03.12.05 - 14:43

I have the merest germ of an idea for a project, which I'd like to share with you all. In essence: a Mauritanian AIDS quilt.

I think I'd like to make it a quilt for those who are HIV+, as well as those who have died from AIDS complications. Mauritanians are woefully ignorant of their fellow countrymen (and -women!) who currently live with the disease. People are afraid to be tested, because they feel as though being HIV+ is a death sentence. In fact, anti-retrovirals are available for free through Espoir et Vie, and people can continue to have healthy lives for many years. There is also a misconception that all HIV+ people are immigrants, which is no longer true.

My hope is that displaying an AIDS quilt will help to combat these ideas, as well as offering HIV+ something creative and positive to do.

So basically, if anyone has any ideas or comments about the idea, let me know. (Also, if you're feeling generous, feel free to send some thread, yarn, ribbon, sequins, fabric markers, etc toward the project...)

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