Malone worked as a family and substance abuse counselor and was a professor at Sierra Nevada College. She considered joining the Peace Corps in the 1970s. "After my daughter and son both graduated from college, I decided it was time for me to do some volunteer work," Malone said. "I looked into many different types of volunteer organizations worldwide, and the Peace Corps still seemed like the best option." Malone described Botswana as a middle-income nation making strides in the fight against HIV but said many challenges remain. "It's a culture that still recognizes multiple partners as normal," she said. "Fathers are not necessarily a part of a child's upbringing, and even if a mother is HIV positive, she still continues to have children." "It's a constant struggle to not necessarily change the culture but to add aspects that will stop the spread of HIV." Another task is reaching people in remote villages who don't understand the disease. "They don't have the facts about HIV, and some still think it's transmitted by mosquitoes," Malone said. "It's a very difficult challenge, one that the government and (nongovernmental organizations) are working on daily by getting people such as myself to go out into the village and talk with people one-on-one in a confidential manner and to answer their questions and give them as much information as possible."
Lee Ann Malone is on a two-year Peace Corps assignment in Botswana, working on HIV/AIDS education programs with schools and residents in the eastern village of Sebina
Peace Corps volunteer tackles many challenges
CARLA ROCCAPRIORE
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 12/11/2007
Lee Ann Malone finally is doing something that she put on the back burner decades ago.
The former southwest Reno resident is on a two-year Peace Corps assignment in Botswana, working on HIV/AIDS education programs with schools and residents in the eastern village of Sebina.
Since Malone, 49, arrived in the African nation in April, she has been implementing healthy behavior workshops and is planning to start a counseling and testing center in Sebina. The center would host support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and also work to prevent mother-to-child transmission.
In Nevada, Malone worked as a family and substance abuse counselor and was a professor at Sierra Nevada College. She considered joining the Peace Corps in the 1970s.
"After my daughter and son both graduated from college, I decided it was time for me to do some volunteer work," Malone said. "I looked into many different types of volunteer organizations worldwide, and the Peace Corps still seemed like the best option."
Malone described Botswana as a middle-income nation making strides in the fight against HIV but said many challenges remain.
"It's a culture that still recognizes multiple partners as normal," she said. "Fathers are not necessarily a part of a child's upbringing, and even if a mother is HIV positive, she still continues to have children."
"It's a constant struggle to not necessarily change the culture but to add aspects that will stop the spread of HIV."
Another task is reaching people in remote villages who don't understand the disease.
"They don't have the facts about HIV, and some still think it's transmitted by mosquitoes," Malone said. "It's a very difficult challenge, one that the government and (nongovernmental organizations) are working on daily by getting people such as myself to go out into the village and talk with people one-on-one in a confidential manner and to answer their questions and give them as much information as possible."
A campaign called "Abstinence, Be Faithful and Condomize" is under way, she said.
