A Welcome
Welcome to HIV Stories Blog. The main purpose of this blog is to give viewers of HIV Stories a look at what went on behind the scenes, as I documented AIDS, Poverty and Faith in Mamelodi, South Africa during two separate trips. I’ve shared in as much detail and with little revision, my raw thoughts about what I experienced, including many ethical decisions I had to make. The goal of all this is to remain as transparent as possible, so that you, the viewer, know how this project happened. This knowledge should enrich your experience and understanding, though it may burst some bubbles (I welcome comments on the posts). In addition, I update this blog with news and info about how HIV Stories is progressing with benefit events, exhibitions of prints from the project and andy news from Mamelodi.
During the first trip, I was actually posting to a blog I share with my then girlfriend, now wife (married May 27, 2006) called Vicarious Summer. Those posts have been imported to this blog, and also remain on Vicarious Summer. During the second trip, I wrote notes almost every night on my thoughts and experiences, and have posted those after the trip. I will continue to post to this blog as needed, especially to update viewers on new information regarding the stories.
I know not all will have time to read all the entries, so I have included a few links below to some you may want to read first.
Finding the Story – August 5, 2005
Top Ten Things I’ll Miss When I Return Home – August 16, 1005
Faced With A Challenge – February 1, 2006
From Dust to Dust – February 6, 2006