"HIV positive man sitting at home before taking his anti-retroviral (ARVs) medicines, Cambodia." Credit: UNAIDS/O. O’Hanlo (2)


This afternoon I made a short little jaunt to the bookstore, really only hoping to find some periodicals that were 1) interesting enough to fill my lunch hour and 2) willing to be sacrificed as I really planned to cut them to bits for some future projects. Now, I am all for recycling used magazines, but my stockpile is running a little low. Regardless, I was quite pleased to find that Vanity Fair is doing a special issue on Africa. This edition is edited by Bono and others such as, oh, Desmond Tutu, Oprah, Bill and Melinda Gates, Muhammad Ali, Barack Obama, Maya Angelou--you get the idea.

I've yet to really delve into the entire thing, but I did read the article on (Product) Red called "The Lazarus Effect". I was really thankful for an article that put the need for ARVs in such simple, easily understandable terms. I was aware that ARVs (anti-retroviral drugs) are the ultimate necessity if anything is to be done at all to treat those already infected. I had no idea, however, just how fast they can work. There have been patients, it seems, that see unbelievable results after only 40 days of ARV treatment. Some even improve from being critically ill to "vibrant normalcy in just three months" (1).

And each pill is only 20 cents.

Now, certainly not everyone has such amazing results. And, yes, while each pill is only 20 cents--it's really 20 cents times _____ -- well, a lot. So much that it is still very much a crisis. But it seems as though there is a little light shining at the end, and I am encouraged by that. And if me buying a t-shirt or picking the red i-pod over the pink one is going to make a difference, then I'm all for that.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend, father's day (if applicable) and that Monday wasn't too bad. All three were actually quite nice on my end.

xo,
Amy


Citations, should you want them:
1. Vanity Fair Special Issue: Africa July 2007 -- "The Lazarus Effect" article by Alex Shoumatoff p.156
2. UNAIDS Epidemic Update 2006 - Press Photographs

Love Is In the Details

My weekend is winding down. But it was quite nice. My mother and I both felt too bogged down by our weeks to make our little jaunt down to Dallas, so went to Norman instead. For a much smaller amount of shopping and a nice little lunch. I did return empty handed, but with a full belly and fully refreshed. And it was really the refreshment that I was looking for anyway.

Friday night and alllll day Saturday were spent with this lovely...



My apologies for the absolutely lousy photograph, but it is extremely cloudy today. Still a few more touches until it is absolutely finished, but I am a tiny bit smitten.

Happy father's day!

xo,
Amy

it's really all in the little things

And so goes another weekend...

I hope you all made the best possible use of the weekend. Mine was spent rather entirely at my bill-paying job, so it went quite fast. But I have a three-day weekend coming up so there is some end in sight. Here are some other little odds and ends that are making me happy right now...

1. I keep finding these wonderful little treasure chests on the web from ladies blogging about their incredible finds. Having moved back to Oklahoma after living in Chicago for two years, I do sometimes miss the variety and so on. So, I'm finding these collections indispensable and inspiring and so much more. I have known of decor8 and design*sponge for some time, but just discovered Creature Comforts (thanks to decor8 for that one) and design is mine. And I'm loving them all. So check them out if you're interested in that sort of thing (pretty things and great design and good ideas and so on). As I'm writing this, the most recent post on design is mine is about a children's clothing company that is "organic, fair-trade, sweatshop-free, and beautifully designed". Sold. Blog=bookmarked.

2. I'm not much of a television girl anymore. Not really at all. But when I was in LA, my little Beth coerced me into watching an episode or two of the Office and I must say I'm glad she did. I netflix-ed season 2 and have been watching the first installment in bits and pieces. Granted, it does stick out a bit in my netflix queue, among a rather large assortment of documentaries and indie films just waiting to stop in for a visit, but it is quite funny. I think it makes me appreciate the little nuances and oddities of my own (cubicle-free) bill-paying job a bit more.

