Fall 2011 Connections Magazine (PDF 3296kB) - SUNY Empire ...

HIV positive or that her husband died ofAIDS, but I felt that I learned things abouther that were much more important thanthat. I learned about her strength and herpower – and I learned about her capacityfor change.”Winter/Summer Institute posts videos,news, photos and other materials onits website, www.maketheatre.org. Itdescribes its mission as seeking to addressthe pandemic by examining the waysin which complex social issues impactthe spread of the virus. It was throughthe website that Ebenezer Koomson,the Ghanaian HIV/AIDS coordinator,made contact with W/SI, emailing to askwhether any training was available inW/SI’s theater-making method. Thusbegan a correspondence that resulted inthe Winter/Summer Institute shippinghim most of its materials, includingmultiple DVDs of its two performances,“Make Theatre/Make a Difference” and“The Contamination Waltz.”More than 20,000 children havetested positive for the virus that causesAIDS in Ghana alone, Koomson says.Also troubling is the high mortalityrate among victims, which is more than17,000 annually, due to the shortage ofantiretroviral drugs. He told GEO.tv inGhana that life expectancy can improve“with just a little care from friendsand relatives.”HIV/AIDS doctor’sforbidden fantasiesconflict with his desireto be a communityrole model.Rousing rendition of“Lebonenyana Laka,”a Sesotho adaptationof “This Little Light ofMine,” lends a hopefulnote to the musicfinale at the festivalperformance.By means of partnerships witheducational institutions, churches,AIDS programs, hospitals and socialgroups, the Ghana Health Service intendsto reach out to communities in Ghanasimilarly affected by HIV/AIDS using thematerials developed by W/SI. Koomsonalready has made wide useof “The ContaminationWaltz” in Ghana’s battleagainst the virus.“We never have any ideawhat’s going to happenand what effect we’ll have,”Winner explains. “Whilewe are there, there is alwaysa chance that a ripple willstart somewhere, and that,as it spreads, somethingwonderful and totallyunexpected will happen.”photo providedOne of those unexpected ripples fromW/SI’s 2008 residency in Lesotho wasthe 2011 email correspondence withKoomson. After hearing, on March 30,that W/SI had just sent off 40 copies of“The Contamination Waltz” and the“Make Theatre/Make a Difference”DVDs, along with W/SI brochures,articles and music CDs, Koomsonwrote back the same day: “We havealready started celebrating!” •Winter/Summer Institute 2011Empire State College ParticipantsStudents: Nancy Herard-Marshall, AnnaGuttormsgaard, Canedy Knowles, Margarita Ramos,Earlecia GibbAlumni: Deanna Bergdorf, intern; Jussara SantosRaxlen, Melissa Shetler, facilitatorsEbenezer Koomson, MPH, regional HIV/AIDS coordinator,Ghana Health Service, at a Family Planning Clinic.14 w w w . e s c . e d u