EIL Intercultural Learning

I haven’t been very good for posting blogs. Lynda’s are so informative and interesting I sit back and let her do all the work!  I have learned so much from her over the past few months and I am so grateful to EIL for being paired with such a passionate and knowledgeable travel partner.

What a difference a year makes. When I think back to this time last year I was working in a job in Dublin that I hated with little knowledge of anything to do with HIV / AIDS. Being honest, I couldn’t distinguish between the two back then! It was only after I visited the Irish Aid centre that I heard about the Global Awareness Programme and started researching for the essay that I ignited an interest in the area.  The subject of HIV /AIDS is so broad and complex that every time you read something, you learn something new and it’s like a snowball effect – the more you learn, the more you want to learn.

From our initial training with Aine Costigan of Dtalk I knew it was subject that I would have an interest in for a long time to come.  To think that there are so many misinformed opinions about an illness, which is by all accounts now a chronic illness, is heart breaking.  I recently read a book by an Irish woman who documented her life from before she contracted HIV to the present day.  It was a very brave and truthful account of the stigma and discrimination she and her children endured in Ireland. It was painful to read of the downright ignorance of many people in Ireland.  We boast of our educated workforce and how far we have come yet it many ways we really know very little and have a very long way to go…especially in the fight against HIV / AIDS.

Like Lynda, I am hoping to continue working in this area…be it as a career or just as a volunteer in local organisations. We are both in the process of completing a certificate in Understanding HIV / AIDS, something I never thought would happen this time last year.   The experience I had in South Africa was truly life changing, from visiting local communities (townships), to experiencing living with local people to caring for the most helpless and adorable children.  I learned so much about other cultures and about HIV / AIDS.

I wish all the 2010 GAP applicants the very best of luck. It doesn’t matter what your background is, or how much you know now, once you are interested and a passionate you can do so much to help. The next year will be the greatest learning curve for the lucky winners.

 * The aforementioned book is “Still Standing” by Liz Martin and is available from AIDS West