If you're clicking through our names then you've made it all the way here and someone has probably told you about the Ride Against AIDS and what we hope to accomplish. Let me tell you a little bit about myself and then a little bit about why you're reading about me here, as a rider for FACE AIDS.
My name is Lili Ferguson and I'm from Winnetka, Illinois, which is a northern suburb of Chicago. I just recently graduated from Amherst College in western Massachusetts. Going into college, I was convinced I was going to be a biology major and then go straight to medical school, but a course called Medical Anthropology quite literally changed my life and the course of my studies. I still graduated a biology major — as well as anthropology — and I still am going to medical school — and getting a masters in Public Health — but health and illness, culture and society, equality and justice have become much more nuanced, complex concepts. Which is why the efforts of FACE AIDS and the incredible work of Partners In Health resonate so strongly with me. HIV/AIDS is such a culturally bound disease and affects a community on every level — from family structure through economic productivity. I'm also an unabashed idealist when it comes to the power of passionate, dedicated young people, and in that respect I can't imagine a better organization than FACE AIDS with which to embark on such a journey. Then again, I guess we'll see how idealistic I am when the Rockies all of a sudden appear on the horizon!
So: 4,000 miles in 67 days is pretty crazy. But really, it's nothing compared to the journey that doctors, nurses, advocates, politicians, family members, and patients face when confronted with HIV/AIDS. My teammates and I hope to finish the ride and show that truly incredible things can be done, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles (the Rockies, again, come to mind). Dipping our wheels in the Atlantic will be a beyond satisfying end to the ride, but for the people with whom we speak along the way-the radio broadcasts, local newspaper articles, town halls and schools and rotary clubs where we present-for them, we hope this is the beginning. The most powerful thing about this ride is that our efforts extend far beyond our tire treads. Our legacy is you! And everyone else you listens, donates and continues to keep the efforts of FACE AIDS and Partners In Health in the backs (or the fronts!) of their brains.
Stick with us along the way, keep this team and this cause in the fronts of your brains, and maybe we'll see you along the way! Questions or thoughts? Shoot me an e-mail: eferguson10 [at] amherst.edu.