3. I'm seriously considering a quick little day-trip to Dallas sometime soon. I need a little getaway, a refresher--some inspiration. And so I keep dreaming of Anthropologie, Urban, and so on. And I'm a sucker for a little cropped jacket and I have a feeling I might find one at XXI Forever for next to nothing. I'm trying to decide if I should work in a trip to the Dallas art museum. But it is only a day trip. So we'll see.

4. I listed these two in the shop this weekend, with their third mate joining them tomorrow:





Yes, they make me happy too.

Hope you have little things that make you happy as well. Or big things. And I hope Monday treats you well.

xo,
Amy

scrumptious...

Some new goodies in the shop. I haven't really incorporated a lot of pencil drawing so far, but I must say that I am pleased with the results. I will be listing the originals this weekend. Should you be interested.



Clockwise from top left:

1. All She Really Wanted Was A Polar Bear
2. A Good Day
3. Happy Birthday, Rhinoceros

It's Friday! Well, officially, at least. I'm still working off the end of Thursday, but I'm off to bed.

xo,
Amy

knowledge, power, change

"Kicosehp NGO, Kibera Community Self Help programme, Kenya, Africa. This is the largest slum area in Africa with over 1 million people. HIV/AIDS incidence is very high. Support group for people living with HIV/AIDS. Materials prepared by the youth for the youth." (Credit: UNAIDS/G. Pirozzi)


I've been challenged lately by the idea that "knowledge is power". This is such a cliche, I realize, and I usually try to avoid overused phrases, but I think that this one rings true. I think, though, that what is more important than having the ability to gain power through knowledge, is what is done with that power. The most important part, I think, is that with power can come change. This project has been such a process, and I really don't think that it would have happened at all, or at least in this form, had I not educated myself about the true scope of the crisis in Africa, and had my sister and brother-in-law not done the same. I will be the first to admit that, quite honestly, I still know very little and I still have so much more to learn, so much more to understand. But I am trying to learn as much as I can, and I thought I would share a little of what I have learned with you:

The are 25 million people infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. That's 63% of the world's AIDS population. Two-thirds. (1)

About 2.1 million Africans died of AIDS in 2006 alone -- that's roughly three-fourths of all AIDS related deaths in the world that year. (1)

There are some numbers that seem to be improving, and many are receiving the much need antiretroviral treatment. The need is so great, however, and there are so, so many to treat, that only about one-fourth of those infected are receiving treatment. (1)

"AIDS has a female face almost everywhere in the developing world especially in sub-Saharan Africa where, on average, three women are infected for every two men and among the 15-24 age group three women are infected for every one man. Women continue to bear the brunt of the pandemic by caring for the sick and taking in AIDS Orphans more often." (2)

"By the year 2010, five countries (Ethiopia, Nigeria, China, India, and Russia) with 40 percent of the world's population will add 50-75 million infected people to the worldwide pool of HIV disease." (3)

"The UN estimates that, currently, there are 14 million AIDS orphans and that by 2010 there will be 25 million." (3)


It's staggering to me. And overwhelming. And really hard to wrap my mind around.

I guess, really, what I would love to get across more than anything is that maybe, for you, it isn't Africa, it isn't AIDS. Maybe for you it's something else. The truth, really, is that there are plenty of causes, plenty of needs, here in the United States and all over the world. So what is it for you? There are certainly many other causes that weigh so heavily on my heart. And I hope that one day I will be able to make some sort of contribution to those as well. So what could happen if we took those things that have meaning to us, and we dove deeper and we learned more and we were moved to action? What would happen? What could change? Something to think about, I guess. I'm certainly not wanting to sound like I have everything figured out, because I definitely don't. But this really has been on my heart lately. Yours too, perhaps?

Hope you had a nice weekend. Mine absolutely flew by. So, so fast. Happy June!

xo,
Amy

Some citations, should you be curious:
1. UNAIDS 2006 AIDS Epidemic Update
2. Keep a Child Alive
2. Until There's A Cure - Vital Statistics