Commemorate World AIDS Day with Imani Workshops and "Beads of Hope"

Beads of Hope with WTHR Channel 13
Monday, December 1, 2008
6p – 730p
IUPUI Campus Center, CE450B

The 1st of December, World AIDS Day, is the day when individuals and organizations from around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day.

Commemorate World AIDS Day with Imani Workshops a revenue-generating social enterprise focused on producing high quality crafts by HIV+ artisans in western Kenya.

Imani Workshops was established in January 2005 as a branch of the Family Preservation Initiative under the IU-Kenya Partnership's AMPATH program. The Academic Model for the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS (AMPATH) is a working model of urban and rural HIV prevention and treatment services in the public sector of Kenya.

WTHR-Channel 13 will be screening a recent story "Beads of Hope" and the producer DeShong Perry will talk about her experience traveling to Kenya and visiting the workshops. Enjoy light refreshments and shop for Imani products.

Imani will also be accepting donations of Oprah magazines – these will be sent to Kenya for use in jewelry-making.



RSVP (preferred): sft@iupui.edu (if you are not familiar with event location please ask for directions when you RSVP)
For more information: www.iupui.edu/~impactke

*Co-sponsored by Impact Kenya and Students for Fair Trade, funded by Student Activity Fees

Dec. 1 — COMMUNITY OBSERVES WORLD AIDS DAY THROUGH WORSHIP, REMEMBRANCE, WITNESS & HOPE

Ambassador Randall Tobias joins community leaders in Indianapolis Observation

The Circle City AIDS Coalition will host an Ecumenical Service of Worship in conjunction with St. Luke’s United Methodist Church to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1, 2008 at 6 p.m. This service will take place at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86^th Street, Indianapolis. The community is invited to this free community program.

This program will feature Ambassador Randall Tobias; Dr. Kent Millard; Marion County Health Department director, Dr. Virginia Caine; and (Ms.) Jerry Burkman of the Indiana State Department of Health. In addition, local AIDS activists, clergy and concerned citizens will be present to participate. This hour-long program is designed to highlight the face of Hoosiers in this world-wide health crisis, give attendees an opportunity to remember those that they have lost to HIV/AIDS, uplift and encourage all in attendance in the on-going fight to combat this crisis and raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and its impact on people here in Indiana.

The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt will display panels from the quilt and the St. Luke’s Singers, and the Indianapolis Men’s & Women’s Choruses will perform live. A reception will follow the program.

The Circle City HIV/AIDS Coalition is a non-profit community action group comprised of HIV/AIDS prevention organizations and individuals from secular and faith-based backgrounds in HIV education who are interested in prevention efforts that combat HIV/AIDS and supportive efforts that impact the community and HIV positive persons across Indianapolis and its surrounding areas.

Contact: Jason Grisell, Chair — (317) 630-1805

Highlights of the November 14 discussion of Indianapolis/Eldoret/Africa

Here are some quick highlights from the meeting on November 14 of the group that has been meeting for months to discuss partnerships with Eldoret. The consensus was that we ought to move in two parallel and partially overlapping directions: (1) continuing regular meetings about relations between Indianapolis and Eldoret/Kenya, regardless of whether a sister city relation is ever formalized; (2) starting to establish a broader infrastructure for supporting partnerships between Central Indiana and Africa as a whole.

Eldoret/Kenya: Everyone agrees that there should continue to be regular meetings to discuss the many existing and possible links between Indy and Eldoret.

• Everyone knows that some groups are going to be focusing on Eldoret and Kenya regardless of where there is a committee like this: big players such as IUPUI, Rotary, Umoja will continue doing the excellent work they are doing, and in fact there's probably enough overlap of these groups that they can informally keep one another informed about what they are doing. But many people who aren't part of these big players would like to be part of the remarkable relation that has blossomed between Indy and Eldoret.
• And just over the course of the discussion on Friday it became dramatically apparent that such meetings could yield unexpected benefits to everyone. Ian McIntosh and his colleagues have been organizing a major conference in Eldoret May 13-15 on reconciliation and justice (a topic on which Ian is a leading expert, by the way). It's a critical theme for Kenya, after the spasm of ethnic violence earlier this year; it's also important for other African countries such as Rwanda, Congo, etc, and scholars from these countries have been invited. Good for IUPUI and Moi University, putting on an important conference.
  
