!

In many low resource setting around the world, Community Health Workers (CHWs) travel from village to village, home to home to deliver health education and services. In many places CHWs rely on bicycles as their only means of getting from one place to another. Bikes Without Borders highlights the work of CHWs in Malawi utilizing bikes to increase their effectiveness and to help more people. Bicycles for Humanity collects almost 50,000 bikes a year and sends them to organizations that distribute them most often to healthcare workers and women. Since women do a majority of traveling in "developing" countries, a bike can help them to transport themselves, water containers, and goods to market.

Bicycles have even been modified to serve as ambulances in areas where there is no emergency transportation. The Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN) in Namibia has implemented a very effective model for faster transportation where there is none. Drivers of the bicycle ambulances come from local organization and they receive training on use and maintenance.

Whether it is in the post-industrial cities of the US, modern cities of Europe, or in some of the world's poorest regions, the simplest transportation technology can have huge impacts on the future health of our population.

Written for Americans for Informed Democracy, where I'm blogging as a Global Health Analyst.

ambulances run in the family

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:31:00 +0000

Lights and sirens, high speeds down the expressway, ER doctor drama on top of insane accidents, not to mention Grey's Anatomy - behind all the loud noises, dramatic depictions, and hit television shows there is a lot to learn before entering the world of emergency medicine.

On September 1st (the same day Nichole started her MPH classes!), I began an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course with Huron Valley Ambulance in Ann Arbor. I have longed to have more advanced medical knowledge and skills and this seemed like the perfect avenue. The story of my medical interests begins with my grandpa.

During World War II my grandpa, Myron Schlott, served as a Navy Medic serving in the Aleutian Islands, visiting Hawaii and Australia, and finally on a submarine. In the above picture he is standing on the right with his arms crossed. Behind him is the ambulance that he drove. My grandpa was an important figure in my childhood, Scouting, and in the development of who I am today.

My grandpa was also a strong supporter of my project to fund an ambulance for a rural health center in Uganda. From that project and my trip to Uganda I gained a serious understanding of the need for emergency transportation and medicine in Uganda and at home.

Since the 5th grade I've been first aid and CPR trained through the Red Cross and the Boy Scouts, which included: wilderness survival, back country first aid, and cold weather survival training. Last year I completed a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course with the Wilderness Medical Associates (WMA) and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I knew this was the right next step for me when my fiancee, Nichole, told me that I was getting excited about taking vital signs and blood pressures. Thankfully I have only had rewarding experiences with ambulances thus far and I can only see it continuing to be positive.

A desire to help others was instilled in me at an early age and I can only imagine that is why I have a strong desire to get more involved in medicine.

How many of you reading this are currently involved in or studying health care, medicine, etc.? What are you doing and where?

young, white, and in detroit: gentrification implications

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:30:00 +0000

Video from: Feministing - Detroit, Gentrification and Good-ass Political Hip-hop

“First-stage gentrifiers” are economically- and socially-marginal “trend setters”. Sociologically, these people are young and have low incomes while possessing the cultural capital (education and a job), characteristic of the suburban bourgeois. They often reside in communal (room-mate) households, and are more tolerant of the perceived evils of the city—crime, poor schools, insufficient public services, and few shops.

Am I a gentrifier? I'm young, educated, low-income, and living in a house with 3 other young people. Uh oh! Since moving to Detroit I have considered what socio-economic consequences I could have on the current population and cityscape. My fiance and I have had many discussions about gentrification and what it means for Detroit. The definition I will be using:

Gentrification denotes the socio-cultural changes in an area resulting from wealthier people buying housing property in a less prosperous community. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size decreases in the community, which may result in the informal economic eviction of the lower-income residents, because of increased rents, house prices, and property taxes. This type of population change reduces industrial land use when it is redeveloped for commerce and housing. In addition, new businesses, catering to a more affluent base of consumers, tend to move into formerly blighted areas, further increasing the appeal to more affluent migrants and decreasing the accessibility to less wealthy natives.

I live in the University District, which like most of Detroit is now a majority black community, but that wasn't always the case. The District has a long history from farmland to annexation with the city, to development as a model community where, "homes could never be sold to or used by persons other than 'of white or Caucasian race.'" Following the riots of 1967 and full blown white flight to suburban areas, black families began moving into the neighborhood. I live in a home who's family has a long history of living in the area, contributing to the community, and working with the labor movement.

Being a gentrifier in Detroit has a serious implication when tied to the city's past. That implication is born of the history of racial segregation and violence in the city of Detroit and the Detroit metro area. Public policy and popular perception of black people systematically marginalized and segregated populations based on race. The extended outcome of those causes can be seen with Michigan's "blackest" city: Detroit residing a stone's throw away from its "whitest" city: Livonia. Because of this historical disenfranchisement of the black community in Detroit, gentrification is all that much more a hard topic in a city facing difficult economic development.

Young Detroit

Recently NPR carried a story from Model D, an online news magazine that seeks to create a new narrative for Detroit (they also wrote about gentrification in 2005). The story was about a Detroit neighborhood soccer (futbol) league. Initially I thought it was incredible, but then realized that this was a snapshot of the growing gentrification of Detroit as I noticed in the video that nearly all of the participants were young and white. Many were there for the excitement of working in Detroit for non-profits and other social ventures. A band of "first-stage" gentrifiers? On the flipside how is Detroit supposed to innovate and grow without an influx of young and creative people? How can Detroit bring in excited youth, who are often white and more established, without fueling gentrification or the continued disenfranchisement of the majority black population?

Gentrification is happening mostly in areas around Wayne State University, the historic Corktown neighborhood, and neighborhoods near the Riverfront. The argument that these empty places in Detroit aren't displacing anyone lacks a long-term vision. The city is beginning to see an increase in the number of "first-stage" gentrifiers and simply what follows is a second and third stage where eventually the first and second stage gentrifiers are displaced themselves by lawyers, physicians, and bankers. While all stages of gentrifiers are displacing the "native" populations of these areas by way of their socio-economic power. Is gentrification a natural fluctuation of the urban landscape? Can gentrification do any good?

Is Gentrification Growth?

No, if you look at the face value of gentrification and its broad economic impact, then sure gentrification is growth. However, when you factor in community and the effects on people - gentrification never equals growth, rather displacement.

Nothing good can come of gentrification. There is a minimal increase in tax dollars being sent to the city government, but that has little impact when (for now) the business dollars are being invested and collected in the suburbs surrounding Detroit. Communities don't grow and get stronger, communities are changed by economic force through gentrification.

Looking Forward

The important step for Detroit now is to strengthen its community organizations and engage would be gentrifiers to support neighborhood development. Downtown redevelopment only benefits those with social mobility and that is not the majority of the Detroit population. Detroit's black community has seen years of oppression and gentrifiers come in with a load of unearned privilege and resources.

First-stage gentrifiers (young, white, educated) can change the course for Detroit and instead work to be "allies in development" - partnering for stronger community organizations in black communities and actively engaging in local community efforts: shopping locally, attending block club meetings, and utilizing their privilege to highlight the progress that has been happening by native Detroiters as opposed to outsiders coming in with grand ideas for development.

If Detroit (and Michigan) is going to make it there can no longer be a black and white divide. There needs to be engagement from both populations where black communities have strong neighborhoods and white migrants recognize their privilege and work to assist community development that is already getting started. Get to know your neighbors and community, don't create enclaves of white privilege, and support your community leaders!

"Detroit's future is its neighborhoods" - Reframe Detroit

measuring poverty beyond a dollar a day

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:03:00 +0000

(Photo credit: Allianz Knowledge Partnersite)

How do you measure the worth or suffering of someone’s life? We’ve all seen the ads where a white man walks through desolate streets as malnourished children cling to his hands. He tells us that we can help and that these children can be helped for just a dollar a day. So why do these commercials play year after year if all that is needed is a dollar a day?

The truth is that a dollar a day tells you very little about those children, the reason for their lack of nourishment, or the history or their countries, communities, and families. For years international agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been using the Human Development Index (HDI) created by the United Nations Development Program. The HDI is a set of statistics used to rank a country based on “human development” (i.e. mortality rates, life expectancy, etc.) The original idea was to “to shift the focus of development economics from national income accounting to people centered policies.”

The HDI and its statistics built such programs as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and many had criticisms. Some argued that the HDI was still too nation focused or that measuring material wealth could never promote “human development” thus ending poverty. Just yesterday the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) of Oxford University and the Human Development Report Office of the UNDP announced a new way to measure poverty called the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). Director of the UNDP Human Development Report Office, Dr. Jeni Klugman, said. “The MPI provides a fuller measure of poverty than the traditional dollar-a-day formulas.” She noted that the MPI assesses critical factors at the family level and it will be used to compliment the HDI by examining broader aspects of well-being.

