Andrew Riplinger has seen first-hand the long-distance impact that the AIDS Foundation of Chicago ( AFC ) has had.
And this happened in Kenya, no less—which is where the 24-year-old Chicago resident was in mid-August when he answered questions for this story. And it was his eighth trip over the past few years to the African country.
"I am training with [ AFC's endurance training program, Team 2 End AIDS, for the Chicago Marathon in October ] because I want to raise money for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. They are truly an incredible organization on the front lines of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Chicago, across the U.S., and around the world," Riplinger said. "Training for the marathon with T2EA is a great way to raise awareness about HIV and also raise money for an organization that does so much for the cause.
"Also, I have personally benefited from the work that AFC does because they have funded a not-for-profit organization that I am a founding member of, the 'Rafiki Collaborative.' We work with organizations in Kenya to build their capacity to develop, implement, monitor and evaluation programs and services for people infected with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS. I feel like raising money for AFC is a way to support the work they do domestically, but also to help support their influence around the world, including our own organization's work in Kenya."
Riplinger, who lives in East Lakeview, is the international programs coordinator at DePaul University and also the executive director for the Rafiki Collaborative, which is a grassroots not-for-profit organization based in Chicago.
"Our mission is to assist in the development, adaptation, implementation and evaluation of programs and services that promote holistic health and well-being among people and communities impacted by HIV and AIDS in Kenya," Riplinger said. "Rafiki is a Swahili word meaning 'friend.' We bring public health experts from the U.S. together with local Kenya-based organizations to build their capacity and empower the community to join the fight against HIV/AIDS."
Riplinger and four others from DePaul founded the organization officially at the beginning of this year, but they have been doing HIV/AIDS work in Kenya since 2005.
"I am a founding board member and the current executive director of the Rafiki Collaborative; however, no one in our organization is paid for the work we do. It is all 100-percent volunteer," he said. "While this can be challenging for us, in that we must fit it into our professional and personal lives, it is extremely rewarding. We have the opportunity to travel to Kenya about three times a year and work with individuals and organizations that are truly making a difference in their community."
One such organization is "Youth for Life," based in Athi River, Kenya. They are a youth-run organization that promotes health education and empowerment for youth in their community. Riplinger and his cohorts have trained youth peer educators in "Youth for Life" who then go into the local primary and secondary schools to give HIV prevention education to their peers, start conversations about HIV/AIDS.
"We also received a grant from the AIDS Foundation of Chicago to open a Health Resource Library for the youth in their community to come access, learn more about HIV/AIDS and other [ sexually transmitted infections ] , and even pass out free condoms if they choose to access them.
"This has truly made an impact in their community. Every trip we make to Kenya we bring suitcases full of condoms and are constantly training more youth peer educators. They want the knowledge and education because they know it will improve their community and save lives. Doing work with the Rafiki Collaborative has given me an opportunity to put my skills and education into helping others, and I couldn't ask for anything more than that."
Riplinger will return to Kenya once more in 2010.
"Each trip to Kenya reminds me exactly how important the work that organizations like Rafiki Collaborative and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago is," Riplinger said. "At the Rafiki Collaborative, we always say that even if you are not infected with HIV/AIDS, we are all living with HIV/AIDS. It is a problem that affects us all. If one person in a community is living with HIV/AIDS, it is the responsibility of all of us to do something about it.
"Training for the marathon with T2EA and working with the Rafiki Collaborative is just one small way that I can do something about HIV/AIDS, which has devastated communities throughout Kenya and around the world."
Riplinger's most memorable Kenyan journey was in December 2008, when Riplinger and Dr. Gary Harper from DePaul conducted an HIV/AIDS education workshop with young men in a rural community. The workshop highlighted discussions of sexism and racism and how they fed the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Three months later, the two returned and again met with the same group of young men. They went around the room one at a time and talked about what they were doing now that was different. "Not only did they mention that they were no longer engaging in risky behavior, [ such as ] having unprotected sex, or having multiple sexual partners, but they also said that they felt empowered as young Black men to go out and change their community," Riplinger said. "They said that our workshop and our discussion about racism helped them realize their own power as young African men.
"I never thought that a simple three-hour workshop could have the power to make that level of change, but we go back every few months and see the change. They are talking about HIV/AIDS with their peers, their families, and they are reaching out to people living with HIV/AIDS in their community."
Riplinger finished the 2009 Chicago Marathon in 4:08 and he raised $1,800 for AFC through the National AIDS Marathon Training Program. This year, he wants to raise more than $2,000 through his T2EA training for AFC—and cut his time to about 3:45.
"Since the Rafiki Collaborative has received grant money from the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, and I have seen how that grant money has been able to help so many people in the communities where we work in Kenya, I feel like raising money for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago is in a way helping to fund the work we do in Kenya, or projects like it all over the world," Riplinger said. "I have seen firsthand the benefits that their Global Grants program has had, and want to do whatever I can do to keep it going every year.
"Times are tough these days for everyone—the economy is in recession, almost everyone knows someone who is unemployed and searching for work. Everyone is cutting back. But the recession is hurting those in less-developed countries the most. People there have little to no safety net in place for times like this, and international donors are cutting back on grants and other sources of funding. HIV/AIDS has the highest prevalence among the most vulnerable people in every society, in Chicago as well as Kenya. Now is the time to increase funding for HIV programs and services, not to cut the budgets and pull back funding. At T2EA, we are constantly saying that 'The economy is in recession, but AIDS is not,' and that is something I can really rally behind. It's time to stand up for the most vulnerable people in our society and work together to get through these difficult times."
So how do you train for a marathon while in Kenya?
"Luckily, the hotel where we stay in Nairobi has a treadmill, so I can get in my runs during the week to keep up with marathon training," he said. "Also, on the weekends we travel to a rural community called Thigio, which is right next to the Great Rift Valley."
Riplinger grew up in suburban Algonquin and attended Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock. He graduated from DePaul with a degree in psychology and political science in 2008. He is now a graduate student at DePaul in the International Studies Program.
"HIV/AIDS is different from other health conditions and diseases," Riplinger said. "While HIV/AIDS impacts each community differently, it has a way of disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable people in that community. This means the fight against HIV/AIDS is not just a fight against a disease, it is a fight against societal problems that make people vulnerable: poverty, sexism, heterosexism and racism. "
The Rafiki Collaborative is planning a fundraiser in Tuesday, Oct. 19, at Kafka Wine, 3325 N. Halsted. For more information, visit www.RafikiCollaborative.org .
To support Riplinger's T2EA fundraising for AFC, go to http://www.afc.aidschicago.org/netcommunity/rip.
