Dr John Takes The Battle Against

AIDS To Kids In The Street

By Tanjua Damon

John Chittick’s office is an unusual space. Its area spreads from city to town across continents around the world. His job of educating teens about the new and silently spreading youth epidemic of HIV and AIDS is one about which he is passionate.

Dr Chittick, EdD from Harvard University, is the executive director of TeenAIDS-Peer Corps. He has been walking around the world educating young people about HIV and AIDS. Dr Chittick has walked in 40 countries on all the continents talking to youth and encouraging them to talk to their friends, giving them the important information about the disease that still has no cure. He hopes that the teens he reaches start a chain of good information so that teens understand how the virus is passed and what they can do to be responsible.

“The message I try to give young people is something real is happening. There is a new wave of teen AIDS,” Dr Chittick said. “If I put it in terms of ‘you can save a friend’s life,’ the bonding relationship with teenage friends is so strong, I think it’s the one way to motivate them. They all have someone they love.”

Dr Chittick spent time speaking to students at the Alternative School and Newtown High School. He also joined with Newtown Youths Creating AIDS Awareness for Peers (NYCAAP) Friday, November 2, on the streets of Newtown.

“Most of my work is done on the streets. Your generation right now is the most at risk,” Dr Chittick told a group of Newtown High School students. “You are teenagers. You don’t have time to volunteer all those hours and be social workers. But you guys, at least every teenager, can try to save your best friend.”

Known as Dr John, in each city or town he visits, he recruits and trains teens to be able to continue the work of educating teens about HIV and AIDS. Educating is not just simply spilling out a bunch of statistics. The “walkers” also perform skits dealing with HIV and AIDS issues that encourage the teens on the streets to engage in conversation as well as ask questions.

“We’re planting a seed in that teenagers will hopefully go out and tell their friends,” Dr John said. “In America, you have a choice, you have the education. You can stop AIDS before it enters your body. You should be very happy you live in a country that will give you that information.”

Africa is a devastated continent, Dr Chittick said. One in three people has AIDS. A half million babies a year are born in the world with HIV. Many countries Dr John visits do not allow people to talk frankly about sex. There are also countries where he is unable to speak to a woman directly because of the culture so in those countries he recruits and trains young women so they can provide the education.

He told the students about a visit to India. A woman there had contracted the disease from her husband who had died of the disease. Her family and her village treated her badly because they were uneducated about HIV and AIDS. Dr John asked the woman if he could touch her arm. At first she refused because it was against the culture. But he explained to her that he wanted to show the people that an American could touch her and be safe.

Dr John told the students that one out four new cases occurred in people between the ages of 13 and 19. The greatest cause for AIDS is needles used for heroin and piercings in general.

This was Dr Chittick first street visit in Western Connecticut. He hopes that teens will see the seriousness of his message and start spreading it to their friends.

“Newtown is pretty protected place. Life here is pretty safe, I’m guessing,” he said. “I think sometimes life looks pretty comfortable here. They probably don’t look at city problems as theirs.

“This is a universal pandemic,” Dr John added. “It equally affects all teens. Newtown is not immune to this problem.”

Dr Chittick realizes how busy teenagers are these days, but he hopes that the youth will realize that the choices they make can affect them in the future.

“I think it’s hard for kids with a lot of responsibility to take something else on. Kids know very well exactly what’s going on in their community,” Dr John said. “They need to accept responsibility to help their peers. This in one of the few school districts that has a program that goes to the middle school.”

Dr Chittick began walking on the streets in 1992 in the Dominican Republic. He hopes that his program will be an opportunity to provide equal education and equal protection to all teens around the world. Dr John explained that integrating among youths has changed greatly. Students travel to foreign countries or study abroad and making sure they all have appropriate information is the best way to help youths make responsible decisions.

“As a student I thought he was real informative trying to get kids to interact,” NYCAAP member Cannon Jones said. “I think he was better as an AIDS educator because he’s had so much experience. Those stories are more compelling than statistics. It gives me an idea of what I can do with my education and knowledge.”

On Friday, November 2, Dr John showed the NYCAAP members just what his street education is all about. The group spent time in front of Edmond Town Hall educating youths about HIV and AIDS through improv skits and information.

“It went really well. The kids were really receptive and talked with us,” NYCAAP tri-chairman Raquefette Kilchevsky said. “They seemed really interested. Once they saw some of the kids listening. They started to ask questions. I didn’t expect the kids to be as receptive and wanting to participate. Dr John helped us break the ice to talk to the kids.”

To find out more about Dr Chittick’s walk around the world, visit the website at www.teenaids.org.