Dawes

In an innovative way, Dr Kwame Dawes has been increasing awareness of HIV/AIDS in Jamaica through the Emmy Award-winning website livehopelove.com.

The website won the award in the category of 'New Approaches to Media' last Monday. The project, 'Hope: Living and Loving with HIV in Jamaica', was done in about six months. During several visits to Jamaica for the project, Dawes went to Hope's Hospice and Jamaica AIDS Support for Life. On the website, there are interviews, poems, music, photography and documentaries relating to HIV.

The Ghanaian-Jamaican poet said he is grateful for the award because it is possibly the first Emmy Award won for a poetry-based project.

"I felt good for the men and women who told me their stories and who gave of themselves and took risks in doing so. This project taught me a lot about the strength of Jamaican people, their capacity to be resilient, resourceful and generous even when faced with a hardship like HIV/AIDS," Dawes told The Sunday Gleaner, while noting that the project will help to put a human face to the disease.

"This work is not a sensationalised work. It is not trying to paint a picture full of clichés and shallow conclusions about Jamaica. It presents people with dignity, pride and strength. When such a thing wins an award like the Emmy, that is a good thing. Thousands will see this site, thousands will engage with these lives, and they will come to respect the people of Jamaica more."

grateful

Dawes also said he feels a great deal of joy for the people who worked with him, such as Josh Cogan, Nathalie Applewhite, Jon Sawyer and Kevin Simmonds. He is also grateful to the Pulitzer Center, which helped him with the project.

Working with people infected with HIV was also a rewarding experience for him.

"I was always impressed by their honesty, openness and bravery to tell their stories. I admired them. We had good laughs, even as we talked about very difficult issues," he said.

Dawes' work lauded

One of the persons Dawes interviewed while in Jamaica was Dr Peter Figueroa, who is the professor of public health, epidemiology and HIV/AIDS at the University of the West Indies, Mona. Figueroa lauded Dawes' work.

"I thought he did an excellent job of using different ways to bring home a very positive message. The more we can integrate our messages into culture, the better," Figueroa told The Sunday Gleaner, while noting that he is equally as happy Dawes received the award.

Dawes is the director of the University of South Carolina Arts Institute and the programming director of the Calabash International Literary Festival, which takes place in Jamaica in May of each year. He has published several collections of poems and his essays have appeared in numerous journals.

Being an active writer, he also believes the arts can play a huge role in HIV prevention and education.

"One of the greatest obstacles to AIDS prevention is the failure of people to see themselves as potential victims of the disease," he said. "People are fearful. They stigmatise the person living with the disease and thus stigmatise the idea of the disease. People can't imagine how this disease can reach them. They can't even think of the damage of this disease. But when they encounter a poem, or a song, or a painting that compels them to use their imagination and to enter the world of someone else, a barrier can be broken."

hopes to spark discussion

He hopes the project will lead to some level of discussion on the topic. However, Dawes said he was unable to state how effective the project has been so far.

He noted, though, that the late Trevor Rhone, who was involved in the project, wrote a play about the disease. This, he said, would help to make more people aware of the disease.

At the end of the day, Dawes said it is just one website. And, while he hopes it will help to bring about change, he said the real work is being done by the Ministry of Health and the various non-governmental organisations that work on the ground.

Nonetheless, he said the general feedback about the project and website has been good.

"People have said that it transports them into places they have not been to before: emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. They have said they have cried while viewing the site, and have lamented, and have smiled with pride and hope. They have said it is innovative and powerful," said Dawes.