As our understandings of the root causes of poverty increase so must our means of measuring its affects. While some are focused on pulling our heart strings with “dollar a day” lines, the larger development institutions are working to become more innovative in their approaches to measure poverty.

While the MPI is a positive step in the right direction, it seems that it will still be very broadly focused and may still lose the “people centered” perspective. As large development institutions focus and innovate measures for poverty, why have they not just asked those most affected?

batman wears green in detroit

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:00:00 +0000

(Photo Credit: ComicVine)

There was a time when Batman acquired the super human powers of Green Lantern, no joke. Imagine the combined powers of Batman's wit and charm paired with the power of Green Lantern's ring which can alter the physical world and is as powerful as the wearer's willpower and imagination.

Those interested in tackling the difficulties of Detroit can take a lesson from this partnership of sorts, a sharing of resources, and a use of imagination to solve social problems. I've written about some issues happening in Detroit, some background, and so the next few blog posts will be focused on highlighting some critical solutions that Detroit needs to implement as well as some creative programs already in place.

Number one on the list is job retraining for skilled labor in green building and technologies. For places like Detroit (and Flint) there is huge potential for centers of education to refocus their resources to offer training that contributes to the green economy. Countless case studies have shown that programs that target low-income communities with green job trainings take a serious jab at fighting poverty, reducing crime, and building communities (Sustainable South Bronx SSBx; Green for All). Detroit is a great setting for these trainings because of the density of community colleges and universities. The city is also a critical location where there is a need to increase home energy efficiency: heating, cooling, etc.

For Detroit, building an "inclusive green economy" Detroit can work to reverse its history of class divide, reduce crime, and innovate industry all at the same time. At a time when jobs are needed, poverty is rampant, and new ideas for growth are a must, investing in education and training makes the most sense.

I wrote previously that this is one area that Detroit can learn from Grand Rapids, and it has. Grand Rapids Community College offers a wing energy program. The city itself is number one in LEED-certified green buildings. How far off could this be for Detroit?

In the Roosevelt Institute's Midwest 2.0 Journal, author Cory Connolly (Pg. 17) highlights the statistics for a bright future in green careers for Michigan. He writes that 72% of energy professionals believe that there will be a shortage of workers in the green economy in the next 5 years (Apollo Alliance). Many Michigan education institutions have started some programs, but the state is well behind. Cory focuses on integrating career based trainings at the high school level through existing infrastructures. By creating partnerships with green industries and fresh young workers the unemployment numbers for Michigan could drop significantly. California is invest 20 million in a program just like what Cory describes.

In the same journal, Valerie Bieberich (pg. 15) lays out the attractiveness and ease of bringing green jobs to the Midwest. The most critical point that Valerie makes is that the Midwest has a strong worker base and resource base for green industries. For states like Michigan the infrastructure already exists and unemployment is high - workers are ready for green jobs! Michigan has already seen two green energy firms start their work in Battle Creek and more recently Holland.

In Detroit, green job training is become more readily available. Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice is an organization pushing the green economy forward with a number of green jobs training and programs focused on making Detroit green.

Wayne County Community College (WCCC) is offering three tiered green jobs training courses in: energy efficiency, weatherizing certification, recycling, and green building certifications. It is an extremely comprehensive program targeting unemployed residents who have at least a high school diploma. This is an excellent example of the type of program needed to reverse the negative growth that Detroiters have seen.

grand rapids can't afford for detroit to fail

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:29:00 +0000

One of the recent articles from "Assignment Detroit" in Fortune Magazine attempts to say that Detroit needs to learn from Grand Rapids. The content that follows in the article goes on to prove that Grand Rapids is not like Detroit at all.

The article was titled, "A Michigan Success Story" with the tagline: "Its not the kind of view you expect these days in downtrodden Michigan". It seems they can never give a clear message about Michigan or Detroit. Its a success, but downtrodden. Its working hard, but never making the mark. Let's jump right in - so it is true, Grand Rapids is growing, has retained young people, and has significant investment in higher education and medical services - but that does not mean Detroit can replicate the business successes of this tiny West Michigan city.

Grand Rapids is not similar to Detroit. They had different industries, different populations, and different mean levels of income. From the article:

"thanks to a combination of business leadership, public-private cooperation, and the deep pockets of local philanthropists."

This picture is not as visible in Detroit, the deep pockets of philanthrophy don't reach as far in a significantly larger city with a larger population (ever with Detroit's population decline). Retired Chairman and CEO of Old Kent Bank, John Canepa is quoted saying,

"But Grand Rapids had an unusual set of assets. The wealth in this city in proportion to its size is extraordinary."

The Amway corporation and family, DeVos (whose name appears on far too many things in Grand Rapids), Steelcase and Meijer.

"The founders of those companies and their descendants still reside in Grand Rapids area, and match their deep roots with deep pockets of philanthropic dollars."

The article's author is defeating his own argument with each quote he gets from local Grand Rapids leaders. They recognize that there were some similarities in how the decline in industry had effects on both cities, but are not as naive to think that what worked for Grand Rapids will work for Detroit.

Unemployment in Grand Rapids is still very high and not surprisingly this disproportionately affects minority communities. Detroit is a city of minorities, unlike Grand Rapids that holds its roots in the white, anglo-saxon, protestant traditions with traceable histories, long roots to local areas, propped by family assets and connections. The city government of Grand Rapids is also facing serious budget cutting and is working with unions to decrease benefits.

Grand Rapids is the "greenest city in the US" with more LEED-certified buildings per capita. This could also be attributed to the growing trends in environmental sustainability and the wealth that exists in Grand Rapids. Where Detroit can take a lesson is in offering more opportunities for Green Jobs. The Grand Rapids Community College just opened excellent training courses for various "green" industries. I will begin writing more about "green" solutions in following posts.

Detroit doesn't have the hard cash wealth that Grand Rapids has, but it does have other rich assets when it comes to new ideas and initiatives for improvement. As in Grand Rapids, these ideas don't come from the government or its funds.

A last final and important take-away from the article was a quote from Mayor George Heartwell, "we can't afford to see Detroit fail. But if Grand Rapids recovery took two decades, how long will it take Detroit?"
No one can afford for Detroit to fail.

Bringing African Perspectives into US Activism (#USSFafrica)

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 14:30:00 +0000

Thursday and Friday I attended many of the Africa focused workshops - most were very exciting and engaging. They really brought the African perspective into the ideas of the US Social Forum and made delegates think about the US role in issues affecting communities on the African continent.

24 Thursday 10am-12pm

African Unity Towards What? (Pan-Africanism & Nationalism is not enough!) by: University of Kmt

I still haven't exactly figured out this group and what they do. They run the Kmt Press which publishes books and journals, but all of their sessions that I attended were focused on teaching with an African historical perspective. Their missions states that they are dedicated to educating the new generation of African leaders. Interesting that they are in Detroit and I wonder if they know of the Detroit Public School (DPS) Initiative starting in 1992 where Africa was integrated into school curriculums from math to literature.

24 Thursday 1-3pm

Prioritizing Africa & the African Diaspora Agenda from Detroit to Dakar (D2D) by: Priority Africa Network (PAN)

This People's Movement Assembly was geared towards bringing African perspectives into the US Social Forum and continue the discussion as preparations are made for the 2011 World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal. The room was full of delegates from many African countries, Detroit, and US Africa Advocacy groups.

Briggs Bomba, Director of Campaigns at Africa Action, spoke strongly about building solidarity with those most affected in Africa. He said, "corporate led globalization has harshest effects on those in the perifery, the underdeveloped." He reminded us that all of us the privilege to attend conferences like these and make the policies need to prioritize the communities most affected.

A delegate from South Africa spoke eloquently about the social apartheid of displacement - ideologically, locations, in decision-making and governments; in voting process lack of people power and transformational action, and in the social mainstream. "We cover many issues, but it is the same struggle. We come from different areas, but share common experiences." (i.e. colonialism)

Some top issues that came out of the PMA:

Militarization in the Congo (DRC)

HIV & STDs from Detroit to Africa

political economy - effects seen in everyday Africa

African defense (defend communities), liberation (not yet liberated), and autonomy

An exciting and dynamic session that really makes me excited for the World Social Forum in Dakar!

24 Thursday 3:30-5:30pm

The New Africa Command & U.S. Military Involvement in Africa by: African Security Research Project (aka: Daniel Volman)

This session was an interesting overview of AFRICOM by some leading scholars on the topic of US national security interests in Africa. The attendees were less diverse than the Detroit to Dakar session and most people came to learn more because it looked interesting and had studied Africa to some small degree in the past.

