It’s time for Jose Melendez’s KEYS TO FIGHTING HIV/AIDS.
- 1. Oh… hi
there… I’m Jose Melendez. You might remember me as a whimsical
blogger from such championship seasons as 2004 and 2007. I’d like to drop the silliness, the
third person and the outdated references to Cesar Crespo for a moment and
focus on an issue that is really important to me.
Did you know that in Africa, every…
let’s say 30 seconds, a child is born who will suffer a life of deprivation…
Yes, every day across the African continent
thousands of children come into the world who will never know that there is a
game called baseball, much less that the Red Sox are good and the Yankees are
evil.
It’s heartbreaking isn’t it?
It makes you feel powerless? Like
you wish there were something you could do?
Well now there is. You can join me and all your SoSH friends in
making a contribution to the fight against the scourge of baseball
ignorance. Also, your contribution will
fight HIV/AIDS, which I understand is also a problem of some kind. Watch this video and learn how SoSH can fightHIV/AIDS.
SoSH is partnering with Support for
International Change (SIC), an internationally registered charity, to raise
money for the SoSH Tags AIDS Truck Service, or STATS, a rugged vehicle that
will be able to trek up the tough, muddy roads around Arusha, Tanzania and into
rural villages to provide HIV testing and education and show how awesome the
Red Sox are.
All we need is to raise
$40,000. I know, I know that’s not a lot
of money to Jon Lackey, but to a small charity in rural Tanzania and the people
it serves it can make all the difference.
To learn the details of SIC’s work and review their annual reports and
accountability ratings visit their Web site here http://sichange.org/get-involved/sosh/.
Today, SIC’s ability to work in
rural villages is compromised by its reliance on vehicles that are kind of like
Alex Rodriguez—old, broken down and costly to maintain. These clunkers make it nearly impossible to
get out to the villages where people need education and testing the most.
The STATS will solve this problem
instantly. Additionally, the STATS will
be tricked out by skilled local artists with scenes of Red Sox glory, bringing
knowledge of baseball along with knowledge of how to prevent HIV.
But how will we choose which images
from Red Sox history are truck worthy?
Pay to play baby!!!
The top two donors will each get to
choose a picture for the left and right sides of the truck. A third image for either the hood or the
trunk, will be chosen on the basis of a vote.
Just make a nomination in this thread when you donate.
Over time, the relationship between
SoSH and SIC will grow. SIC will provide
video of the STATS doing its work in rural communities, of villagers, online
chats with SIC staff and villagers chanting “Let’s Go Sox.” But for this to happen we need your
help. So donate now at http://sichange.org/get-involved/sosh/
- Now that Jose has made the “ask” up front, Jose wants to return to his customary third person and to try to educate the good people of SoSH on how one combats HIV/AIDS in Africa, the best way he knows how—through a series of inapt baseball metaphors.
HIV education—at the core of SIC’s
work—is like pitching. It is the initial
step in combating HIV and relies on changing speeds and methods of
delivery. To be effective, HIV education
takes a variety of forms. Sometimes
posters around town, other times direct education. Other times plays, music and
dance. The key is to keep the ball
coming from all different angles and at all different speeds.
The second part is prevention,
which you should think of as defense.
Remember two years ago when the Red Sox adopted a “run prevention”
approach to winning games? HIV
prevention is a lot like that, except it works.
There are three key elements to
prevention. The first is abstinence,
which is like a strike out. If the ball
never gets into play, it can’t do any damage.
But we’re realistic people; we know that even Pedro at his best wasn’t
striking out 27 guys. Balls are going to
get into play.
That’s why you have an infield—in
this case monogamy, being faithful. If
the ball is in play, your best chance to prevent a run is by keeping it… close
to home.
Finally, there’s condom use—the
outfield of HIV prevention. Things
happen. Pitchers hang curveballs. People have sex outside of stable relationships. When that happens, it’s awfully good to have
a… glove… in the outfield ready to catch anything that could turn into trouble.
That brings us to testing, SIC's
other core mission. Testing is like the
data a manager uses to make decisions. When
people know their HIV status they can make good decisions about sexual activity
and breastfeeding and doctors can make good decisions about how to treat
them. A patient or doctor without a known
HIV status is like a manager without stats—he’s going by hunches, and Jose
doesn’t know about you, but he would not want Joe Morgan making medical
decisions for him.
Finally, offense comes into
play—treatment. Gone are the days when
HIV drugs were an underwhelming crew of Mike Lansings and Dante
Bichettes—ineffective and largely toxic.
Today, HIV drugs are more like David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin
Pedroia, potent, effective and strong in combination.
Patients getting these drugs can
live long productive lives and don’t have to die of HIV/AIDS. Moreover, they’re less likely to transmit HIV
to other people so fewer people get infected.
SIC doesn’t directly provide drugs, but the STATS will help connect
patients with Tanzania’s Ministry of Health, which provides free antiretroviral
drugs to everyone who needs them.
Building this connection is part of
what makes SIC’s model sustainable. To put up a winning record against HIV/AIDS
over the long run, Tanzania needs a good farm system. SIC isn’t like a high priced free agent that
comes in for a year or two, has a few successes and then moves on leaving
nothing of permanent value. Instead, SIC
is developing home grown, Tanzanian talent that can provide pitching, defense
and hitting now and in the future.
3. So here’s where it gets
interesting. In order to encourage you
to give, Jose is going to lay down a challenge.
Jose Melendez will start the
donations with a $500 contribution. If at
least two people don’t make bigger donations, Jose will elect to have one of
the images on the STATS be Carlos Quintana doing a split while making a play at
first.
Do you want Tanzanians to think
Carlos Quintana is the greatest Red Sox of all time? No?
Then go to http://sichange.org/get-involved/sosh/
and donate now.
I’m Jose Melendez, and those are my
KEYS TO FIGHTING HIV/AIDS.
