Posted on September 09, 2014
Source: Ibrahim Al-Jabbar, Baltimore HIV Scholar
The CFAR program is in its home stretch and even though we’re over halfway through the program, I’m still experiencing a setback or two. I am in intern with Generation Tomorrow, which allows me to have field experiences with two of their community-based partner agencies. The bulk of the work I do is for one of those agencies, a nonprofit organization called Sisters Together and Reaching (STAR). The organization is geared towards assisting African Americans in Baltimore City who are living with, affected by and at risk for HIV through support groups, testing, care linkage, and other outreach services.
I’m currently working on a YouTube video titled HIV 101 to provide general HIV information in a manner easily accessible to the public. I plan to conduct focus groups to explore JHU students’ responses to the video and general knowledge of HIV. This field experience has taught me that HIV stigma and knowledge (or lack thereof) permeates communities, and that even the smartest people can be some of the most uninformed about what you would think would be common knowledge (e.g., the ways you can get HIV and if you can “tell” if someone is HIV positive by looking at them).
I feel like the work I’m doing at STAR may help to educate some people that wouldn’t have learned about HIV otherwise. I just hope that I can convey it in an entertaining manner.