Most interesting was when the discussion turned to private military contractors (PMCs) in Africa responsible for fighting wars in Libera, Southern Sudan, and Somalia. A Ugandan delegate actually talked about being trained by PMCs in Iraq to then return and fight the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda. Great to hear the perspective of the Ugandan delegate and Dan Volman as well as to see so many people interested in learning more about African issues!

25 Friday 1-3pm

Power-sharing Deals in Africa: Implications for Democracy - The Case of Zimbabwe & Kenya by: Africa Action

This was by far the most organized session that I attended at the US Social Forum. The Africa Action team did an amazing job of gathering great speakers, formatting the session, and bringing people into the room for the discussion. Many African voices were heard from delegates representing Zimbabwe and Kenya.

In both cases of power-sharing, the speakers agreed that the power-sharing deal was a sigh of relief that stopped the fighting and opened their doors to the international community and economy again. However, they also all recognized that power-sharing was a positive in the short-term, but can be positive as in the case of South Africa when Mandela and de Klerk signed a power sharing deal until the national democratic elections.

Here are some take-aways:

A weak state can and will be manipulated (i.e. Museveni in Uganda - waiting for a similar situation as Kenya and Zimbabwe soon, elections next year)

"The people" are separated from the power - people-centered in needed

Power-sharing allows for lessened tensions and time to create national unity towards something better

Coalition governments show defeat of "people power"

Crossposted from SCOUT BANANA

The Africa Track at the US Social Forum (#USSFafrica)

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 01:45:00 +0000

There are a number Africa-related organizations represented at the US Social Forum focused on bringing Africa into the larger US social justice context and ensuring that there are African voices represented.

During the June 22-25 conference there will be 14 workshops presented by: Africa Action, TransAfrica, HealthGAP, Support Darfur Project, All African Peoples Revolutionary Party, University of Kmt, Priority Africa Network, Community Alliance for Global Justice, African Security Research Project, Athletes United for Peace, Detroit to Dakar, and International Development Exchange (IDEX). See list below:

24 Thursday (10am-12pm)

Africa & Pan- Africanism in this hemisphere: fighting neo-colonialism, racism, class, and gender oppression
- All African Peoples Revolutionary Party @ Cobo Hall - Rm. W2-61
Building a Pan-African Solidarity Movement in North America
- Support Darfur Project @ WC3 - Rm. 317
AIDS isn't over: Solidarity in the fight for justice for people with AIDS worldwide
- HealthGAP @ WA - Rm. 1472
Gender Militarism and US Corporate Violence in Oil Producing States
- Priority Africa Network (PAN) @ Cobo Hall - Rm. O2-40

24 Thursday (1-3pm)

Africa Unity Toward What? (Pan-Africanism & Nationalism are not enough!)
- University of Kmt @ Cobo Hall - Rm. O2-38
The Politics of Exploiting Need: AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa), the Gates Foundation, & the Food Crisis
- Community Alliance for Global Justice @ UAW - Rm. Taurus
Migration & Militarization of U.S. and European Borders: A Comparison & Contrast
- Priority Africa Network @ Cobo Hall- Rm. O2-40
Youth-led Activism in NYC's Public High Schools
- Support Darfur Project @ WBC - Rm. WB2
The World Cup, Sports & Social Justice: The Beautiful Game & Beautiful Struggle, Together
- Athletes for Peace @ WSU S - Rm. 29

24 Thursday (3:30-5:30pm)

International Financial Institutions & Climate Change: Community Impacts in the Congo
- Africa Action @ WC3 - Rm. 337
The New Africa Command & U.S. Military Involvement in Africa
- African Security Research Project @ UAW - Rm. Pres

25 Friday (1-5pm)

Prioritizing Africa & the African Diaspora Agenda from Detroit to Dakar (D2D)
- Priority Africa Network @ Cobo Hall - Rm. W2-69
Educating African People: K12 through Ph.D. levels
- University of Kmt @ Cobo Hall - Rm. O2-38
GM Crops - the poisoned chalice: perspectives & victories from South Africa
- International Development Exchange (IDEX) @ Cobo Hall - Rm. D3-23
Power Sharing Deals in Africa: Implications for Democracy - The Case of Zimbabwe & Kenya
- Africa Action @ WSU S - Rm. 261

Crossposted from SCOUT BANANA.

Gray Panthers, Youth in Action, and the Non-Profit Industrial Complex (live blogging #USSF)

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:48:00 +0000

Here are summaries of some of the workshops I attended today:

Organizing Across Communities: Age & Youth in Action by the Gray Panthers of Metropolitan Washington

A workshop run by a sweet group of older (wise) people focused on bridging the gap of age in activism and building an intergenerational movement. Gray hair = gray panthers. Some critical thoughts on organizing with age in mind:

#1 = Build Common Values!

utilize mentors - teach activist history, learn from older movements and successes

Listen! old and young listening to each other

Build skills - young activists can learn from old

Mutual RESPECT

Both young and old, ask each other for what is needed

Movement Building: Storytelling, Framing and Messaging by: Dream Act

Caught this workshop at the end with YP4 2008 Fellow, Sonia Guinansaca! Working with the Dream Act, Sonia spiced up the Youth Space (Basement of Cobo Hall near Michigan Rooms) with some excellent tips on telling your story to build support. She focused on making your cause personal. Awesome work!

Growing Wings - Evolving out of the Nonprofit by: The Movement Strategy Center (MSC)

Tackling the concept of the Non-Profit Industrial Complex elegantly with a fun skit, one of the key members of the MSC who helped build the YP4 blueprint curriculum, Jidan Koon and colleagues from Serve the People, APAL, and Anak Bayan packed the 7th floor room of the Wayne State University Student Center. The building's shifting and shaking could not deter the young leaders' voices as they talked about operating within and without non-profits. Some key concepts to take away:

Meet people where they are: house meetings, coffee shops, events at clubs

Connect to project with field trips

Create a collaborative/ cooperative organizational model

delegate responsibility

distribute leadership

collective decision-making/ agreements

build family/ organization culture of helping each other

create voluntary levels of involvement

Have a 40/60 gender rule to keep balance

reporting from "ground zero" (live blogging US Social Forum #USSF)

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:05:00 +0000

The United States Social Forum launched in 2007 based on the successes and excitement of the World Social Forums. The year 2010 is being marked by various regional events like the US Social Forum to take the place of the World Social Forum. So the fact that Detroit was chosen to host the US Social Forum (USSF) is very exciting.

As exciting as it is, it also happens to enable numerous aspects of privilege. As over 10,000 people converge on Detroit, people often to refer to the city as "ground zero" for the economic crisis. The weekend before the USSF, Young People For (YP4) held their regional training at the Renaissance Center for their Midwest fellows. I attended the opening event with alumni and partners to meet the new class of fellows. Like the World Social Forum, YP4 is breaking their national training into regionally based events. Many of the fellows noted that before they came to Detroit they had thought of the city as a place NOT to visit. With a view over the riverfront, looking across at Canada, many mentioned that they had no idea Detroit was so beautiful. Others commented that they had no idea Detroit had a downtown and tall buildings.

These large convergences of people bring Detroit into a brighter light and change the perceptions of many. There are plenty of things to be worried about in Detroit, but not just because it is "Detroit." Likewise, as the city fills with activists and radicals of all shades, the majority of Detroit residents is unaware of what is even happening. YP4 Director, Rebecca Thompson, informed us that many of her family members in Detroit and friends had no idea that the USSF was happening the next day. I've worked with a few local Detroit organizations that canvassed some neighborhoods to let people know about the USSF, but the impact was minimal at best. How can this happen? How can residents of a city, businesses, and even some government not know that 10,000 people are coming to their city to infuse it with new ideas, people, and solutions to social problems?

This could be a result of the slightly disorganized activities of the USSF organizing committee. I won't go into the stories that I have heard of the power struggles between organizations working to put this event together, but it is worth noting that thoughtful improvement can be made. A thought that occurred to me the other day was: What if the USSF was organized with local groups tackling specific issues host a topic and organize like-minded groups across the nation so that this conference is less focused on talking and more on building potential solutions that Detroit organizations can use and others can take home?

After hanging around, surveying the organizations tables with my girlfriend (Nichole :-D), we headed about 2 miles away for the march. We were a bit behind and stopped in the shade to watch the chanting crowd go by. At the length of almost 8 city blocks (or more) it was an incredible sight to see in a city often referred to as a "ghost town." And yet privilege came out again as local Detroiters asked, "What is going on?!" and the Detroit Red Cross asked me, "Do you know what all these people are doing?" YP4 staffer, William noted that if this was in DC, everyone would know with posters, twitter updates like crazy, and just the general buzz.

