Alcala Yearbook 2006-2007

Article written by Kate Sullivan (Tfie Vista. - December Issue) Pictures taken by Ryan Brennan

A IDS , rape and subsequent HIV infection and the kidnapping of children for forced enlistment are heart-wrenchingly ad– dressed in the impact 1 tent in the Camino-Founders courtyard, billed as a multimedia "journey of emotional , spiritual and practical significance. " InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and the Romero Center for Faith in Action , a division of University Ministry sponsored the impact 1 campaign at USO. The tent, which was anonymously donated to the La Jolla Presbyterian Church , traveled to San Diego State , UCSD, and USO, and will continue onto other universities in the United States .

The tent is a 30-minute multimedia simulated walkthrough of three African people whose lives were affected by HIV, AIDS , and related African strife. Participants carry an mp3 player with head– phones and are encouraged to leave their worries of this world behind and immerse themselves in the experience. Participants are confronted with staggering statistics and anecdotal evidence of life in Africa . The presentation reports that Uganda, with a population of 27,300,000 , has an HIV prevalence of 530,000, over 900 ,000 orphans , and 30,000 children abducted to forcibly serve in the Lord 's Resis– tance Army. One path through the tent detail the story of Olivia, a woman who contracted AIDS after being raped twice by the same man , a result of a commonly-believed myth that intercourse with a virgin will cure HIV A prayer wall was provided as a part of the journey; students wrote prayers or thoughts on slips of paper that would be sent to World Vision volunteers in Africa, a Christian relief organization. Organizers [also) encourage[d] those who went through the tent to sign letters addressed to President [George W.] Bush and [Secretary of State] Condoleezza Rice , sign petitions , and [to] donate money to World Vision as a way of acting against the human rights injustices in Africa.

~ iMPACT 1195