Project AIDS

On Friday, I participated in an AMSA (American Medical Students Association) event with the Project AIDS committee. We went to the CALLS center in Portsmouth, which is a non-profit community center dedicated to providing tutoring and somewhat of an education to teenagers who had dropped out or were kicked out of their local schools for various reasons. We put on an educational play centered around possible ways to contract HIV, and then we had a Q&A session with the teenagers. It was a really good experience for myself because while I've worked with children and the elderly, I've never actually done anything with teenagers. I kind of forgot how troublesome and sometimes uncooperative teenagers can be.

It was quite interesting to be teaching them about HIV, STD's, and practicing safer sex. It seems like they know a pretty good amount, however I was a little perturbed by some of the bizarre sex questions they were asking. I won't repeat any here, but let's just say that our discussion lost its focus and strayed towards the topic of sex, rather than the initial topic at hand. Regardless, I think we got all of our important messages across, and I hope the teens learned and gained something in return. It's sad to hear that some of these teens don't even know basic math nor how to read because they stopped going to school a long time ago, so hopefully all the contributions Ross students have been providing them (with tutoring and events like these) are helping these kids live better lives.

Next Saturday, I'll be visiting the elderly home in Portsmouth, like what I did last semester when we just entertained the old folks who no longer have family left to take care of them. I really do wish I volunteered more in the community in previous semesters, but I'm glad I'm finally contributing more of my time this semester!