Unfortunately residents of Detroit are not as privileged to be as connected as those in DC. Likewise, residents, in the case of the USSF, have not been a focus of organizing or informing. This has become a common theme that I have noted within government and other activities to rebuild Detroit. Focus on the people who are actually in Detroit! The activists who come for this weekend may hold some new ideas about the city, but in the end they will leave and what will be left for the city of Detroit?

your thumbprint stays the same

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Thu, 13 May 2010 04:55:00 +0000

Over the course of your life you will grow and your fingerprints will grow along with you, except for your thumbprint. Michigan is much like your fingerprints and Detroit is the thumbprint. As the state has grown (sometimes negative growth), Detroit has remained the same, "trapped" if you will, in its post-automobile slump. Alright, so I know Detroit isn't in the thumb of Michigan, but it was nice analogy. Beyond the images of Detroit's destruction lie the seeds of real growth. The economic situation of Detroit isn't all lost and the state doesn't need to sign on to stimulating reforms to make it happen.

Few people seem to grasp that the economic situation of Detroit reflects that of the state of Michigan. Where, unfortunately, politics plays a larger role. For many years there has been an unspoken clash between the former economic power that was Detroit and the political power that is Lansing. With Detroit's decline, no region of Michigan has been able to match and replace the city's production power and "driving" economic engine. To the rest of the world Michigan is Detroit and until politicians in Lansing recognize that fact - then the state may be doomed. However, the issue goes far beyond image, as I wrote before. One important point made in Professor Ritchie's post, Is Michigan a Third World Economy?, is the need for "strong political leadership" which is missing in both Detroit and the state of Michigan as a whole.

The one thing that I have found to be a constant in Detroit is the sense of community. From people who live in the city at large, the various enclaves and districts of the city, and the groups and organizations that work to make Detroit a better place. Unlike any other major city, this sense of community needs to be fostered and developed. The city needs to stop trying to bring in people from the suburbs and from outside the city. There needs to be a greater focus on the people who are already here. Living the struggles of Detroit and working to make the solutions.

Thankfully there are examples from initiatives in other struggling cities across the US to give direction as to how Detroit can begin to thrive again. The Governor and many experts have talked about innovative industries. Detroit and dense city centers like it can capitalize on the new "green" industry. But will "green" be enough to "save" Detroit? Hardly, and the third installment about Detroit will highlight solutions happening and the people who are pushing to make their communities better.

detroit is gotham without a batman

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:28:00 +0000

Michigan's "third" world city, as it is often referred to, is a place where community stands out over commerce. It is best known as a place you would not want to visit and best recognized (on the big screen) through scenes of armageddon and the end of the world as opposed to its architectural prowess; qualified as "the nation's finest." Since the race riots of 1967, and earlier, the city has never been able to recover its image. Continually in movies and the news Detroit is marked as a pit of a city resembling in some parts a war torn city where bombs have reduced neighborhoods to rubble. Where is this gothic city's batman? How is it that Detroit matches the "third" world?

I will answer the second question first.

Since August I've been living and working in Detroit focusing on youth empowerment and community service/ engagement. What I have seen has been this common image of a destroyed Detroit, but I have also had the privilege of seeing some of the incredible initiatives launched by the communities and people of Detroit. I have to disagree with the many who would say Detroit is "third" worldly. The majority of its population may fall far below the poverty line, but it is absurd to describe the city as a "third" world.

The recent Time Warner "Assignment Detroit" journalists "embedded" in the city have taken to writing similarly scathing articles of Detroit and have perpetuated the destroyed image of Detroit. Example from the New York Times: Ruin with a View. There are a few organizations attempting to recover and reclaim the image of Detroit from these corporate story weavers, notably Inside Detroit tasked with getting more people to know about Detroit: "they know it, they love it."

Many people that I have worked with talk about the similarities between the developing "third" world and Detroit. Poverty has many similarities and often looks the same from the outside, but poverty has many stories and the circumstances are never the same. My friend Cory recently described what is and has been happening in Detroit as a man-made disaster. I couldn't agree more. It is no hurricane, flood, or earthquake, but definitely comparable: from rapid industrialization, capitalism, racial tensions and white flight to relying on a solitary automobile industry, even the long running political climate in Detroit has been a contributing factor. "Third" world is just another negative descriptor for the city and an attempt to glamorize the city's economic decline.

Stay tuned for the my answer to the first question this week (to be continued. . .)

* Note: I am not really giving "answers," but my thoughts based on learning about and being located in Detroit over the past year. I wouldn't dream of giving Detroit answers after just one year.

twelve to twenty-two

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:01:00 +0000

A lot happens in 10 years.

Around new year's (2010), my Aunt handed back letters that family members had written to themselves at a new year's celebration in 2000. I was apprehensive to open my letter; was I a profound twelve year old, was it going to be embarrassing, how much had I changed?

The letter, written in my poorly scribbled cursive, read:

Yo Al,
Right now im at a 2000 millenium new years party. I'm making an aircraft carrier in lego's. I am twelve years old. When you are reading this you will be 22. Hope you are having fun. With lego's I have humvees, F-14s, a harrier, jeeps, chinook, and working on an aircraft carrier. I hope you made it out of high school and into college.
Love, Alex Hill

I may have been mostly preoccupied with my lego creations at the time, but at least I had some ambitions for my future self: having fun, graduating high school, getting into college. On January 1st, 2010 I had definitely achieved all three. I was spending the new year in New Orleans with my girlfriend, Nichole, of almost a full year, watching the fireworks over the Mississippi River. I had definitely graduated high school and gone on to college. It may have been an uncertain choice as to where I went to college, but ended with a great experience at the end of 4 long years of study at Michigan State University's James Madison College. I unfortunately never completed the lego aircraft carrier and can't look back and remember how amazing that turned out.

Legos seem to have been the most important aspect of my life at twelve. I guess I need to evaluate what that means for my development as a child and 10 years later. I love legos! For as long as I can remember I've been constructing things out of legos, but I was very particular as to how this worked. I was very conscious of color and design. I had a meticulous system of organization for all my lego pieces and enjoyed the creative problem solving that occurred. My lego corner in the basement was my safe haven for all my thoughts and creations to come to life. Legos taught me success and failure, they allowed me to deconstruct, learn by doing, and try again.

So, legos were important, but did my twelve year old self have any idea what was to come next? In just one year I would be thirteen and my entire life would be given purpose and direction. That summer I would meet Fr. Joseph Birungi and found the organization, SCOUT BANANA, the following summer I would travel to Uganda and see the harsh realities of our world at the ripe age of 14. The years that follow after that were just as loaded with significantly life altering experiences, people, and places, but thirteen was the pivotal year from which all of my current life springs.

Its crazy to look back and see that in just one year, my thirteenth year in this world, my life would be impacted beyond my wildest dreams. That year following the beginning of the new millennium would set me on a path taking me across three continents, to 16 different countries, having critical experiences that would lead me to meet hundreds of amazing individuals who would all have a profound impact on how I developed as a person, a friend, and a leader.

A lot happens from twelve to twenty-two. In just two months I'll be turning 23 and I have no idea what the next year will bring. I'm grateful to my twelve year old self, but even more grateful for the people who made it all happen: my parents, grandparents, leaders, mentors, friends, girlfriend, colleagues, trainers, co-workers, randos and strangers - Thanks!

transitions in a land of confusion

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:46:00 +0000

I have to say that starting this blog and maintaining it has catalogued some of the better experiences in my short life as well as opened many new and exciting opportunities. And so it is with great pleasure that I am making an effort to renew my writing passion and zeal to write down my experiences and thoughts, perhaps someday to write a book? who knows. . . Is this a new year's resolution of sorts, maybe, but I am not resolving to do anything. Writing is a creative and organic process, so I won't place any restrictions or expectations, just to start writing again when the mood hits me. I used to use writing as a release: from stress, from the insanity of the real world, from my mind's own prison. . .

My writing really took a downward spiral in and after my three-month internship in South Africa. Access to the internet was limited, I continued to journal almost daily, but maintaining this blog was just not possible with the work I was doing. It was a long and difficult summer full of rewarding, but intense experiences. Returning to the states, getting back into the blog only became a burden as I worked to adjust and get back into the swing of life in the US as my last year of college loomed.

