Photo of the Day (1.10.09)

by Brenda Yun on


First, this from natavillage.org:

On March 4, 2006, Nata made history by becoming the first village in Botswana with a website. natavillage.org is a unique opportunity for the reader to witness the battle to control the spread of HIV/AIDS in an African village. Botswana has the second highest HIV infection rate in the world (37% for ages 15-49). The co-founders, a Canadian traveler, a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, and a local businessman were all frustrated that millions of dollars pour into Botswana due to the AIDS pandemic yet little money reaches remote villages like Nata.

The site offers the visitor 3 videoblogs, a 10 minute documentary, over 350 flickr photos and a blog that gives the reader an intimate look into the lives of the villagers. The reader is given the opportunity to donate directly to the village and the funds are managed transparently by a local 6 member board of trustees with very little overhead cost. The donor can see the results of their generosity through regular photos of what is purchased.

People living with AIDS in Nata must travel 60 miles to reach the ARV (anti-retroviral ) clinic. Many can’t afford the $4.00 bus fare. The trust provides transportation money for all members to reach their life saving ARV’s. The trust also purchased a sound system and generator for an out of school youth group that provides vital HIV/AIDS educational activities to Nata and the surrounding villages. We hope to serve as a model for other villages and change the way aid is distributed in the developing world.

There’s not a lot more to say about this photo from jonrawlinson other than that it’s a perfect shot taken in Botswana of a Masarwa man. The creation of natavillage.org is certainly an inspiring story and a cause worth contributing to in this new year.

If you have some great travel shots you’d like to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day!

Drink for charity, starting now

by Annie Scott on

Kimpton, that hotel and restaurant group that’s paying your baggage fees, has released their holiday beverages, calling them “Cocktails for a Cure.” You can now donate to HIV and AIDS charities by getting sauced at Kimpton hotels and restaurants all across the U.S. and Canada.

The beverages, created by their master mixologist Jacques Bezuidenhout, are:

  • Rouge on the Rocks – Milagro Blanco Tequila, Grand Marnier, raspberries and mint
  • Scarlet Night – Bacardi Rum, Campari and white peach puree
  • Ruby Sparkle – Grey Goose Vodka, Grand Marnier, pomegranate juice and sparkling wine

Each costs $12, and every time you purchase one, $1 will be donated to one of the featured charities (listed after the jump). $1 doesn’t sound like a lot to you? Better have five cocktails. Don’t be stingy.

Kimpton’s “Cocktails for a Cure” promotion is part of an annual Red Ribbon campaign. For more than two decades, Kimpton has assisted HIV and AIDS service organizations across North America through employee volunteerism, educational campaigns, corporate donations, and raising funds through special events.
The Cocktails for a Cure event will continue through the end of December, and may benefit a charity near you:
AIDSCare (Chicago); AIDS Housing Corporation (Boston); AIDS Project (Los Angeles); Bailey House Inc. (New York City); Cascade AIDS Project (Portland); Colorado AIDS Project; Design Industries Foundation fighting AIDS (Dallas); Lifelong AIDS Alliance (Seattle); Mama’s Kitchen (San Diego); Phoenix Children’s Hospital; The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation (San Francisco); Utah AIDS Foundation; Vancouver Friends for Life Society; and Whitman-Walker Clinic (Washington DC).

Click here to find out where to go drink for a cure.

Holiday flings are endangering young Brits

by Martha Edwards on

Ah, holiday flings. My teenage journals account in painstaking detail so many clandestine meetings with various so-called ‘hotties’ on family trips. The ideal hook-up was one straight out of Dirty Dancing; unfortunately, I suspect my own teenage awkwardness was more reminiscent of Napoleon Dynamite. There was always a problem though — the family. Holiday romances were always foiled by having to spend time with the parents, not to mention inevitable embarrassment from a little brother. Still, it makes for good reading material dozens of years later.

My Holidays romances were always the pinnacle of innocence. There was a dance, maybe a small kiss (usually on the cheek) but nothing further. They sure weren’t anything like the holiday flings of today. Case in point: This article talks about how holiday flings are putting young Brits (16 – 24) at risk for a number of STDs, including HIV. Apparently young travellers have some sort of ‘no holds barred’ approach to holiday sex and it’s costing them their health. But guess what kids — it still counts as sex even if you do it in a foreign country.

My, how the times have changed. Or maybe I’m just a prude.

World AIDS Day

by Adrienne Wilson on

December 1st is recognized as World AIDS Day and as a traveler of this great big planet I saw it fit to post a short something on the deadly epidemic which has killed 25 million people to date according to the United Nations. Yahoo News has an article that summarizes the very basics on areas with high HIV numbers, how you can lend a in helping eliminate AIDS or find a cure. Fighting the battle against HIV/AIDS doesn’t have to involve a coach class flight into Africa to help and teach orphans or teens about the disease, you can start right here, right now, where ever you are. I think many Americans are starting to discover AIDS is hitting a lot closer to home than they previously thought. Wake up and be smart folks. That’s my word and now I’m off to the Red Hot & Riot show at Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Red Hot & Riot in Brooklyn

by Adrienne Wilson on

When I read the news on the Red Hot & Riot Live concert going down at the Brooklyn Academy of Music next weekend, December 1 & 2, I nearly flipped my wig. With a friend of mine leaving for Africa today to play in a series of concerts (one of which includes a World AIDS Day show) and this too-good-to-be-true-to-believe concert line-up right in Brooklyn I could barely contain myself. Not only will my friend and I be connected in spirit by an echoing drum beat moving waves across oceans, we’ll be celebrating and contributing what little we can to help the AIDS situation in Africa and locally. I can’t speak on the details of the show my pal will be performing at only because I do not know, but I can share with you all that I know about the one going down at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Performers for the two-night event include Tony Allen, Amadou & Mariam Cheikh Lo, Dead Prez, Keziah Jones, Les Nubians, Meshell Ndegeocello and Yerba Buena. Created as a tribute to the late Fela Kuti and Afrobeat music, the two nights of music will bring acclaimed African artists together with a younger generation of international artists in addition to raising HIV/AIDS awareness in the community. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the African Services Committee. The organization is NY based and promotes the health and self-sufficiency of local African and Caribbean immigrant communities through the provision of HIV/AIDS care and support services. In other words you’ll want to be there if your calendar happens to be bare on December 1 and/or 2, 2006. I’ll be in the building both nights.

See bam.org for ticket information.