• But over the course of discussing the conference on Friday, it became apparent that more people wanted to attend than just IUPUI folks. Carole Darst said that Indianapolis Rotary has to make a visit in the spring and would be very eager to time it to coincide with the conference. Carol Johnston asserted that given the theme of reconciliation and their work in Kenya, 2nd Presbyterian Church would want to send a group. Kelly Campbell's Village Experience started planning the logistics of a trip for a substantial group ... and as Ian observed, once that happens our Kenyan partners can set up other interesting and important activities for the group in addition to the conference. So just as a result of the conversation Friday afternoon, something very cool for some people in Indy is taking shape, and IUPUI-Moi's conference may get a lot more intriguing.
• But wait, there's more! Not all of can afford to jet off to Kenya for a conference in May, but we'd still like to be part of it. Reconciliation and justice is something we ought to be talking about here as well as in Africa. IUPUI is a leader in the technology that makes cross-continental trans-dimensional discussions and learning easy. But Moi University is still not wired adequately. During Friday's discussion it became apparent that there will be a lot of Hoosiers, including but not limited to faculty and students of IUPUI, who'd like to "attend" the conference virtually. So here's a great project: Let's work to get Moi and Eldoret wired with proper telecommunication equipment by the time of this conference so even more of us in Indy can take part; and the result will be a greatly ability to connect in real time with our partners long after the conference has occurred.
• In January expect the regular Indy-Eldoret meetings to resume. If you would like to be part of them and haven't attended any meetings yet, you are in luck: send me an email at 2.john.clark@gmail.com and I will make sure your name is added to the list.
  

Indy-Africa Partnership Infrastructure. Independently of the desire to continue meeting to discuss Indy-Eldoret relations, it became apparent that we need something bigger that will facilitate relations with Africa in general.

• We are all aware of small and local initiatives that are working with groups in Benin, or Senegal, or Zimbabwe ... and that feel isolated and alone. Example: Before the meeting I got a v-mail from Joe Miller, who is looking for anyone interested in Mali; or businesspeople will ask Kelly for philanthropic opportunities in Africa. At the very least we should find a way of aggregate information about Indy-Africa, facilitate the formation of trustworthy partnerships, and perhaps engage in advocacy (even reminded Hoosiers that "Africa is really really important!"). This is do-able and I think necessary.
• The next step: Kelly Campbell and Paul Babcock are going to nail down a date for an after-work brainstorming session about what this Indy-Africa partnership committee could do, and how to push it along. The Athenaeum is a good place for a properly lubricated discussion. Let's make this initial meeting as big as possible ... it can be the start of the sort of networking that this committee will foster. Expect to hear a date and time for this meeting by the IMA discussion of Africa on Nov. 16.
  

IMA discussion of Africa Nov. 16. You didn't think I would forget this, did you? Go! 2:00 Sunday at IMA. For some background about the pieces that we'll discuss, go here: http://www.provocate.org/ima-event/.

Indy-Africa Blog at http://indyafrica.blogspot.com. There's a very interesting post by Linda Duke at the Indianapolis Museum of Art about some of IMA's Africa plans for the future. Some great stuff coming up. You can leave comments on the blog, you know, it can be another way of exchanging thoughts and ideas. Please let me know if there's anything you think should be posted.

If you have any questions or thoughts, please let me know.

john

Linda Duke — Africa on My Mind

This post comes from Linda Duke, Director of Community and Education Affairs at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Note the World AIDS Day event she mentions. It's scheduled for Dec. 1:

In the name of World AIDS Day, individuals of all ages are invited to make a colorful card to send to a Kenyan living with HIV. This program is co-presented by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the IU-Kenya Partnership, and IMCPL. This program will be held in the Central Library Atrium.

Linda Duke — Africa on My Mind, 11/13/08

How odd that I should begin to encounter Africa by moving to Indianapolis. Who knew that African connections would come up again and again in this small Midwestern city! Since arriving to work at the IMA five years ago, I’ve had the opportunity to explore the museum’s fine collection of traditional African art, and to encounter the work of several African artists working in more contemporary veins. In the past year, especially, Africa has become a recurrent theme in my life/work. A committed group of people – some museum professionals and others art collectors, academics or simply concerned citizens – has included me in their regular meetings to explore ways for Indy to become a more global city, especially vis a vis Africa. I’ve been in touch with people, both here and in Africa, who are interested in making the museums of Nigeria as excellent as any in the world. I have had the pleasure of helping to host a leading African thinker on museum practice and issues, Dr. Boureima Diamitani, executive director of the West African Museums Programme. (see my post under Education on the IMA’s blog).

Maxwell Anderson (IMA) and Boureima Diamitani (WAMP) discussing the global role of museums, Oct. 9

And then there’s the IU-Kenya Partnership. The IMA will partner with this organization and the Central Library to observe World AIDS Day in a few weeks.