That year finally happened with attempts to get back into writing, most were short lived. As I feared the most, I was one class short of graduating! I walked for the ceremony, but thankfully could utilize the summer months to complete an independent study and officially receive a degree. Bachelors of Arts (international relations & global area studies: Africa with a specialization in international development) in hand really started focusing, harder than before, on finding a paying gig in the real world. My plan was to find something that (#1) paid, (#2) was in Michigan, and (#3) didn't make me compromise my morals. My goals were to give back to the great state of Michigan, remain in close proximity to the staff of my fledgling organization, and spend more time with the people I love.

It all happened to work out when I was hired at buildOn, a non-profit organization with the primary goal of building schools in other countries to fight illiteracy and bring education to children all over the world. The organization does this through after school programs at high schools in Michigan's urban hubs (Detroit, Dearborn, Pontiac) where students voluntarily learn about global issues, give back to their own communities through service, and raise money to sponsor schools in Nicaragua, Mali, and Malawi. Since August 5th 2009, I've been working this great opportunity straight out of undergraduate studies that allows me to follow all the criteria I had set for myself.

I now live in Detroit (more to come on that later), own a car, get a big boy salary with benefits, and am still running my own non-profit in my free time, SCOUT BANANA. On top of all of these life developments I will be starting a Masters in Social Justice program this month at Marygrove College in Detroit, two minutes down the road from the house I now live in. They have an incredible history of acting outside the norm, radically focusing on helping people, and pursuing scholarly activism that promotes social justice. I am excited to get started in their 7th Cohort of students!

It has been a time of many transitions. Some easy, some not so easy, but all have been successful with a good dose of confusion, flexibility, and an amazing girlfriend who has made everything much easier! Be on the lookout for some more blog posts to close out my South African experience in the Summer of 2008, some of my non-expert opinions on Detroit, and some more generally interesting thoughts on the coming year. Everyone has predictions, so why not throw some more out there? I will also be headed to remote Nicaragua in early February with a group of buildOn students to build a school, so there is definitely some great experiences to come!

ending charity: alone, is not the answer

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:52:00 +0000

"Giving in its purest form expects nothing in return." - Anonymous

There are a lot of confusing buzzwords being thrown around these days: ending charity, dead aid, patient capitalism, impatient optimists, and investment over aid. What does it all mean?

My initial thoughts on this subject were spurred by zyOyz founder Steve Jennings' repost of an article titled: "Charity alone not the answer to tackling poverty". Well I agreed with the article's basic premise that just giving money is not the only solution or the best, I was troubled by the article's absolute statements that business models and capitalism will save the world.

The article, reposted from the Financial Times, notes the work of the Acumen Fund founded by Jacqueline Novogratz, which invests in small businesses with a social impact termed as "patient capital." It has become a highly successful model, however Novogratz is quoted as saying: "We need creative approaches to reinvigorate capitalism and make it more inclusive.” The most inclusive business model that I know, with high degrees of success, is the cooperative model based on needs of those involved, inclusion, and participation. Looking at history, capitalism has generated exclusion: great amounts of wealth for many people, but it has also perpetuated extremely flawed systems that create great degrees of poverty for many people. The evidence is in any major city where the consequences of capitalism lay bare the desperation of good people who are left with nothing.

At the root of the article, "Charity alone not the answer to tackling poverty," is the long-running debate on whether investment is more effective than aid. Professor Bill Easterly made popular the fact (through his book, "White Man's Burden") that over $1 trillion in aid has been given to Africa over the last 50 years with limited positive results, Dambisa Moyo has termed this "dead aid" and calls for a complete end of aid to Africa. Others like Bill and Melinda Gates, who have given vast amounts of aid (which they often call "investment") to Africa with their foundation, label themselves as "impatient optimists." They are hopeful for the future and want more done at the present time.

However, there is a problem with their impatience that many have critiqued. Impatience tends to push solutions that are ineffective. Ian Wilhelm gets further into this topic in a blog about "irrational aid." In the post he writes about Alanna Shaikh's critique of ineffective aid, such as outdated pharmaceuticals and medical equipment that has no use in the field. This argument is countered by Isaac Holeman's disagreement that well that aid may be irrational, it provides immediate personal stories of need to bring in more donors. I have to agree with Alanna in saying that this irrational, possibly impatient, aid does more harm and basically no good.

How have we now moved from decrying the failures of charity and aid to highlighting the benefits of business models and the capitalist system back again to smiling about greater benefits of monetary investment in people and ideas? Where is the line drawn between investment and aid? As far as I can tell it is mostly semantic. Isn't aid when transparent, effective, and driven by best practices an investment? Giving an investment is essentially the same as giving aid or charity.

Investment is the buzzword used by social enterprises, microfinance, and has become the new fad in international development organizations. I think that it is important to make a distinction between what is effective and what is not. Aid can be very effective and investment can be very ineffective. The reverse is also true. Where does effective aid change from being a type of investment? When experts talk about the broken aid system do they forget that the broken aid system is merely a reflection of the broken financial system. The same interests and individuals who have run financial systems have run foreign aid systems.

The real issue in this debate need not be if businesses are better than charities or who's money is better spent. What is most important needs to be the question of, "How?" The systems, structures, and practices that implement aid and drive investment need to be cooperative, inclusive, needs based, and people-centered - in one word: effective. If you are looking for a return on investment (ROI) or accolades for your donated or invested dollars, then maybe you should reconsider why you give?

Written for the SCOUT BANANA blog.

the coming revolution in african health care

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Before you have anything else, you have your health. Hopefully if you have nothing else, at least you have your health. Unfortunately, for millions across the African continent this is not an absolute fact. Even more unfortunate is the fact that many Africans have no ability to change their health status. They are trapped in a system that is driven by Western market based, profit driven health care systems. As the failures of Western development practices come to light, alternatives to what has been are becoming increasingly visible. These alternatives will form a revolution in African health care delivery. This revolution will be fueled by health care delivery models that will give local communities agency in the provision of their own health care. Community-based models involving cooperative financing, proven para-professional training, new information technology, and social enterprise for the social good will drive the revolution in African health care. People will be able to determine for themselves, their level of health.

What does “Health” mean anyway?
This is a question often left to remain ambiguous. For the purposes of my writing I will provide a comprehensive view of “health” and all that is entailed in sustaining and maintaining health. “Health” in all instances will refer directly to the “basic needs” of a person in regards to health care.

Healing, like health, is obviously rooted in the social and cultural order. [...] To define dangerous behavior, and to define evil, is to define some causes of illness. As the definition of evil changes, so does the interpretation of illness. To understand change in healing, we must understand what it is that leads people to alter the definition of dangerous social behavior. It can easily be accepted that health and healing in Africa are shaped by broad social forces.

As Feierman and Janzen state, health (and healing for that matter) are directly linked to social forces. If a comprehensive understanding of health is to be understood, it must be studied in the context of politics, economics, and other societal structures.

Health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as, “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” The WHO and many other international organizations recognize that this broad and encompassing definition of health. Where this definition becomes ambiguous is what qualifiers meet, “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.” In 1978 the WHO made primary health care its number one objective with the Declaration of Alma Ata. However, even this statement had no clear definition of health or its qualifiers.

Feierman and Janzen provide a more clear definition of the qualifiers of health in the preface to their volume: The Social Basis of Health and Healing in Africa,

[…] it [health] is maintained by a cushion of adequate nutrition, social support, water supply, housing, sanitation, and continued collective defense against contagious and degenerative disease. Such a view is necessary if we are to understand those contexts in today's Africa where health levels deteriorate, and where they improve.

These authors provide a complete set of qualifiers, or “basic needs,” of health that can be researched further to understand where political, economic, and social structures interfere with sustaining and maintaining health and where health care is inadequate.

Health care should thus be understood as the system and structure that works to provide the above defined “basic needs” to each individual. Often this role falls to governments, but sometimes is taken up by communities and organizations when government’s fail to provide these basic needs.

This blog series will cover four key areas identified that will fuel this revolution in African health care: cooperative financing, para-professional training, information technology, and social enterprise. SCOUT BANANA works to tackle social medicine (social, economic, structures) while enabling others to provide medical services. Be sure to follow closely to learn more!

Written for the SCOUT BANANA blog.

global health is everyone's responsibility

noreply@blogger.com (Alex B. Hill) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:54:00 +0000

People young and old across the US have connected with seven different communities across the African continent to support locally initiated health projects. Using the vibrant color of bananas and the enthusiasm of youth, a new nonprofit has grown to support the coming revolution in African health care.

