Kampala Key, Vulnerable and Priority Populations (KVP) News

Our life lays bare the options we have before us. We have to balance our agency, autonomy and self-determination with the fact that we live in shared spaces and use shared resources.  We are called upon to be charitable while at the same time self-preservation is paramount. Agency can only be beneficial when we address those basic needs and instincts while not sacrificing altruism and a sense of community.  Community’s ingredients are diverse and this is what makes life fulfilled and fulfilling. This sets our conditions. It does not mean we have to be able to please everyone but we have to have to have standards.  We should never allow disrespect for another human being just because they are different. This then negates the principle of diversity inherent in humanity. We refrain from making judgments, taking into consideration the complexity of people's day-to-day lived situations. 

In the arena and coliseum of public ideas, opinion and policy in Africa, sexuality, orientation and gender identity have stoked conversations and in whatever directions.  These conversations, have now becomes the tides, torrents and tempests churning political oceans in Africa. and the world.  But, really, is this a deliberate way able-bodied people are excusing themselves from being gainfully employed?  Do Africans have so much time on themselves, that they can afford to be wasteful?  In the article below, one reads about what has become trendy in Africa and elsewhere. The creation of mechanisms to indignify people seems to be celebrated now more than ever. Miriam Berger    writes: "Uganda arrested 16 LGBTQ activists. Here’s where else gay rights are a battleground in the world. This week Ugandan  police arrested 16 LGBTQ activists  on charges of gay sex — which is punishable by life imprisonment. Police arres...

NYC-Pride 2019 One day, a long time back in 2013 as part of a   planning meeting, I was asked to volunteer some time as a welfare officer for the San Francisco Pride Event. What this meant was that I would spend three days on my feet, running from one end of Market Street to the other. My specific work area was between the Castro and Civic Centre. My task was to ensure we had enough sunburn cream and I was the supplies coordinator. I had 12 stations to check in with. On day three, we were able to wind down and break up. By 2:00 AM, I was so exhausted but still smiling. What I saw, what I heard then, what I contributed to minute by minute was so thrilling and fulfilling. I volunteered the following year and in 2015 as well. In the subsequent years, I chose to be an onlooker at other Pride Events. One in Los Angeles CA, Boston MA, Chicago IL and Oakland CA. I had time on me and decided to volunteer at the Heritage of Pride, New York. I had saved some mone...