Most recently, I have been in conversations with two astoundingly creative artists who will create public projects for the IMA over the next year: San Francisco-based choreographer and site-specific performance artist Joanna Haigood (www.zaccho.org), and acclaimed LA-based filmmaker Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust, The Rosa Parks Story). Both of their rough-draft plans have, interestingly, led to African connections. Joanna would like to work on an IMA project with Tanzanian-born musician and instrument inventor Walter Kitundu (Google this man and you will be amazed – see, especially, the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjPUfGm1XjU).

Julie, who hopes to work with teens on the idea of transformational experiences, has become fascinated herself with West African masquerades and will pursue that interest as she mentors the young filmmakers.

So little by little, I’m beginning to learn about Africa. Unexpectedly, I have come to think of Africa as the future, our collective future. The way Africa fares – languishes or blossoms - in the near future will say a lot about the world in which all of us will soon live, African or not.

From Fran Quigley: AMPATH Events and Media Coverage

This update comes from Fran Quigley at the Indiana Kenya Partnership. If you would like to receive your own updates on the many aspects of what the IU Med school is up to in Kenya, email Fran at quigley2@iupui.edu.

Dear Friends of the Indiana-Kenya Partnership aka USAID-AMPATH,

There are several upcoming events and plenty of media coverage involving USAID-AMPATH to advise you about:

· The ground-breaking Open MRS medical record system created by Indiana University and AMPATH was featured on the Public Radio International (PRI) program, “The World.” To listen to the piece, you can click here: Making medical records accessible (4:00)

· Dr. Bob Einterz, along with key Indiana-Moi leaders Drs. Charlie Kelley and Jim Smith, will be presenting an Advanced Leadership Seminar on the Indiana-Moi partnership and the nature of risk-taking. The seminar will be held on IUPUI’s campus this coming Wednesday, November 19th, from 4:30 PM to 6 PM. For more information, see http://www.iupui.edu/~eventsin/cal/?rssid=396083-40

· This upcoming week, from November 17th through 21st on its 5:30 PM newscast, Indianapolis television station WTHR-13 will be presenting a series of stories from their recent visit to Kenya and AMPATH. WTHR producer DeShong Perry, who won a National Association of Black Journalists fellowship to produce the series, spent several days in Eldoret last month, along with anchor Andrea Morehead and photographer Scott Allen, chronicling the program. The resulting stories will be broadcast nightly and also viewable on the station’s website, www.wthr.com

· On December 1, World AIDS Day, AMPATH’s Imani Workshops will be featured in a “Beads of Hope” evening celebration on IUPUI’s campus. See the following display for more information.



It is gratifying that the important work of our Kenyan and U.S. colleagues continues to be widely recognized, and we thank you for all of your support for the program and the people of Kenya.

Fran
Fran Quigley
Indiana-Kenya Partnership/USAID-AMPATH
www.ampathkenya.org

A Joyful Farewell to Miriam Makeba

Great loss for music and the human race when "Mama Afrika," Miriam Makeba, died after a concert in Italy. She had 76 glorious years of living, nearly sixty years sharing her gifts with the world.

Miriam Makeba - Mayibuye

She struggled, she suffered, she won! How cool is that. No Hoosier connections that I know, just a shining example for all of us. For tributes and news stories about Miriam Makeba, go here.

The reports say she fell after performing her signature tune "Pata Pata," which would be fitting. So it's a sad day, but joyful too since it gives a chance to listen to more Miriam Makeba. Here's a playlist of some favorites:

Be part of Kelly Campbell's trip to Kenya

Kelly Campbell of The Village Experience will be leaving November 30 for an East African trip that us with many, many opportunities to become engaged in Kenya and beyond. Like a couple of dozen other Hoosiers, Kelly was in Kenya with Ambassadors for Children last December when the country went up in post-electoral ethnic and tribal flames. She expects different this year:

This will be an amazing trip - the last time I was in Kenya, people were fighting in the streets and divided. This time, people will be celebrating in the streets and united because of the election of one of their own to the US presidency. I am so excited to see the country go through this transition and want to show them how much we truly support them and think about them.

Says Kelly about her upcoming trip:

I'll be in Tanzania the first week presenting our business model at a Traveler's Philanthropy Conference hosted by the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development in Washington, DC. After that, I'm headed to Kenya to visit Kazuri Beads in Nairobi, the 3 orphanges in Nakuru, the women's project, Eldoret, and Mbita.