It all began with one individual, Fr. Joseph Birungi, who had the dream of providing access to basic health care in a remote area where he worked. His dream was transferred on to me through his stories of those who died because they did not have access to basic health care. At the time I was a 14 year-old who knew little of the world beyond Michigan's borders, but I was inspired to do something. Just entering high school, I was full of naive optimism with a goal to figure out how I could make an impact in the world. Although I was youthful, naive, and optimistic I had an incredible mentor, my mother. She helped me form basic assumptions that laid the foundation for my understanding of "global health as everyone's responsibility. "

One assumption that grew from my optimism was the belief that everyone had the potential to make a difference in the world. From Fr. Joseph to myself to my mother, the chain of individuals who embodied this grew to include hundreds of families, church congregations, school assemblies, and individuals from across the country working to fund an ambulance. These individuals, linked by a common cause, were able to raise over $67,000 in less than three months for the health center in Uganda.
It is easy for many people to take for granted the small things: clean water from a sink, medicine readily available in your cabinet, adequate food sources, etc. In the summer of 2002, I was able to traveled to Uganda. During my one-month stay I met and lived with the people who would benefit from the ambulance project. The people I met were so friendly and, even in their poverty, they wanted to share what little they had. I have seen that all people of the world share the same needs and wants. Everyone needs food, shelter, clean water, and necessary health care. We all want to know happiness, health and love. Parents everywhere want the best for their children and children want to learn and grow. But not everyone gets the same chance for success. And so keeping in mind the interdependent and similar nature of our world it is not so difficult to see "global health as everyone’s responsibility."

As I graduated from high school with my classmates so did SCOUT BANANA. My friends began expanding our work into Chapters at colleges and universities across the US and Canada. This allowed our outreach to grow along with our ability to support more local projects. We became seriously focused on community-based solutions and empowering young people in the US to take responsible action when "making a difference" in Africa. Just because you have the means to do something doesn't necessarily mean that you should. With an expanding support base and the desire to empower young people and community leaders we decided to pursue 501c3 status in order to better serve as a resource. Utilizing privilege in the US to connect communities in Africa with inspired students, SCOUT BANANA has been able to raise almost $200,000 to date and engage over 50,000 young people in partnering with African projects to provide access to basic health care.

SCOUT BANANA believes that global health is everyone's responsibility and that everyone has the potential to make a difference. We look at global health issues systematically and our solutions are focused on revolutionizing structures as well as shifting paradigms of development thinking in regards to education, power, and privilege. We seek to create lasting social change in African health care and believe that solutions come directly from communities in need. SCOUT BANANA is dedicated to empowering community solutions as well as young people who want to responsibly make a difference in Africa. By connecting communities in long-term cooperative partnerships, we will build a movement dedicated to fundamental social change in which global health is everyone’s responsibility and every individual’s human right.

SCOUT BANANA is a nonprofit organization that works to provide access to basic health care in Africa. Focusing on community-based solutions and empowering community leaders as well as young people who want to make a difference in Africa, SCOUT BANANA is supporting the innovation in African health care. The organization connects student Chapters with local health project in Africa.

Learn more about the Chapter network & apply to launch a Chapter at your school HERE!

Written for Change.org's Global Health Blog.

vvocf education fund

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:54:00 +0000

17 June 2008
Sphe and Nhlanhla helped me learn some more Zulu today with even more Swahili similarities coming to light. The Bantu peoples spread from central to east and south Africa, thankfully they kept the same language structure and vocabulary similarities.

Today we began the VVOCF Education Fund! We had the idea of collecting the 5 cent pieces that everyone throws on the ground to be collected and used as a way to provide educational scholarships for the VVOCF students. The four teams will have a competition with the winner getting some prize determined later - the students in secondary will be able to apply for the scholarship later. This will be a way for the children to invest in their own education while providing ground to approach other investors overseas or in more wealthy neighborhoods/ SA businesses. Funding cannot solely come from the outside so this is a great start. "Our future is in our hands" education campaign begins today!

The on-the-ground of running a project and NPO is exciting and a great experience for me to see to be able to find out how SCOUT BANANA can be most helpful to our own projects later. Linking education with health development will be important. Giving youth a voice in-country is just as important as giving developed youth a voice to help other youth.

why there is no doctor: the impact of hiv/aids in the post-apartheid health care system of south africa

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:05:00 +0000

This is a series of posts based on the lengthy research paper that I completed as part of my "field experience" requirement for my International Relations major at James Madison College, as well as my Global Area Studies: Africa major and International Development specialization through the College of Social Science at Michigan State University. I was supported by the Young People For internship program as well as my friends and family. My field experience was completed as a three month long internship at Vumundzuku-bya Vana 'Our Children's Future' (VVOCF) in the peri-urban settlement of Zonkizizwe, just south of Johannesburg. My tasks as an intern were to conduct health classes, run the HIV/AIDS Peer Educator courses, help with day-to-day programming, as well as assist in the nonprofit development and paperwork. The highlight of my work was organizing an HIV Testing Day with the clinics for the whole community. In all 80 people were tested in an area where stigma around HIV/AIDS and testing is very high. Please feel free to send comments and recommendations to help improve my work. Thanks!

Index:
i. Why are there No Doctors?
Academic Paper:
1. Introduction to an Epidemic
2. The Health System via Apartheid
3. Cleaning Black Spots of off a White Land?
4. High-Risk Migration Patterns
5. Scapegoating "tropical workers"
6. HIV/AIDS in South Africa
7. Denial is the First Step
8. What happened to Reconstruction and Development?
9. Post-Apartheid Health: the Burden Continues to get Heavier
10. Harsh Realities in Zonkizizwe (part 1)
11. Harsh Realities in Zonkizizwe (part 2)
12. Conclusion & Works Cited
13. Appendix A: Timeline of Health Care and HIV/AIDS in South Africa

a day wasted on the youth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:00:00 +0000

15 June 2008
There is a sort of perpetual dance party on the weekends. Many people remain drunk off of the South African Breweries – remnant of apartheid appeasement of township and settlement peoples – and they blast their old tunes and techno beats to the high heavens and well into the late hours of the night. Is this their escape? Is this the real South Africa? Where the people are, is the real South Africa – not Sandton, Florida, or Alberton – but the townships, the majorities, the people that make South Africa; in their miseries, poverty, diseases, lack of family, absence of hope and utter lose for future dreams attained – the real South Africa resides with these people who have yet to realize and actualize their potential with support from uncorrupt (transparent) organizations that can give them and their children the resources to overcome, but never forget.

16 June 2008
The day rings hollow for the busloads of excited school children and township youth as ANC propaganda is spoken and popular music performed for unattentive throngs of young people with a new freedom and privilege to throw away. Politics is wasteful when it is departed from the masses and cannot compose a meaningful message to the future of the country – the youth!

Township youth are bussed in from all over. Politicians speak of real multiracial unity, but we are the only white people in the entire stadium. Speeches talk of 1976 and the youth movement, but there is no real remembrance or understanding of the past events inspired by youth. It has become less a national holiday and more a day wasted on youth, who are unguided in their development. ANC politicians talk of “all to the polls” but there is no real attempt to register youth and get them active in the governmental process. The youth were there for the pop music show as opposed to the meaning of June 16th 1976, those who died, or what it represented for their country. It is a day that has become a market opportunity for many to sell food, clothes, candies, and anything else. It is a day that has become more of an excuse than anything. An excuse for youth to skip school, to leave home, to do things their parents may not approve of, to hear popular music. An excuse for the government to feign caring about the youth, to spout their slogans, and to give lip service to their ideals. An excuse for many to forget the past and waste the future.

Reflections: 17 July 2009
The day rang hollow for me and my understanding of South Africa history, present, and future. Everything I wrote I still believe, especially now with the World Cup coming ever closer, I can only see it as another wasted opportunity. The government scrambles to hide its poor and failed systems, workers have to strike to get a fair wage, politicians have a field day with what this all means for South Africa, but again it is the masses; the majority of the population that suffers or is forgotten.

"It is best to rely on the freely given support of the people"
- Nelson Mandela

With Mandela Day being today, Madiba's 91st birthday, the world recognizing the imprint that one man left on his country and the entire world community. The problem, much like last year's Mandela Day, was that it was a publicity event. Yes, it was a time to honor a great man and inspire others to action, but it was as if he was begin used, ushered around to coordinate yet another large money making event. Let's not forget what Mandela did for so many people, let's not forget those still in so much need across South Africa, the continent of Africa, and the world.

why there is no doctor: conclusion & works cited (12)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:59:00 +0000

The sea of gravestones near Zonkizizwe was almost unimaginable. I would not have believed it myself if I had not seen it firsthand. This scene conveys the real implications and impacts of HIV/AIDS on a health care system and a country that has been stripped, divided, and neglected by apartheid.

