Switching on an MP3 player and brushing aside a wall of dangling beads, Sol Eufracio leaves UCLA behind to embark on her journey into an African village.
Inside a tent, she assumes the identity of Stephen, a child from Northern Uganda affected by human immunodeficiency virus.
She stands in his bedroom, experiences his violent abduction by rebel soldiers, holds the gun with which he was forced to commit his first murder, and finally enters a health clinic where she awaits the results of his HIV test, tapping her foot with apprehension.
Eufracio, a second-year Spanish community and culture student, is just one of numerous UCLA students who has experienced “Acting on AIDS,” a virtual tour of HIV/AIDS-affected communities in Africa.
The display is currently housed in a tent at Wilson Plaza and was open all day Monday and Tuesday. It will remain open until 5 p.m. today.
Participants are guided through the exhibit by an MP3 player, which takes them down the path of one of three African children affected by the disease. The role they are given determines which rooms they enter throughout the tent.
Christian humanitarian organization World Vision International sponsors the tent on college campuses across the country and is partnering with organizations Campus Crusade for Christ at UCLA, Intervarsity Bruin Christian Fellowship, Passion Church and Navigators of UCLA to bring the event to campus.
The interactive tour takes a hands-on approach to informing participants about the issue, immersing them in the lives of those affected by it rather than simply relaying statistics.
“I had heard a lot of surface information about the pandemic, but dropping your identity at the door and hearing somebody’s story was really powerful,” Eufracio said. “You feel their heartbreak.”
Students said the intricate setup of the exhibit, designed to visually transport them to African communities, contributed to its emotional effect by bringing the issue closer to home. Eufracio said one of the most moving parts of the tour was seeing Stephen’s room and how it contrasted with her own living environment.
The stories presented extreme circumstances that shocked many participants out of their apathy.
“I had Olivia, and her story was horrible,” said Mallory Braus, a third-year English student. “From the minute I walked in there I just wanted to sit down and cry.”
But the tent experience was not universally praised by students. Second-year music student Hillary Smith said the information given was nothing novel or extremely startling.
“I’m glad they’re putting this on so that people can become more aware, but I don’t feel like it presented any new information,” Smith said. “It didn’t exceed my expectations.”
Offering an expressly religious perspective, the exhibit frames the issue of HIV/AIDS as a call to action for Christians to put their values into practice.
“While the tent is not just for Christians, the crisis is presented from a Christian perspective,” said Drew Aufhammer, a Campus Crusade staff member.
Aufhammer said Christianity provides a foundation from which people can work for positive change.
“I think that God, and the spreading of his love, is a part of the solution to the problem,” Aufhammer said. “We want to start seeing Christians take action and move forward in fighting AIDS.”
Emily Nickels, a fourth-year political science student and Campus Crusade member, reaffirmed the central role that religion plays in the exhibit and said many Christians have not responded adequately to the AIDS problem.
“I think there have been a lot of misdeeds toward the AIDS community by the church, and we are trying to right those wrongs,” Nickels said.
Students debated the utility and appropriateness of the exhibit’s religious structure. Smith commented on the shortcomings of the Christian approach in proposing tangible change.
“At the end they have you write a prayer for affected African communities, and I did not do that,” she said. “I feel like they should have proposed a more hands-on way to deal with the situation.”
But Smith said the organization was open about its intentions, so she did not feel she was being proselytized.
“I knew going in that it was Christian, so that didn’t bother me,” she said.
The awareness campaign will conclude with an evening program tonight featuring Princess Kasune Zulu, an HIV-positive activist, and Steve Haas, a Christian spokesman, who will speak about the ability of faith to address pressing global problems.