Amazing Race, Amazing Grace:
Rachel’s Story
by B. Michelle Harris McQureerir
Rachel’s Story
“I have someone in my family with AIDS. [PAHC] helps me with a lot of things in my life – like my attitude. We also do therapy here, and it’s helped me a lot,” shared Rachel. “It also helps my family to help them get to know me more.” Rebecca Jones* is Rachel’s beloved grandmother. Rachel glows whenever she mentions her grandmother. She is grateful for Jones’s love and for her connecting her and her brother Emmanuel* to PAHC. “I learned to control myself. I used to have a temper. I used to fight a lot. She [ Jones] was telling the truth. “I think it would be good for other kids to come to this program. I do my homework in the after-school program. I have fun with other kids, but there is a purpose to it. I love it here, I really do.” Regarding the Amazing Race summer program, “I would like to see all the kids come together and be in groups, just to have fun. Put some work in it but also have fun. Working and having fun is the best way to learn. “I am proud of [PAHC] not giving up on me. I am proud of myself for not quitting – not giving up. I’m proud of the person I was.” Rachel noted that had she not been herself during her darkest moments, her grandmother would never have had reason to connect her to PAHC. “You have to go through the dark to get to the light.” Some things she loves to do through PAHC: “Sports – I love basketball. I like tennis. I want to try softball. Art – I like to draw. They say, ‘You should be an artist.’ But I do it for fun. I want to do pottery. I am open to learning new things.” Rachel is also academically gifted. Her school advised her to skip a grade, but she will defer to her grandmother. “My grandmother said, ‘Enjoy life while you can because when you get older, it’s tough.’” Rachel agrees that it is tough for grown ups, but added, “We [kids] have it rough. School – it’s hard.” Rachel noted that kids do not know what trouble will meet them to and from school every day. “I want to be a lawyer. I want to help people more, like kids in the system. Some people just want the money. I want them to go to a good family. I have a good family. My grandmother
A
PAHC
mazing expresses my joy of meeting Rachel Brown* one sunny, breezy day in May. Rachel is one of many teens in Washington, DC, infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS. Too often, teens are marginalized by the public and policymakers who fail to provide adequate support as kids struggle to make sense of the seemingly insurmountable challenges of HIV/AIDS. Rachel shares how Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care (PAHC) provides support and guidance to her and her family as they deal with the emotional and psychosocial effects of HIV/AIDS.
My name is Rachel Yesterday my name was happiness Tomorrow my name will be victory In my dreams my name is sunshine My secret name is beautiful My family thinks my name is princess In my darkest hours my name is spider My friends call me special When I move towards the light, My name is courage My name is Unique My name is Powerful My name is Respectful *The names “Rachel Brown,” “Rebecca Jones,” and Emmanuel are pseudonyms.
Khadijah Tribble, PAHC’s executive director, noted, “HIV/AIDS is a real deal in DC.” Though PAHC works primarily with kids, “we cannot work with kids without working with their families.” Tribble marveled at how 2005 newspaper headlines are still true for 2008: “Nothing has changed.” The public is still uninformed/misinformed about HIV/AIDS transmission and treatment. Kids with HIV/AIDS “are often seen as the ‘bad’ person when they are not HIV-positive by their own choices.” Irene Fraser, program director, added, “PAHC provides youth development programs and mental health care in a homey setting for “art, dance, theater, spoken word, educational enrichment, hanging out, doing homework and chatting with friends.” PAHC’s summer camp will feature “the Amazing Race,” a play on ethnicity/race and a “mental, physical, educational and spiritual race” that targets kids aged 13-18 from Wards 7 and 8. Visit www.pediatricaidshivcare.org for more information on the Amazing Race and other PAHC programs. Contact Irene Fraser at ifraser@pediatricaidshivcare. org for volunteer and donation opportunities. See Kendra Langdon Juskus’s earlier article on PAHC (EOR, May 2008).
46 ★ East of the River | June 2008
promised me that I would not have to go to the system.” What Rachel wants others to know about PAHC: “We need more people supporting this program. Ms. Irene has taught me so much. She’s so free-spirited. She won’t let nothing hold her down. “I like the mask-making – getting to know who you are. Before you get to know anyone else, you have to know yourself. “I sing all types of music. I dance – gospel dancing for my church. We have a lot of young people in our church. It keeps them off the streets. We learn about diseases and relationships, not just with boyfriends, but with your family and others on the street. [PAHC] helps me to know how to communicate. It gives you your space.” Rachel shared her pearls of wisdom for families who live with HIV/ AIDS: “Don’t let AIDS or whatever you have control your life. You control it. Do what you have to do. Take your meds. Perhaps you will live longer. Don’t be scared. You will be scared [sometimes], but you will be okay.”
Speaking Out
About teens sharing their HIV/ AIDS experiences: “Speaking out – it could be hard. I think it will be hard because they are opening a circle about them, but people don’t want to touch them, be with them. You never know who has it. They keep it a secret. “In school, all they talk about is abstinence. They do not talk about the disease itself or how to protect yourself, how it is spread. The information they give us in school is not helpful. There’s so much more they can do. They should stop sugarcoating everything. They should lay it out on the table. When they stop sugarcoating it, kids would think about it.” To other kids, Rachel exclaims, “To my brothers and sisters that are in the world, protect yourself, take care of yourself and live life to the fullest, because today is here and tomorrow may never come.” B. Michelle Harris McQureerir, PhD, MPH, RD, is assistant professor at the University of the District of Columbia. Her focus is public and community health through education, information, and research. Contact her at bharris@udc.edu. ◆
political dish with a most delicate sensitivity to stink...
the nose KNOWS!
capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 47