While I often asked why there is no doctor, I was able to track down a traditional medicinal doctor who seemed to see no patients as well as the private clinic doctor who did not seem to care about providing real health care to the residents of Zonke. Writing has been done on where there is no doctor and what to do when there is no doctor, but the number one question in South Africa is why there is no doctor. This question is answered through history: apartheid, oppression, denial, and failure to recognize a crisis. The reality of apartheid health policies continuing to affect Black populations and responses to HIV/AIDS can be seen firsthand in the Zonkizizwe informal settlement.

Health was a weapon of apartheid and it worked. Denying medical access and training to the Black majority has kept the population in submission even 16 years after the end of apartheid. The critical period of 1993-2000 saw the new democratic government with its hands tied behind its back. There was no way that the health care system could be so dramatically scaled-up to meet the human and social needs of the HIV/AIDS crisis. As Seedat stated in Crippling a Nation, 1984, “Health in South Africa is inseparable from the economic, political and social structure of the apartheid state.” The health and HIV/AIDS realities that can be seen Zonkizizwe are direct result of apartheid’s legacy. HIV/AIDS in South Africa is not a direct result of apartheid policies, but the impact of HIV/AIDS and the health care system of South Africa is still inseparable from its apartheid past.

Works Cited
Beinart, William. “Labour Migrancy and Rural Production: Pondoland c.1900-1950.” In
Black Villagers in an Industrial Society, edited by Philip Mayer, pp. 81-108. Cape Town: Oxford University Press. 1980.

Boseley, Sarah. “Mbeki Aids denial ‘caused 300,000 deaths.” Guardian News UK. 26 November 2008. .

Chirwa, Wiseman Chijere. “Aliens and AIDS in Southern Africa: The Malawi-South Africa Debate.” The Royal African Society. African Affairs 97:53-79, 1998.

E. O. Nightingale, K. Hannibal, H. J. Geiger, L. Hartmann, R. Lawrence and J. Spurlock. “Apartheid Medicine. Health and Human Rights in South Africa.” Committee on Health and Human Rights, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 264 No. 16, October 24, 1990.

'Forced removals in South Africa 1977-1978', paper prepared by IDAF for the United Nations Centre Against Apartheid, No. 44/78, Oct. 1978, p.9.

“HIV and other STDs. Chapter 3, Part 1” Population Reports. Population Information Program, Center for Communication Programs, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Volume XXIV, Number 3. November, 1996.
http://www.infoforhealth.org/pr/J45/j45chap3_1.shtml.

“HIV & AIDS in South Africa: The history of AIDS in South Africa.” Avert.
http://www.avert.org/aidssouthafrica.htm.

J Yawitch, Betterment. “The myth of homeland agriculture” SAIRR: Johannesburg, 1981, p.86.

Kon, Zeida R. and Nuha Lackan. "Ethnic Disparities in Access to Care in Post-Apartheid South Africa." American Journal of Public Health. December 2008, Vol. 98, No. 12.

Lodge, Tom. "The RDP: Delivery and Performance" in "Politics in South Africa: From Mandela to Mbeki", David Philip:Cape Town & Oxford, 2003.

Lurie, Mark N., Brian G Williams, Khangelani Zuma, David Mkaya-Mwamburi, Geoff P Garnett, Michael D Sweat, Joel Gittelsohn, Salim SAbdool Karim. AIDS:17 October 2003 - Volume 17 - Issue 15 - pp 2245-2252.

Packard, Randall. White Plague, Black Labor: Tuberculosis and the political economy of health and disease in South Africa. University of California Press, 1989.

Palitsza, Kristin. "A Burden that Will Only Become Heavier." Inter Press Service News Agency. May 28, 2006. http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=33396.

Posel, Dorrit. “Have migration patterns in post-apartheid South Africa changed?” 4-7 June 2003.
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:4Oor9pRwaTkJ:pum.princeton.edu/pumconferenc e/papers/1-Posel.pdf+the+economic+of+apartheid,+labor+migrations&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a.

Seedat, Aziza. Crippling a Nation: Health in Apartheid South Africa. International Defence Aid Fund for Southern Africa, London, April 1984.

“The Demographic Impact of HIV/AIDS in South Africa - National and Provincial Indicators for 2006” Centre for Actuarial Research, South African Medical Research Council and Actuarial Society of South Africa. November 2006.

“The uprooting of millions, forced removals.” For their Triumphs’ and Tears. ANC, 1983.
http://www.anc.org.za/books/triumphs_part1.html#3back1.

UNAIDS 2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, Chapter 4: The impact of AIDS on people and societies
http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/GlobalReport/2006/default.asp.

UNAIDS 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic. http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/GlobalReport/2008/.

Appendix A

appendix a: timeline of health care and hiv/aids in south africa

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:30:00 +0000

1913 - “Tropical workers” migrating bring in high prevalence of tuberculosis (Packard, 230)
1919 - Public Health Act places government control over mission health centers (Seedat, 63)
1930 - Mines experience shortage of workers (Packard, 229)
1934 - 2000 “tropical workers” brought into SA on experimental basis (Packard, 230)
1937 - The number of “tropical workers” increases dramatically after government ends ban on recruiting mine workers above 22nd parallel (Packard, 230)
1948 - National Party takes control and apartheid laws are enacted
Health budget is drastically cut (Seedat, 63)
Over 40,000 “tropical workers” are entering SA (Packard, 230)
1950 - Population Registration Act required S. Africans be segregated into three racial categories
Group Areas Act establishes separate residential areas for different racial groups, “forced removals” began of those living in the “wrong” area
1951 - Bantu Authorities Act established “homelands” (Bantustans) taking away SA citizenship and rights
Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act began destruction of basic health services developed by individuals in the “wrong” areas
1960 - Black townships became areas of concentrated population far from towns and city centers
*Sharpeville massacre kills 69, wounds 187 protesting the pass laws
1963-1964 - Rivonia Trials
1970 - South African Department of Health takes over control of all health services from ‘local’ governments, including mission and church hospitals (Seedat, 69)
1973 - Department of Bantu Administration and Development begins takeover of all mission hospitals in the Bantustans (Seedat, 69)
1976 - Soweto uprising kills 23, wounds 500 in protest of Bantu Education policies
1976-1981 - Four “homelands” (Bantustans) de-nationalize 9 million Black South Africans
1982 - First case of AIDS diagnosed in SA, increased charges in governmental health services (Seedat, 71)
1983 - Doctors in the Department of Medicine at Baragwanath describe overcrowding and shortage of staff as having reached a ‘breaking point’ (Seedat, 65)
1985-1989 - SA declares ‘state of emergency’
1986 - First AIDS Advisory Group established to aid the government’s response to the growing problem
1990-2003 - Most rapid increase in HIV prevalence rates
1990 - Mandela released from imprisonment
First antenatal survey estimates that between 74,000 and 120,000 people are living with HIV
1991 - Apartheid laws repealed
1992 - Referendum on de Klerk’s policy
Mandela addresses the newly formed National AIDS Convention of South Africa (NACOSA)
Free National AIDS Helpline established
1993-1999 - Internal labor migration increases significantly, specifically among women
1993 - National Health Department reported the number of HIV infections had increased by 60% in the previous two years and was expected to double over the year
1994 - First democratic elections held, Mandela wins
Minister of Health accepts the basis of the NACOSA strategy as the foundation for the government’s AIDS plan
1995 - International Conference for People Living with HIV and AIDS was held in South Africa, Deputy President Mbeki acknowledges the seriousness of epidemic
South African Ministry of Health announces that 850,000 people (2.1% of population) are believed to be HIV-positive
1998 - Treatment Action Campaign is launched
2000 - Department of Health outlines five-year plan to combat HIV/AIDS
International AIDS Conference in Durban, new SA President Mbeki denies HIV causes AIDS, cites poverty as cause
2002 - SA High Court orders government to make nevirapine available
Government remains hesitant to provide treatment to people living with HIV
2003 - Government approves plan to make antiretrovirals (ARVs) publicly available
2004 - ARV treatment program launches in Gauteng Province
2005 - One service point in each of the 53 districts established for AIDS related care and treatment
HIV prevalence reported at 30.2% - a steady increase since 1990
2006 - Former Deputy President Jacob Zuma claims taking a shower prevented HIV transmission after “having sex” with an HIV-positive woman
UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS, Stephen Lewis attacks SA government at International AIDS Conference in Toronto over ARV treatment access
2007 - Mbeki is forced to resign, interim president appoints Barbara Hogan as Health Minister, activists welcome the change and expect greater government commitment to HIV/AIDS
An estimated 1,400,000 orphans of HIV/AIDS in SA
2009 - Apology for Mbeki ARV policy
Development of health services/ access to health services is a major issue in 2009 elections

when in ghana. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

This is a series of post that I wrote while completing an MSU Study Abroad program on "Disparities in Health Care" in Ghana. Our group was based in Accra at the University of Ghana, Legon and we stayed in a hostel in Shiashie. We traveled often: Volta Region, village of Klikor, Kakum National Forest, Volta Dam, Cape Coast, Kumasi, and Osu was a usual hangout. The posts are all pictures and reflections during that 6 week program in Ghana. The first post is a research paper I completed for a class about "development" in Ghana.

