LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
AIDS Memorial Quilt Kicks Off U.S. Tour of South African Quilt at Congressional Black Caucus Conference |
The AIDS Memorial Quilt, in association with the National Minority AIDS Council, will kick off a nationwide tour of the South African AIDS Memorial Quilt at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Legislative Conference on September 13 in Washington, D.C. During the U.S. tour, Quilt panels made for South Africans who have died of AIDS will be displayed at the United States Conference on AIDS (October 1-4 in Atlanta, Georgia), in schools, historically black colleges and universities, churches, and other venues this fall. The tour will help promote awareness about the devastation AIDS is wreaking in South Africa and galvanize the American public to action in confronting this crisis. "The statistics are staggering. AIDS is the leading cause of death for African adults and more than 14 million African children have been orphaned by the disease," said Cleve Jones, founder of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, who witnessed the destruction caused by AIDS in South Africa on a visit to Cape Town last year. "By bringing these panels, made by and for South Africans, to the United States, we are challenging the American public to respond to this global epidemic and to help our friends in Africa combat this deadly disease." "The South African Quilt tour is an important way to encourage the African American community to respond to AIDS in Africa and here at home," said National Minority AIDS Council Executive Director, Paul Kawata. "We are honored to be a part of this important initiative and grateful for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's leadership in supporting our efforts." The tour is being planned on the heels of the XIII International Conference on AIDS in Durban, where reports every day highlighted the impending global catastrophe of AIDS. Building on public interest in the issue, the Quilt tour will humanize the AIDS pandemic in Africa, educate people about the disease, and raise funds to fight AIDS and assist people living with the disease in Africa. All donations received at displays of the Quilt will go directly to support grassroots AIDS Service Organizations working on the front lines in South Africa. Founded in 1987, the NAMES Project Foundation sponsors and displays the AIDS Memorial Quilt and implements HIV prevention education programs to help bring an end to AIDS. Through a network of 49 national chapters and 36 international affiliates, the Quilt is seen annually by more than two million people at thousands of displays. To make a donation to support this initiative and to learn more about the South African Quilt Tour, visit www.aidsquilt.org or call (415) 882-5500. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 12, Aug. 25, 2000. |