Our Volunteers

"AIDS beat me to Africa and painted every experience I had there." - Michelle, CAB volunteer

Thirty-four year old Michelle Johnson has been strongly aware of AIDS since she was a child. "I remember in middle school, my mother said to me, 'Don't go into the arts, you're only going to be attending funerals.' At the time, it was so very true. So many talented artists were dying from AIDS and I felt like nothing was being done about it."

Michelle's interests in international arts and music later took her to South Africa where she worked as a theater intern, helping to produce shows dealing with HIV issues. "AIDS beat me to Africa and painted every experience I had there," she says. Later, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cote d'Ivoire from 1998-2000, she worked with nurses who painfully sent people home to die. "I remember that the capital's best hospital had so many leaky roofs that all the patients were confined to just four rooms out of thirty. I held a friend's hand as she died, and I felt so angry at her husband who passed AIDS on to her and distraught for her three children who were about to become orphans."

Despite the deaths she witnessed, Michelle also recalls a feeling of hope. "During that time in Cote d'Ivoire, the rate of HIV infection was going down. There were amazing people doing amazing things. A group called Des Amis comprised of HIV-positive Ivoirians would go to village and town health fairs and say in front of a crowd of their peers 'J'ai le SIDA.' (I have AIDS). After they spoke, there was stunned silence. You could hear a pin drop."

Currently, Michelle volunteers as a CAB member for the Seattle HVTU. She was also recently part of an international vaccine trial. "My experience of going to the clinic and getting my blood drawn has been fine, nothing too exciting. However, what was thrilling was the idea that you could be part of something that could really change the course of the infection. It was also great to be a part of something so global. Unfortunately, the trial had to be stopped, and it was very disappointing, not so much for me, but for the people who have made this their life work and thought they were so close to finding something. That part was heartbreaking. Still, I'm proud I participated. My friends and family have been very supportive. They admire me for it."


Explore further:	Our Volunteers "AIDS beat me to Africa and painted every experience I had there." - Michelle, CAB volunteer Thirty-four year old Michelle Johnson has been strongly aware of AIDS since she was a child. "I remember in middle school, my mother said to me, 'Don't go into the arts, you're only going to be attending funerals.' At the time, it was so very true. So many talented artists were dying from AIDS and I felt like nothing was being done about it." Michelle's interests in international arts and music later took her to South Africa where she worked as a theater intern, helping to produce shows dealing with HIV issues. "AIDS beat me to Africa and painted every experience I had there," she says. Later, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cote d'Ivoire from 1998-2000, she worked with nurses who painfully sent people home to die. "I remember that the capital's best hospital had so many leaky roofs that all the patients were confined to just four rooms out of thirty. I held a friend's hand as she died, and I felt so angry at her husband who passed AIDS on to her and distraught for her three children who were about to become orphans." Despite the deaths she witnessed, Michelle also recalls a feeling of hope. "During that time in Cote d'Ivoire, the rate of HIV infection was going down. There were amazing people doing amazing things. A group called Des Amis comprised of HIV-positive Ivoirians would go to village and town health fairs and say in front of a crowd of their peers 'J'ai le SIDA.' (I have AIDS). After they spoke, there was stunned silence. You could hear a pin drop." Currently, Michelle volunteers as a CAB member for the Seattle HVTU. She was also recently part of an international vaccine trial. "My experience of going to the clinic and getting my blood drawn has been fine, nothing too exciting. However, what was thrilling was the idea that you could be part of something that could really change the course of the infection. It was also great to be a part of something so global. Unfortunately, the trial had to be stopped, and it was very disappointing, not so much for me, but for the people who have made this their life work and thought they were so close to finding something. That part was heartbreaking. Still, I'm proud I participated. My friends and family have been very supportive. They admire me for it."