Global HIV/AIDS Awareness above the 50th Parallel

The small community of Juneau, Alaska's capitol, is home to people of many faiths, including the Juneau Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, celebrating fifty years in 2007. Although JUUF is a small fellowship and a long way from centers of population, the congregation is still active in global AIDS issues.

On December 4, 2005, JUUF hosted Dick Adams, Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Artists Project based at Portland, Oregon's, First Unitarian Church. World AIDS Day 2005 was observed in part with the opening reception of a highly successful exhibit by the fabric artists of the Zimbabwe Artists Project. The women of this artists' cooperative in Weya, a rural community in Eastern Zimbabwe, and support themselves, their children, and the orphaned children of friends and relatives lost to AIDS, with the sale of their art. The money they earn pays for school fees, supplies and school uniforms so the children can attend the village school. ZAP works in the U.S. on behalf of the artists, creating opportunities for them to sustain themselves. Adams is scheduled to return to Juneau in May 2007 for another month-long exhibit and a variety of public forums on the political and AIDS situation in Zimbabwe.

JUUF is also active in the community. Congregation member Madeleine Lefebvre, who is a co-founder of the UU Global AIDS Coalition, is on the board of the Alaska AIDS Assistance Association (Alaska AAA). "Paint the Town Red" is an initiative of Alaska AAA, which seeks to increase awareness of the stigma of HIV/AIDS through education and by encouraging Juneauites to proudly wear the red AIDS symbol, which will be available at several locations in the city, in small red paint cans. World AIDS 2006 will include a community-wide "Paint the Town Red" event along with a candlelight vigil in downtown Juneau. An integral part of the Alaska AAA mission involves outreach to women and minorities affected by HIV/AIDS, primarily Tlingit populations residing in Juneau.

UUA President and UU Congregations Prepare to Observe World AIDS Day

Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St. | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100