How WAIT Started

WAIT is a project of the Washington AIDS International Foundation, which was initated in 2001 by Dr. Chang Shik Yang. WAIT was initiated by Co-Director Kate Tsubata along with a group of parents and teens in the spring of 2002 as a unique way to reach youth with AIDS prevention information. From one team in Washington DC with 12 youth, WAIT has spread out, replicating itself to several new states and nations each year, at present to 15 nations and 8 states.

WAIT teams perform in schools, youth centers, health organizations and community events, in local areas, and internationally. WAIT teams perform at several hundred events each year, more than 2,000 times since our beginning. In 2009, WAIT has active teams in 8 states and 15 nations.

Locations

WAIT has trained youth in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Israel and Palestine, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Korea, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent, Grenada, Belize. WAIT trainees in international events have returned to their nations and carried out peer education activities including Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Afghanistan, The Gambia, Tanzania, Tonga, New Zealand, Nepal. Education of adult youth leaders has taken place in the Bahamas, and for educators from Tanzania, the Ukraine, and Togo.

US teams were started in 20 states. Currently active are teams in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, Kansas, New Jersey, Maryland and Washington DC. Not currently active are the teams in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, California, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Michigan.