We've heard about the current situation in the Senate and the seven senators that want to alter the PEPFAR bill. Our class wrote this letter to the editor of the Washington Post (also look for it in local newspapers) in response to the situation.

Dear Editor-

The U.S. Senate is currently addressing reauthorization of funding for the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Seven of our country’s Senators are stipulating a quota of PEPFAR’s funding solely toward HIV/AIDS medication, thus weakening the effectiveness of the bill. As a group of students who have spent the last semester studying the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS and the last month living in Tanzania, Africa, we have come to understand the many dimensions of this crisis. After a discussion with the directors of a Home-based Care Organization for people living with HIV/AIDS, regular visits to an orphanage, and complete cultural immersion, we advocate for the allocation of funding for a holistic approach toward combating the HIV/AIDS crisis. To be most effective, HIV/AIDS relief must include preventative education, income generation activities, counseling, care, and coping support, in addition to equitable access to medical treatment. Medication puts a band-aid on the problem of HIV/AIDS, but it does nothing to prevent infection. This pandemic has surpassed the need for a band-aid. On behalf of the people we met in Tanzania and for the sake of millions of people whose stories are yet untold, we urge our Senators and fellow citizens take an active stance toward ending HIV/AIDS. We must provide an entire first-aid kit when confronting this epidemic through federal funding. Please respond by insisting for the unstipulated reauthorization of the PEPFAR Bill.

̶ Wartburg College Students, Tanzanian May Term 2008

We walked to Luka's house today and started painting the walls. He started building in 2003 and it will be really nice when it's all finished. Tomorrow we're leaving early for a four hour drive to a village on the outskirts of the diosese. We're packing tonight for Zanzibar!

It's incredible to think that these are the last hours we'll spend in Morogoro. What used to be exotic has now become familier, and the seminary has become like a home. In addition to our letter to the editor we're sending in letters to each of our state senators. We've seen the tears in the eyes of the underpaid leaders of Faraja; we've seen the 14 & 15 year old girls that weighed less than 50 pounds. The children who have grabbed our hands and the men and women who offer so much hospitality to us. We've walked with the people here, or tried to the best we can, and have learned so much. Describing our experiences will not (and is not) easy. We can describe what we've done, but we can't describe what we've experienced. It's been challenging; it's been joyful; it's been a blessing.