Expect frequent updates on http://indyafrica.blogspot.com/ from Kelly during her trip. In the meantime, she is collecting crucial stuff to take with her to the groups she is working with in Kenya.

I will be able to take one extra bag and would love some help in collecting donations and money. Here is a breakdown of what they have requested:

Children's Discovery Center (Nakuru) - underwear for boys and girls and "wrappers" for the girls. Wrappers are like robes - something they can wear while doing chores and laundry. I would think Walmart or Kmart or some place like that would have cheap, basic underwear in all sizes. Most of the kids here are 8 and above. I will also try to pay school fees for Mary and Susan for their final year of high school.

Children's Discovery Center in Nakuru

"The 2 girls are Mary and Susan - extremely bright twins finishing out high school. I paid for them to go to a good school last year and want to make sure they have the funds to get through their last year."

Moi Children's Center (Nakuru) - they mostly need food. I would need monetary donations to purchase food in the city and deliver it to them like we did last time. $200 would buy quite a bit.

Saida Children's Home (Nakuru) - I would like to donate exercise books to this orphanage.

Due to lack of space, I would probably need monetary donations to purchase them there.

Women's Project (Nakuru) - $10 per woman will give them access to sanitary pads for an entire year. This project is being subsidized by the Ministry of Health and Joseph from Lake Nakuru Lodge is taking me to see the village. The women stay indoors for the entire length of their period as no pads are available. This project would give them the freedom to move about and be productive even when they are having their period.

Koinonia Street Rehabilitation Center (Eldoret) - There are a few families here that I will visit to see what the pressing needs are - most likely the children will need school fees paid and/or school supplies.

I can buy these in the market in Eldoret. I usually pay rent for a family of 10 whose head of household is 14 years old. It's only $100 for the year.
Dayspring Children's Center (Mbita) - A local church has donated money to this group so that I can purchase food and clothing for the orphans and widows, so I think we are set here.

A big lesson for all of us is how little it takes to make a big difference in the lives of people. How small (from American points of view) are enormous obstacles.

More from Kelly on details of contributing to her initiatives:

I don't have non-profit status, so keep the receipts for anything you purchase and I can issue you a letter to attach to it confirming your donation. If anyone is interested in donating a decent amount of money and wants a tax-exempt form, I can probably facilitate this through Joseph's organization in Nakuru. Remember, I only get one extra suitcase, but I can make it a big one! I can easily take photos, letters, etc from anyone interested. Please email me or call me if you can help and I can arrange to pick up any donations up until I leave.

You can reach Kelly at 917-862-9236 or email her at kescampb@yahoo.com. Visit The Village Experience website at www.experiencethevillage.com. It looks like Kelly is setting up humani-tourist trips to Kenya after Christmas and next summer. You can talk to Kelly (and Charlie Wiles) at a discussion of the political and moral implications of Hoosiers working around the world to solve problems on November 19: www.provocate.org/archives/840.

A discussion of Indiana & Africa November 16

Imagining a Global City
Visions of Indianapolis and the World

A Spirit & Place 2008 Event

When: Sunday, November 16 — 2:00-4:00 PM
Where: Indianapolis Museum of Art 4000 Michigan Road Indianapolis

Indy is an increasingly global city. Our economy is ever more tightly bound to the world’s; we watch films and listen to music produced by artists from around the world; and every week more newcomers from countries across the planet are making Indianapolis their home.

Our challenge is not only to welcome the diversity of cultural and religious views immigrants bring to Central Indiana. It is to learn from newcomers, to discover new views about faith, family, and community. It’s to have imaginative conversations that make all of us more creative, all of us better.

Be part of one of these conversations when the Indianapolis Museum of Art hosts a discussion of new ways of imagining wellness and the health of individuals, of communities, even of Nature.

Framing the conversation will be three pieces from the IMA’s African art collection. “The Healing of the Abiku Children,” by Nigerian artist Prince Twins Seven Seven, shows a Yoruba village reacting to the death of several sets of twins.

Ghanaian artist El Anatsui weaves a gorgeous community cloth called “Duvor” from discarded beer bottle caps and copper wire.

And the power figure from the Songye people in Congo was used when the community had to make important decisions.

IMA’s African art curator Ted Celenko will lead an optional tour highlighting these pieces. Then join several new Hoosiers from Africa to examine how these pieces reflect their cultures and assumptions. How are their political and social views changing as a result of being in Indiana and the United States? How can we bring together these different perspectives to create a culture that is new and better?

For more information about the event, about the pieces to be discussed, and about Global Indy, visit http://www.provocate.org/. Send questions to John Clark at john@sipr.org.