Etta Eskridge (RPSM Internal Medicine 1998): Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance
What does a social medicine doctor do?
“One of the things I have done that I am most proud of (and feel it would be of interest to the Social Medicine Alums) is become a trustee for the Global Aids Interfaith Alliance (www.thegaia.org). This organization was founded in 2000 by a retired Episcopal priest (Bill Rankin) and a neurosurgeon at UCSF (Charles Wilson) as a response to the AIDS crisis in Sub-saharan Africa. The organization partners religious groups of any affiliation with village level projects in Malawi (one of the poorest countries on earth with a 15-40% HIV positive rate). These projects promote women’s empowerment, orphan care, home based care of AIDS patients and income generation activities tailored to the village needs. GAIA also trains nurses in Malawi and supports AIDS support organizations and infant crisis centers for orphaned infants requiring formula. I have done volunteer work in Malawi the past two summers in an Anglican mission hospital in Nkhota-kota, a Catholic parish in Mchinji, and a Baptist clinic with mobile clinics in remote villages. I am interested in promoting Global Health in medical schools and bringing medical students there in the future. I also give many talks on the status of HIV/AIDS in Malawi to churches, hospitals, schools, nursing homes and even a local Rotary club in order to help raise awareness of the crisis and how easy it is for us to help. Anyone with an interest in this subject or to learn more should go to the website and feel free to contact me by email or phone. I will be returning to Malawi in two weeks with a group of high school students and their parents for more clinical and youth oriented activities. (July 8-22). Thanks for the opportunity to talk about this worthy organization (they count Paul Volberding and Jay Levy among their advisors!)”
Assistant Professor of Medicine
NY Medical College and the Westchester Medical Center
eskridgee@aol.com
(914) 6462799
559 Gramatan Ave
Suite 202
Mount Vernon, NY 10552
Hi Ernesto, thanks for your reply and I am sorry it has been so long before I answered. I did not realize there was a post here! I can start by giving you the website for GAIA: http://www.thegaia.org. Please check the site and you can see that one can easily raise money for this cause, get some idea of where it is going to inform those who are donating and then donate directly on line. My email address is eskridgee@gmail.com. You can post questions there and I will pick them up sooner!! Many thanks for caring; the term in English is underserved, which indeed the Malawian people are, and yet they deserve everything we can do to help them reach their full potential! By the way, the people of Malawi are very musical, they sing and make a lot of music using drums, bells and instruments like the guitar. Music is a great way to connect with people of other cultures and a form of universal language that all people understand!
I am a Cuban living in the US.
I would like to know the best way to get involved with this organization.
I am an artist manager. My team and i are willing to contribute with the goals of this organization.
There are lots of artists who participate in concerts so that the money goes to serve humanitarian and charity causes.
Just let me know the best way for us to address this issue.
Our artist lives in Miami. His name is Emilio Veris. He is Cuban-born but was raised in Barcelona, Spain.
Emilio Veris and his team would like to thank this and many other organizations that are contributing to the well-being of many downtrodden and co-salled “undeserved” peoples around the world.
My best,
Ernesto A. Moran,
Jose L. Berriel,
Emilio Veri’ s Artist Management Project