so this week i'm going to be writing a post about who i am dedicating my marathon run to... so stay on the look out for that...
in the meantime i want to say thank you to the folks who generously donated over the weekend:
Wynter McGruder
Sonya Delley
Marci Ybarra
Kyla Johnson
peace.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
WOW.... thank you, thank you, thank you!
Man...
I'm really getting all teary!!! lol...
the people in my life are so AMAZING....
yesterday morning (Thursday June 26, 2008) @ 9:44am, I sent out an email letting my friends, family and colleagues know that i was in jeopardy of having to drop out of the marathon training program because i was nowhere near my fundraising goal...
I was $1220 short to be exact...
honestly... i had pretty much given up.... i really didn't see myself raising that much money by july 15....
but something inside told me to keep on pushing... and thats what i did...
and ya'll are so AMAZING....
because when i woke up this morning I had reached a fundraising total of $1000!!!!!!!!
wwwooowwwwww
So i just want to take this moment to thank those of you that donated yesterday:
Zakiyah Sayyed
Laurence Ralph
Ainsley Lesure
Anastasie Senat
Whitney Weathersby
Jacquelynn Moffett
Julio Bateau
Joseph Rochester
Oswald Cameron
Briana Maclin
Claire McKinney
Claudette Gay
I appreciate you all SO much.... I don't have words to express my gratitude for your commitment to this cause.
$500 more to go!
peace.
I'm really getting all teary!!! lol...
the people in my life are so AMAZING....
yesterday morning (Thursday June 26, 2008) @ 9:44am, I sent out an email letting my friends, family and colleagues know that i was in jeopardy of having to drop out of the marathon training program because i was nowhere near my fundraising goal...
I was $1220 short to be exact...
honestly... i had pretty much given up.... i really didn't see myself raising that much money by july 15....
but something inside told me to keep on pushing... and thats what i did...
and ya'll are so AMAZING....
because when i woke up this morning I had reached a fundraising total of $1000!!!!!!!!
wwwooowwwwww
So i just want to take this moment to thank those of you that donated yesterday:
Zakiyah Sayyed
Laurence Ralph
Ainsley Lesure
Anastasie Senat
Whitney Weathersby
Jacquelynn Moffett
Julio Bateau
Joseph Rochester
Oswald Cameron
Briana Maclin
Claire McKinney
Claudette Gay
I appreciate you all SO much.... I don't have words to express my gratitude for your commitment to this cause.
$500 more to go!
peace.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
My Experience Teaching HIV/AIDS in Jamaica and South Africa
As promised, here is a blog about my commitment to HIV/AIDS.
During my sophomore year at the University of Michigan, I was awarded an internship for the summer with the Canadian Parliament. It was an amazing opportunity that would provide an experience that would look great on my law-school application. Although I wasn't so excited about the prospect of living in Canada for the summer, I thought it would definetly be worth it.
The spring after my freshman year I had taken a class with Dr. Nesha Haniff on affirmative action at the University of Michigan. It was an intense, and ultimately life-changing class. It was the only class I ever took where white and black students actively confronted and engaged the racism present around them everyday. Students argued and cried regularly... but at the end we all walked away better people. It was there that I first learned how to articulate myself in a coherent (and dignified) way about social justice issues.
So when I learned about Dr. Haniff's study abroad trip to Jamaica, I knew I had to go (and leave Canada behind *smile*).
Dr. Haniff led a group of approximately 10 students to the island of Jamaica to teach HIV/AIDS to middle school students, adults, resort and sex workers. We used the module she developed that allowed us to teach community members how to teach others about HIV/AIDS prevention without being literate.
The trip changed my life.
It was there that I learned that true community engagement did not just mean "leaders" educating the people around them. It meant valuing the ways in which the community within which you work teaches, guides and transforms you.
I learned more from the young girls I taught in Kingston, Jamaica, then I have learned from anyone else in my 23 years of life. One young woman had found her aunt in a bush outside of her house after she had been brutally raped, stabbed and sexually mutilated. Another had almost been a victim of rape as she walked home from school and was pulled into a taxi cab by 4 middle aged men. She was only saved by her mother who started screaming and scared the men away. Both young women had multiple family members and friends who were HIV/AIDS positive. They had both also witnessed incredible violence that could have easily scarred any child.
But what was so amazing about both was the way in which neither had been jaded by their experiences. They both carried themselves with such pride and dignity, and even more amazing, they maintained their childish innocence, manifest in dreams to be superstar singers in the United States and hollywood actors.
It was from these young women that I learned what it meant to be resilient.
And I continued to learn powerful lessons throughout my trip across the island. And it was my next trip to South Africa to continue my HIV/AIDS education work with Dr. Haniff, that ultimately made me realize that law school would not be in my future.
I realized that teaching was something I was passionate about. But more than that, that mentorship and scholarship, were going to be central parts of my future, because of the way in which all three of these things had the power to both inform and transform the space in which we live.
I can honestly say, that my experience teaching HIV/AIDS in the United States, Jamaica and South Africa, played a critical part in shaping the person I am today.
