So our case study this week is on HIV and AIDS.
Earlier this week we learned about the actual virus and how it spreads, in alot of detail. We talked about alot of things regarding HIV/AIDS. We also talked about statistics, countries affected, racial differences, and the problem in DC (1 in 20 people has HIV/AIDS in DC).
Today, we were split into 4 groups. Each group was given a country dealing with HIV/AIDS. The countries were Uganda, the Ukraine, India, and Botswana. My group got Botswana, which has the worst AIDS epidemic globally, 1 in about 5 people there has HIV/AIDS. We went to meet with a Rep. at the Botswana embassy (2 houses down!) at 9:15 and we were there for about 2 hours! It was really cool, and the woman was really nice. The Ambassador wasn't there because he's at the Millennium Goal Discussion at the UN in New York. The woman was so informative and cool, she gave us tea and everything! And that turned out pretty well actually because the doctor told me to drink tea to get better (I'm still kinda sick). We then went back, talked with Gray (Academic Dean/History teacher/coolest guy ever) about different sources, and then we talked with Lucy (our RA/Super Woman) about how to write a memo and an Executive Summary. Our task was to write a proposal for how PEPFAR (U.S. Presiden't Plan for AIDS Relief) should reallocate money in Botswana, like where the money should go. We had to do a ton of research for the proposal, in a really really short period of time, but we got it done :). I thought the task was really cool but it was super stressful! We are presenting our memos to Mark Dybul on Friday, who is the guy who pretty much started and implemented PEPFAR during the Bush Administration. Oyyyy vey!!!! I'm excited but kind of nervous too.
P.S. the power in the house just went out. Great.
great to read and very interesting stuff - take care of yourself!!
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