This is the moment I've been waiting for! I've been officially invited to be a Peace Corps Volunteer working in the Community Health and HIV/AIDS program in Namibia (nuh-MIH-bee-uh). I'll be leaving February 16, 2011 and return April 13, 2013.
A little history about the program:
Namibia achieved independence in 1990 and remains a land of great potential. However, the extent to which this potential will be realized has become increasingly dominated by one of Africa's most devastating epidemics: HIV/AIDS. Today, Namibia has one of the highest prevalence rates in the world. It is estimated that 15.3% of adults (ages 15-49) are living with HIV/AIDS and 61% of the HIV cases occurred among women. More than one-in-five adults is HIV-positive, and AIDS is one of the leading cause of death and hospitalizations. By the end of 2007, it was estimated that 14,000 children (ages 0-15) were living with HIV/AIDS.
So it comes at a perfect time for me to be a Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia and share with the country how important it is to prevent the further spread of HIV and AIDS.
Originally, I was nominated to be an English teacher in Eastern Europe. But after the Peace Corps saw all the various experiences I've had related to comprehensive sex ed and HIV/AIDS, they knew it was better for me and them to put me in a program related to HIV/AIDS. And so here I am!
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