November 2001

Fundación SIDA Visit a Very Special Event

Harriet Langfeldt, NEAC Co-Chair

While we were meeting in Puerto Rico, the Rev. Efrain Ayala arranged for the NEAC Board and Committee to spend an evening visiting Fundación SIDA. We were overwhelmed by the variety and breadth of services offered: educational opportunities for all ages; volunteers who spend time in locations where the incidence of the spread of HIV is most likely to occur; massage and acupuncture therapy; counseling; and invitations to men, women, transvestites, and teenagers to events and educational, clinical, and fellowship opportunities. The clinic in particular helps people access the health care system.

The Rev Efrain Ayala, coordinator of social services, Diocese of San Juan, shows a photo of the Human Red Ribbon; each year around World AIDS Day the community gathers in red T-shirts to form this very moving (literally and figuratively) red ribbon.

The Rev Efrain Ayala, coordinator of social services, Diocese of San Juan, shows a photo of the Human Red Ribbon; each year around World AIDS Day the community gathers in red T-shirts to form this very moving (literally and figuratively) red ribbon.

The staff is amazingly dedicated and a large cadre of volunteers know the ramifications of HIV/AIDS from personal or very close experience. The enthusiasm expressed by the staff and the volunteers was really catching! We appreciated the fact that all the staff were present during our evening there and welcomed us with great enthusiasm. When we asked how they can keep up their enthusiasm, Rafael A. Otero-Rivera, president of the Fundación SIDA board, shared his personal story, noting that it was the experience of caring and support that he received when he needed it that is infused in the staff and volunteers.

The NEAC Board and the HIV Committee came away from this exhilarating experience with only one major question: How do they do it with so little money? We hope to be able to help them with funding sources, but we were reminded that, as with so many other projects, volunteers are at the core.