Harvard Medical School AIDS Division to Host South Africa's Sinikithemba HIV Plus Choir, Tim Janis Ensemble in December 11/22/2002
From: John Lacey of the Harvard Medical School Division of AIDS Cambridge/Boston, 617-432-0441 or Jan Dragin of the CWS Media Liaison/Boston, 781-925-1526 Email: jdragin@gis.net News Advisory: 28.5 million people in sub-Saharan Africa infected with HIV/AIDS and approximately 165,000 more people infected each month are statistics difficult to relate to on a human scale. But when South Africa's HIV plus Sinikithemba Choir performs in the Boston/Cambridge area in December, they'll be putting a human face on the African AIDS pandemic and giving voice to hope. Part of an East Coast performance tour, The Sinikithemba Choir joins top Billboard-charting U.S. composer Tim Janis in their "Give Us Hope" concert, Wednesday, December 4, 7:30 p.m., at Harvard Memorial Church, Harvard University. Co-sponsored by The Harvard University Medical School Division of AIDS and international humanitarian aid agency Church World Service, the "Give Us Hope" concert series will raise funds for CWS' HIV/AIDS programs in Africa. CWS, The Harvard Medical School Division of AIDS, and Harvard's co-sponsoring partners for the Cambridge event also hope to raise greater consciousness around AIDS in Africa. Local co-sponsors for the Cambridge Tim Janis-Sinikithemba Choir concert include: Cambridge Cares About AIDS, Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center/Center for AIDS Research, Fenway Community Health, Division of AIDS, and Massachusetts General Hospital Partners in AIDS Research Center. The Boston Community Choir will open the "Give Us Hope" Concert. Trinitarian Congregational Church, Concord Center, will host a second Boston-area "Give Us Hope" concert, 7 p.m., Saturday December 7. The Rev. John Lombard, pastor of the Concord church, was instrumental in bringing CWS and Tim Janis together and has a longstanding relationship with the Sinikithemba HIV/AIDS Care Center in Durban. The Janis-Sinikithemba Choir concert series kicks off on World AIDS Day, Sunday December 1, at New York City's The Riverside Church. Other concerts are scheduled in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, New Haven and Greenwich, Connecticut, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. In Zulu, sinikithemba means, "place of hope." Associated with the Sinikithemba HIV/AIDS Care Center and McCord Hospital, Durban, the choir first performed with Janis in May when Janis accompanied Church World Service to South Africa, in performances promoting the destigmatization of AIDS in that country. The stigma of AIDS in African society - particularly in South Africa - continues to take a heavy toll on AIDS prevention, transmission and the willingness of people to seek testing or treatment. One Sinikithemba choir member says, "There is no support for people who are HIV plus where we live. People point fingers at others, condemning them for being HIV plus." Hosts of the Sinikithemba Choir's U.S. visit, Church World Service is a $70 million a year, global humanitarian agency working with NGOs and other local partners in more than 80 countries, on behalf of its 36 U.S. Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican member denominations. Admission for the Cambridge December 4 concert: a freewill offering, $20 suggested minimum. For information on the Harvard Medical School event, call 617-432-4932. Admission for December 7's Concord concert: a freewill offering, suggested $20 minimum. For Concord information, call 978-369-4837. Or visit www.churchworldservice.org. --- Source: USAID ------ INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE WITH SINIKITHEMBA CHOIR, TIM JANIS, CHURCH WORLD SERVICE, AND HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL AIDS DIVISION SPOKESPERSONS ELECTRONIC PHOTOS AND VIDEO B-ROLL AVAILABLE CONTACT: John Lacey/Harvard Medical School Division of AIDS Cambridge/Boston: 617-432-0441 or Jan Dragin/CWS Media Liaison/ Boston: 781-925-1526 jdragin@gis.net |