i. The Quest for Development: Aid to the Rescue in Ghana
ii. off to the continent of my dreams
In Ghana:
1. something you can taste
2. water by day, apples by night
3. for the love of america
4. scenery and speed bumps
5. aljazeera, acrobats, and aloe
6. imperialist footprints: the development story from the inside
7. the quest for the west
8. what is so important about ethnicity?
9. the value is the same
10. weekend of the obrooni [obruni]
11. two voltas, one ghana, three africas
12. the nature of africa: rhythm and socialism
13. image of america, the blinding lights
14. inside africa
15. definition of development
16. . . . keep your promise
17. the chinese influence
18. snapshot of health in ghana
19. a mixture of black, white, red
20. the longest driveway
21. when in ghana
Returned:
22. when not in ghana. . .
23. the land of culture, africa
24. the caramel apple of globalization
25. cynicism from a jaded summer
26. the crouching tiger and the curse of black gold
27. rastafarian confusion

why there is no doctor: harsh realities in zonkizizwe (part 2) (11)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:30:00 +0000

(photo: Zonke Testing Day banner on the back of a van used to transport people to the clinics)

While working in Zonke, a fact that shocked me was that an HIV-positive person can only access ARV treatment [for free, otherwise it is very expensive] if their CD4 count is below 200. This is official South African government policy and numerous studies have shown that accessing treatment earlier has greater long-term health benefits as ARVs are meant to be taken life-long. A World Health Organization (WHO) study in 2008 outlined four clinical stages of HIV progression. The WHO recommends that when a patient hits stage three with a CD4 count below 350, life-long ARV treatment should be started. Starting patients earlier negates complications later. However, in South Africa once the CD4 count goes above 200 again, treatment is stopped, which allows for greater complications and the need for new strains of ARVs. This year a push to increase the CD4 count threshold for treatment was rejected by the National Health Council on the grounds of affordability (85).

Prof Robin Wood, director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town, is among the clinicians who have been calling for the South African government to raise the standard of treatment set out in its guidelines. However, he pointed out that better guidelines would be meaningless without improving the quality of care and access to services (86).

Professor Wood brings everything back to perspective. Anyone can call for greater access and more treatment, but if there is no distribution system for health services and care then what is the point. It would be like having a big supply of pizzas and no delivery drivers. This is the problem in many former “homelands,” townships, and informal settlements. There are inadequate or non-existent delivery systems for health services and treatment and so in areas where the HIV/AIDS crisis is most critical, there is no system to address the problem.

Today was the 2nd half of Prevention in the HIV/AIDS course. The kids are incredibly receptive with questions, comments, and the desire to learn more. We will be covering Treatment and resources this Friday. Celumusa did a great job of translating and really getting the course lessons through to the kids. Later in the evening she talked with us – her passion and drive to get people tested and aware and knowledgeable is amazing and so admirable with all she has been through. She is so excited about a Zonke testing day, the HIV/AIDS class, working with the staff and community to make more people talk and not be afraid to talk. Today she told the kids that she was HIV positive and they all did not believe her at all – they asked her to cross her heart that she was not lying. I could tell from the first class that the kids were learning much more than they had before beyond what HIV and AIDS stands for (87).

Much of the work at the center and the work that needs to happen in Zonke is HIV testing. Once tested you can learn how to take care of yourself, your children, and your community. When I asked Celumusa why people don’t test she said that people don’t know that they can live with HIV. So many people are involved in risky behaviors, she said, they have family members die from HIV/AIDS, but don’t test themselves. She also noted that pregnant mothers are tested and are given tablets, but not told their status. Testing is critical and we began working on this by planning a Zonke Testing Day for July 31st.

As I began organizing for the Testing Day, I came into contact with more of the health services available in Zonke. There are a number of traditional doctors and surgeries in Zonke. I can only imagine that this is because there is such a lack of other health services. Celumusa and others have bad perceptions of traditional medicine: evil, it kills people, and the traditional healers are crazy people. I was still having no luck finding any doctors, until I finally caught a traditional doctor in his office. He ran a clinic that was more Western than others and was supposedly trained by the government in traditional healing, but his office was empty every time I visited – no patients (88). Why are there no doctors?

Across the road from his office was a private clinic run by a group of Indian doctors. I also had a difficult time finding them, as did many Zonke residents. I was able to visit the private clinic only when Celumusa had to schedule an appointment for her baby. The private clinic had become her last option that she was sure to see a doctor. This says a lot for the health care system in Zonke (and other overcrowded settlements and townships left over from apartheid era) that the poor will pay to see a private doctor because the government health services are unreliable. Celumusa said they always give injections at the private clinic. Yet again I wonder about the quality of care. The clinics give painkiller tablets and the private clinics give injections (antibiotics?). If care is inadequate and access to ARV medication is beyond the ability of most, then the extended scenes of cemeteries become less shocking.

In the past 2 weeks, 3 people have passed because of HIV and AIDS that we have been directly informed of because the Buthelezi family has been close to the deceased – a father, an aunt, and a neighbor. Living in an HIV positive community is so different when you can fully understand the impact of just one life (89).

It was as if I had seen the walking dead. The prospect of death is so intertwined with life in Zonkizizwe that the author who wrote that South Africans attend more funerals than weddings was supported by my experiences this summer. The hardest hitting example was with the passing of the father of one of the families at the center. Three of the children attended the center. The oldest was 17 years old and was taking care of her frail father as he withered away, making sure her younger brother and sister were going to school, and attending school herself. This small family had already lost their mother to HIV/AIDS. The burden of disease was not met by the health care system or any the government response. The burden of disease rests completely on those who are affected and they do not have the resources to help themselves.

A critical aspect of combating the effects of HIV/AIDS in South Africa is education. As one of my goals over summer I developed an HIV/AIDS curriculum, based off of the Peace Corps Lifeskills curriculum, that the youth could share with the friends and families as peer educators. The spreading of knowledge is a powerful first step in giving people the resources they need to prevent HIV/AIDS. It is especially important when there exists no other means to access this information. The Zonkizizwe schools are under-funded and teachers are under-trained. This translates to the lack of a teacher for the Lifeskills curriculum and therefore the lack of knowledge on sexual health and HIV/AIDS. VVOCF is beginning to fulfill a service where the government is horribly failing.

All of our kids were tested, plus about 20 others. In all over 60 people tested. […] The community and guardian support was incredible. There were a few positives that we expected from already young mothers […] and unexpected bad news surprise […] Many good surprises came out of the day as we learned of many negative cases that were expected to confirm our worst nightmares (90).

Year - Number of HIV Tests (*from clinic 2)
2006 - 128
2007 - 246
2008 - 412

The success of solutions driven by citizens was best evidenced by the culmination of the HIV/AIDS peer education courses, health classes, and the death of a father in an area wide testing day. I had taken the lead in organizing the testing day with the clinics, MSU study abroad volunteers, and various local organizations. Because of the stigma attached and sensitivity of the issue I was a bit nervous when the day came. July 31st 2008, the first Zonke Testing Day was a day of success fueled by the youth at the center. And while the numbers of people testing have made steady increases, the reality remains that the majority of those who need treatment after testing will not have access. Many in the generation just older than these youth mocked or scoffed at the testing day, but our kids were set on it.

We really are building a new generation of freedom fighters - not afraid of stigma, talking about sex, ready to be tested, and not about to turn a blind to HIV/AIDS. These young people stood today with a powerful support base of each other evidenced by yesterday's action and the larger community is taking notice. The youth continue to give me hope and pride in being allowed to take part in such a community action (91).

The realities of Zonkizizwe paint a vivid picture of the effects of apartheid on health care for the majority of the South African population. The health system operating in Zonke is the ground zero of the failures of post-apartheid government policy to address the far-reaching impact of HIV/AIDS.

Notes:
85. “South Africa: Funding shortfall threatens treatment programme.” IRIN/PlusNews. 2 April 2009. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=83762
86. Ibid.
87. Hill, Alex B. Journal Entry. 30 June 2008.
88. Ibid, 17 July 2008.
89. Ibid, 6 June 2008.
90. Ibid, 31 July 2008.
91. Ibid.

Coming next: Conclusion