Andrew Dernovsek left for the Peace Corps and Lesotho to continue his work fighting the spread of HIV

Dernovsek said there are many contributing factors in the AIDS epidemic in Africa; among them polygamy; poverty that can lead to prostitution; customs such as older men ("sugar daddies") paying for young girls' schooling in return for sex; or in Kenya, man "adopting" the wife and children of his brother if he dies. Since he'll be working in the Peace Corps, not a faith-based organization, his message will be a bit different, he said. He'll be able to suggest the use of condoms as a way to prevent the spread of HIV, in addition to chastity and then faithfulness to ne's spouse. "They can certainly benefit from the message that Uganda has sent," Dernovsek said. "I'm sure it will be different. I'll learn and adapt and help in the best way I can." Some of the education he does will be making people aware of HIV and some will be directed at reducing the stigma of HIV, he said. "It never used to be a problem there (Lesotho), but it is now. They won't tell anyone they have HIV when they get it because they don't want to be black-listed. "It's so sad. It's spreading so much. It affects the whole society -- teachers, doctors, students, lawyers; the educated and non-educated work force. Lesotho has a 29 percent HIV rate now -- it's destroying the whole community.

Caption: This photo, taken during Andrew Dernovsek's previous visit to Africa, shows local flora - and a mountain gorilla.

Jun. 12--A Pueblo man is returning to Africa to continue his work fighting the spread of HIV.

Andrew Dernovsek, 23, left for the Peace Corps and Lesotho in southeast Africa on Monday. He'd been visiting family here for about two months. Dernovsek said he's not sure what his work will entail other than it will be HIV prevention. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Lesotho is 29 percent, one of the highest in the world and expected to climb higher, according to the U.S. Department of State. "I'll find out when I get there," he said during a recent interview. "My understanding is most volunteers go through three months of in-country training, learn the language and practices and then are placed in a rural village.

I'll have the opportunity o do other secondary projects to help the community." The kind of HIV-prevention education Dernovsek does will depend on the country of Lesotho and his personality, he said. In Uganda, where he spent five months working for the faith-based Universal Chastity Education organization, he talked to girls and b ys at high schools and at large outreach gatherings. In Burundi, where he helped start a branch of UCE, they have seminars of 50 students and then those students are sent out to teach others about preventing HIV by being chaste until marriage and then b ing faithful to one's spouse.

Uganda's first lady, Janet Museveni, was the first person there to talk about chastity as a way to combat the spread of HIV, according to Dernovsek. The idea caught on with the Ugandan people, some of whom started Universal Chastity Education, a private nonprofit organization that receives private funding from Americans. Dernovsek said some Americans might wonder about the program's emphasis on chastity, but it's really about purity. "Purity in your whole life. Remaining abstinent until you marry. Being faithful to your spouse," he said. "There was a lot of polygamy (before) this movement caught on.

The people were very, very receptive (to the message). Everyone talks about it. It's a huge movement. They are very receptive when we come to the schools." UCE is one of many approaches Uganda is using to try to reduce its HIV rate. The World Health Organization says the country's rare success at reducing the infection rate is the result of a high-level commitment involving all sectors of society, from Pre ident Yoweri Museveni on down. The HIV infection rate among pregnant women in the capital city of Kampala dropped to 14 percent in 1998 from 31 percent in 1993, according to the WHO. Still, the AIDS epidemic has caused the death of the mother or both parents of more than 1.5 million hildren in Uganda.

Dernovsek said there are many contributing factors in the AIDS epidemic in Africa; among them polygamy; poverty that can lead to prostitution; customs such as older men ("sugar daddies") paying for young girls' schooling in return for sex; or in Kenya, man "adopting" the wife and children of his brother if he dies. Since he'll be working in the Peace Corps, not a faith-based organization, his message will be a bit different, he said. He'll be able to suggest the use of condoms as a way to prevent the spread of HIV, in addition to chastity and then faithfulness to ne's spouse. "They can certainly benefit from the message that Uganda has sent," Dernovsek said.

"I'm sure it will be different. I'll learn and adapt and help in the best way I can." Some of the education he does will be making people aware of HIV and some will be directed at reducing the stigma of HIV, he said. "It never used to be a problem there (Lesotho), but it is now. They won't tell anyone they have HIV when they get it because they don't want to be black-listed. "It's so sad. It's spreading so much. It affects the whole society -- teachers, doctors, students, lawyers; the educated and non-educated work force. Lesotho has a 29 percent HIV rate now -- it's destroying the whole community.

Children are raising chil ren." Dernovsek said he's enjoyed being in Africa despite the many problems. "I'm a different kind of person. It's a different place -- the streets aren't paved; they're lucky to get electricity a few hours a day; they have to boil the water." He said there are many Americans helping in Africa and he thinks most Americans are aware of the HIV/AIDS crisis on the continent, but people can always be more aware. "There are so many problems on that continent. You could just start a project doing anything. They need so much help." Dernovsek first went to Africa because he's interested in international affairs (his major at Virginia Military Institute) and in helping people.

He previously had done mission trips through Pueblo's Ascension Episcopal Church. He'll spend 27 months in the Peace Corps and thinks he'd like to get a job with the state department afterward and possibly continue in the same line of work. He is the son of Drs. Ken and Kim Dernovsek, and he's a graduate of Virginia Military Institute and Centennial High School.

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Story Source: The Pueblo Chieftan

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Lesotho; HIV; AIDS;

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