Issue XXVIII – October 2014

INTRODUCTION

After what most would consider a mild summer, autumn is approaching here in New York City, beginning perhaps the most iconic season of transition. Leaves become engulfed in pre-frost flames, Halloween is ringing in and feelings of festivity begin to brew. As the heat subsides and we transition to autumn, I find that people discover reasons to celebrate one another as a means of perpetuating inner warmth. Sustaining inner warmth, we believe at Transdiaspora Network (TDN), is one of the first ways to live a healthy and empowered life.

Transition is a word of power, one that implies upwards growth and greater involvement. We, ourselves, are in a state of transition at TDN. What began as a local conversation about prevention (by means of empowerment) has sparked a global awareness of the connection between the self and health. With a greater involvement in the United Nations Economic and Social Council and Department of Health New York Knows Steering Committee, we are navigating a broader agenda while keeping our ears to the ground of the community. With the outbreak of Ebola, the world is being called to unification in the face of yet another disease that threatens us all. Though our country remains relatively safe so far, we’re reminded of both the importance and fragility of our health. Locally, TDN is approaching a new cycle, promoting greater communication, self-understanding and healthy lifestyle choices. Through our RIPPLE Program workshops, we’ll continue to operate through a creative curriculum to teach and promote these ideas to the youth. We believe in our mission, in our city and in each other.

As TDN transitions towards greater goals, including UNAIDS Fast Track Program Ending AIDS by 2030, as well as our own new social media campaign LOVE, UNITY & PASSION we embrace our chosen responsibility to make a difference. As the new TDN Newsletter Editor in Chief, I, in turn, am embracing my transition into a representative voice for our organization. With an improved technological platform, “TDN On the Go” will be a monthly newsletter designed to reach our audience with announcements and reflections on what we see happening in our community and elsewhere. Whether on the subway, at your desk, or on your way to class, we invite you to share in our journey and thank you, as always, for whatever your part in our organization.

 Adelaide-Alysse Downham, Editor in Chief

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ECOSOC-accredited New Especial Consultative Status – TDN is proud to announce our new consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). We are humbled to gain such honorable recognition and to be seated amongst world innovators. Members of TDN attended UNAIDS High-level side event “Fast Track: Ending AIDS by 2030” on September 25^th, where, as our Senior Executive Manager Angela Mora-Vargas remarked, “the target goals discussed included the 90-90-90 Goal. This goal includes ensuring that 90% of people living with HIV know their status and by offering HIV treatment to 90%  of people who know their HIV status, 90% of people on HIV treatment can achieve undetectable levels of HIV in their body by 2020. “ TDN will aim to help achieve this goal, as well as the other goals, set by ECOSOC and its legal subsidiaries.

Photo (L to R)- Ariel Rojas, CEO/Founder; Angela Mora-Vargas, Senior Executive Manager; Glenda del Monte Escalante, Cultural Ambassador; Jasmine Knowles, Program Associate. Copyright 2014 Transdiaspora Network

Successful Outreach at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Antic Festival – On September 28^th, members of TDN, along with members of the Community Health Network (CHN), joined on Atlantic Avenue for the 40^th Annual Atlantic Antic Street Fair On a day surprisingly hot for late September, we joined our community to celebrate Brooklyn through food, music and a variety of local vendors. At the corner of Atlantic and 3^rd Avenue, we worked alongside CHN’s nutritionists to engage in conversation about healthy eating. We also conducted free HIV testing on site for any and all who were willing. With a donation of homemade blueberry soda from the Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain, we were able to help keep the public refreshed, while promoting the well being of both New Yorkers, and our global community.

Hispanic Heritage Month – October 15^th was National Latino AIDS Awareness Day. With prominent members of US Department of Health and Human Services, Latino Commission on AIDS and from community organizations advocating for HIV testing, we attended a symposium and observed presentations, as well as a panel discussion, on this culture and its exposure to the virus. The meeting was eye-opening, as we discussed that 1 in 3 HIV diagnoses goes to a member of the Latino community. A quote that rang true, made by After Hours Project Director of Social Services and Linkage to Care, Hector Quiñones, went, “If you’ve never be tested, you are not negative.” Similar to the 90-90-90 Goal mentioned above,  as well as the encouragement of our free HIV testing held at the Atlantic Antic, it is clear that we are still working towards eradicating the fear and stigma of being tested, and promoting ownership of bodily health.

Photo (L to R)- Hector Quiñones, Director of Social Services and Linkage to Care, After Hours Project; Luis Freddy Molano, Vice President of Infectious Diseases and LGBTQ Programs, Community Health Network; Mauro Julco, Latino Commission on AIDS; Nathaly Rubio-Torio, Founder, Voces Latinas. Copyright 2014 Transdiaspora Network

TDN in St. Louis – An independent TDN representative participated in a rally to protest the death of an unarmed black teen that spanned from Ferguson, Missouri to St. Louis. Read her thoughts here.

IN-VOICE
 Written by Adelaide-Alysse Downham, Editor in Chief

As a teenager, I was assigned to read The Stranger by Albert Camus. The story, as many of us know, is about a man who does not weep at his mother’s funeral, which begins the narrative of his demise through which unfolds betrayal, murder and eventual execution. About halfway through the novel, I felt at a loss when attempting to understand the notion of this “anti-hero”. Was it a cautionary tale? Was it meant to reflect mankind at its psychological worst? I began to study Camus, and was especially fascinated by his collection of Lyrical and Critical Essays. I longed to visit the Algiers he described, and identified with his wanderlust and humility towards the awe of the universe.

Some who studied him claimed Camus was a nihilist. As an impressionable teenager with a new literary hero, I assumed this meant I, too, was a nihilist. I smile to remember the passion I felt towards the idea that life was an accident, and therefore our actions were limited in value. I fashioned myself a true nihilist soldier.

I learned over time, though, that his resistance of a conventional life (most notably, unchecked political subservience) was meant to reflect the power of the individual when correctly guided. He was not championing the abandonment of meaning, but rather encouraging simple joys, fluidity between man and nature, and accepting the unknown of the future. He wrote, “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” To me, this has become a reminder that defining your experiences is not what gives them depth. It is the ability to be present. So while I may no longer consider myself a nihilist, I learned from Camus to let my beliefs evolve, and that there is always more beauty in mystery than there is the potential for fear.