Health Care Advocates International (HCAI) has awarded a $10,350 grant to MdL to grow our HIV educational program in Honduras known as Charla Luz. HCAI is a Connecticut-based health and advocacy organization that serves the needs of the LGBTQ+ community.
MdL launched Charla Luz in 2013 to educate Honduran communities about HIV, its transmission, and advocacy. The program includes an interactive presentation that helps audiences understand how HIV is transmitted, how it’s not transmitted, and how the virus can affect the body. It also details the dangers of HIV stigma, the Honduran privacy law, and where people can access resources.
The Charla Luz team, made up of MdL youth and staff, has traveled throughout the country for presentations to churches, universities, businesses and international groups. Charla Luz has been featured on Honduran radio and TV. Our team has presented to thousands of individuals.
The grant will help expand Charla Luz to new locations, provide handouts and other materials for audience members, and create a video version of the presentation to reach new communities.
During their time at MdL’s group home, our youth are given the option to participate in the program. One young woman who was active in Charla Luz while living at MdL was honored this year at the 2024 AIDS conference in Munich, Germany. (For medical privacy reasons, we do not identify her online.) The young woman and MdL Executive Director Anna Jackson traveled to the conference in July. The young woman spoke to thousands of delegates about the effectiveness of outreach, the need to meet communities where they are, and to call on leaders to listen to the voices of the younger generation.
MdL extends thanks to HCAI for the grant funding, as well as to the World Council of Churches for including us in the 2024 AIDS Conference.