And it is for that reason that I am so committed to raising money for HIV/AIDS positive folks in Chicago. Please DONATE, and help me continue the fight I am so passionate about.
This picture is from one of the schools my group (from the University of Michigan) taught at in Kingston, Jamaica in summer 2005.
This picture is of our students in a township just outside of Durban, South Africa called Cato Manor in summer 2006
peace.
During my sophomore year at the University of Michigan, I was awarded an internship for the summer with the Canadian Parliament. It was an amazing opportunity that would provide an experience that would look great on my law-school application. Although I wasn't so excited about the prospect of living in Canada for the summer, I thought it would definetly be worth it.
The spring after my freshman year I had taken a class with Dr. Nesha Haniff on affirmative action at the University of Michigan. It was an intense, and ultimately life-changing class. It was the only class I ever took where white and black students actively confronted and engaged the racism present around them everyday. Students argued and cried regularly... but at the end we all walked away better people. It was there that I first learned how to articulate myself in a coherent (and dignified) way about social justice issues.
So when I learned about Dr. Haniff's study abroad trip to Jamaica, I knew I had to go (and leave Canada behind *smile*).
Dr. Haniff led a group of approximately 10 students to the island of Jamaica to teach HIV/AIDS to middle school students, adults, resort and sex workers. We used the module she developed that allowed us to teach community members how to teach others about HIV/AIDS prevention without being literate.
The trip changed my life.
It was there that I learned that true community engagement did not just mean "leaders" educating the people around them. It meant valuing the ways in which the community within which you work teaches, guides and transforms you.
I learned more from the young girls I taught in Kingston, Jamaica, then I have learned from anyone else in my 23 years of life. One young woman had found her aunt in a bush outside of her house after she had been brutally raped, stabbed and sexually mutilated. Another had almost been a victim of rape as she walked home from school and was pulled into a taxi cab by 4 middle aged men. She was only saved by her mother who started screaming and scared the men away. Both young women had multiple family members and friends who were HIV/AIDS positive. They had both also witnessed incredible violence that could have easily scarred any child.
But what was so amazing about both was the way in which neither had been jaded by their experiences. They both carried themselves with such pride and dignity, and even more amazing, they maintained their childish innocence, manifest in dreams to be superstar singers in the United States and hollywood actors.
It was from these young women that I learned what it meant to be resilient.
And I continued to learn powerful lessons throughout my trip across the island. And it was my next trip to South Africa to continue my HIV/AIDS education work with Dr. Haniff, that ultimately made me realize that law school would not be in my future.
I realized that teaching was something I was passionate about. But more than that, that mentorship and scholarship, were going to be central parts of my future, because of the way in which all three of these things had the power to both inform and transform the space in which we live.
I can honestly say, that my experience teaching HIV/AIDS in the United States, Jamaica and South Africa, played a critical part in shaping the person I am today.
And it is for that reason that I am so committed to raising money for HIV/AIDS positive folks in Chicago. Please DONATE, and help me continue the fight I am so passionate about.
This picture is from one of the schools my group (from the University of Michigan) taught at in Kingston, Jamaica in summer 2005.
This picture is of our students in a township just outside of Durban, South Africa called Cato Manor in summer 2006
peace.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
THANK YOU!!!!
In less than 24hrs an additional $75 was donated! I am now at $250!!!
A big thank you to Danielle Tillman, Alma Davila-Toro and Alana Gunn!
$1250 to go!!
peace.
A big thank you to Danielle Tillman, Alma Davila-Toro and Alana Gunn!
$1250 to go!!
peace.
Monday, June 23, 2008
I'm Back :-)... but it might not be for very long... :-(
so after a LONG hiatus... i am finally back!!
things have been crazy lately....
i had 60pgs of writing to do in 5 days for my finals..... then i had to recover from that trauma
then i was in atlanta
and i started my new job
and i'll be starting some new projects soon....
so a lot has been on my plate lately.
however now that things have died down... i will be back to regularly updating you on my marathon training progress!
next week i will be running 12 miles... i'm nervous and thinking its going to be more than a little intense!
however unfortunately to date i have only raised $175 out of my required $1500... with the july 15 deadline looming... theres a strong possibility that i may not be able to continue training!
please help!
raising money for hiv/aids as well as running this marathon are something i am really committed to... and i need all of the help i can get! even a small donation or two would be so great.
i will keep you updated!
peace.
things have been crazy lately....
i had 60pgs of writing to do in 5 days for my finals..... then i had to recover from that trauma
then i was in atlanta
and i started my new job
and i'll be starting some new projects soon....
so a lot has been on my plate lately.
however now that things have died down... i will be back to regularly updating you on my marathon training progress!
next week i will be running 12 miles... i'm nervous and thinking its going to be more than a little intense!
however unfortunately to date i have only raised $175 out of my required $1500... with the july 15 deadline looming... theres a strong possibility that i may not be able to continue training!
please help!
raising money for hiv/aids as well as running this marathon are something i am really committed to... and i need all of the help i can get! even a small donation or two would be so great.
i will keep you updated!
peace.
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