To all WAIT friends & family,

The Detroit WAIT team is born! They will be performing at a YMCA this weekend. The training report is up online.

Washington AIDS International Teens

WAIT teaches people of all ages, races, religions, and cultures about the science of HIV. We advocate getting tested, living abstinent until a lifetime partnership, and good health care for those infected. We teach through the performing arts and other talents and skills, including electronic media and communication. WAIT works with anyone wishing to stop to AIDS in their communities and across the globe.

The WAIT Team visits Parkdale

A Teacher's Experience

By Sandy Shorr

More than 150 students in Ms. Shorr's Health Issues classes at Parkdale High School were fortunate to have in-class presentations by the Ms. Tsubata and the WAIT Team.  Students were entertained by the performers and enlightened by the slide show.  There was positive feedback by students in the follow-up health issues class discussions.  The information about AIDS impressed Parkdale's students and it appears that the WAIT Team visits will have impact on the students view of HIV/AIDS and their personal behaviors regarding the virus.  It was meaningful to the students to see Parkdale classmates who are committed to the program and other students are interested in participating.

Local Action

Getting Down to Earth at New Hope Farms

By Teresa Ferrete

On Tuesday morning on April 10, about 13 members of the WAIT team ventured to the Smith Farm located in West Virginia to help with spring farm preparations. Uncle Erland Smith, the owner of the farm, guided us in constructing and preparing greenhouses to grow food, with an attitude of really caring for the land and working cooperatively with nature. He uses all natural procedures, no pesticides or chemicals- just the dedication of hard work. The WAIT members broke up into groups and worked on different activities, some of which took the help and effort of everyone on the farm.

We then took a break for a healthy and delicious lunch prepared by Mrs. Rieko Smith. Re-energized, we accompanied Uncle Erland to a river where we skipped rocks and enjoyed the serenity of nature. In the afternoon, some of the previous work was continued in constructing new greenhouse foundations, and removing old tarp beds. Soon, everyone gathered in one particular greenhouse to remove the weeds. Uncle Erland mentioned that he usually planted a new greenhouse each week, the process initiated by two days of weeding by himself. In only a few hours, our team eradicated all of the weeds. We were then graciously fed dinner and left fully-fed, accomplished and grateful for our experience.

By working on the Smith Farm, WAIT members began to understand the committed effort and work it takes to harvest a bushel of food that is usually eaten quickly, without much appreciation. It gave us the opportunity to work with a family in our community and to gain experience in the care and heart it takes to provide for others. We were grateful for the lesson of gratitude.

News from the State Teams
Louisville Performance March 31st

On March 31st, our companion WAIT team in Louisville, Kentucky asked for help in their performance. Our team in Columbus, Ohio, actually had a performance planned for that day, but fortunately (at least for Kentucky); it was postponed to a later date. So four of our Ohio team, including Hiromasa Passalacqua, Ilseuk Masuda, Harmony Becker, and myself (Gracie Becker) went down to Louisville to lend them a hand.

So we came by on the 30th, a Friday night, and got a night’s rest before the eventful day on the day to come. So on the next morning we got up with the sun and left for a 3 hour practice before we were to go to the performance. The performance itself was actually after the walk across the Ohio River, the main event. After the walk there was food and entertainment, but apparently most of the people left after the food.

However, there was a fair amount of people (20-50), and it was discovered that the most people were there for our WAIT performance. The performance consisted of only 3 acts due to time restraints (15 minutes), but with our 4 Ohio members and the Kentucky team’s current performers, we made it possible. First was the introduction to WAIT by Naomi Hayes from Kentucky, followed by the breakdancing act, which consisted of only 6 breakdancers, including the Ohio and Kentucky performers. The skit, introduced and narrated by Christina Anson from Indiana, performed with a mix of Ohio and Kentucky performers, was then followed by the Rose is still a Rose dance, performed by 2 Kentucky girls and the 2 Ohio girls; introduced by Katherine Williams from Kentucky.
The performance concluded with a short talk by Christina Anson and the audience’s spirits were higher than their numbers.

After the performance and clean-up of the area, we had the rest of our time with Kentucky free, so we could have fun! So on the evening of Sunday, April 1st, we hopped back in the van (a little reluctantly) for the ride home back to Ohio, singing and laughing and sharing experiences in the big red van.

Share your heart! Contact us on what you think!

E-mail: info@waitteam.org

Phone: (301) 577-1094

Address: 7752 Decatur Rd., Hyattsville, MD 20784