Jerri Clout with Federal Health Minister Tony Clement. Photo provided by Maureen Clout. Tonight there was a reception for all the Canadian delegates at 6pm. There was a large group of us who have been meeting from time to time who gathered together.
Jerri Clout with Federal Health Minister Tony Clement. Photo provided by Maureen Clout. Tonight there was a reception for all the Canadian delegates at 6pm. There was a large group of us who have been meeting from time to time who gathered together. We exchanged notes on sessions and our individual experiences of the conference. My Mom and I were sitting and getting settled in when a woman named Kate came up to introduce herself to us. She was anxious to talk to mom about Partici-Patrick because she was a part of Kicking AIDS Out in 2006. She had been calling Mom from Vancouver to ask questions about an education program for kids about HIV and AIDS. She had heard we were in attendance and found us to say hello. We have become known around here as the mother and daughter team from Canada. Many people just refer to us as Jerri and Mama! She had no trouble finding us. Kate wrote a program for UNICEF about kids and prevention and has since moved on to a more permanent job in Banff and wants to stay in touch to bounce ideas off of us.
I was approached by the director of Kicking AIDS Out in Africa. She had heard me speak in an earlier session and was introduced to us. She asked if I would come and help them do a presentation on Wednesday. They have given me as much or as little time as I would like to talk about prevention, my work in Canada, Youth4Youth, Patrick4Life and my hopes for the future. I do not have anything prepared because I was not expected to be asked but here I go......I said I would be honoured! So I have one day to prepare.
Federal Health Minister Tony Clement was the keynote speaker and as he exited the stage I was encouraged by the Canadian group to go and introduce myself. I was the second person to speak to him and he was very gracious and spent a lot of time with me. I told him about my dream of having HIV and AIDS information in the school system and he told me he knew who I was, he had read about Patrick 4 Life in the local papers. He said that what we were doing was very much needed. I took the opportunity to let him know that I felt it was time for the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health to come together to find a way to work together for the benefit of school aged children right across Canada to learn about HIV and AIDS. He said it was a complex issue because education is provincial and health is federal, however,
he acknowledged that I was right that it was time to find a way to make it work. He reached into his pocket and offered me a business card to be in touch ... and you know me, I will! I was not rushed at all and he was very willing to listen to my point of view even though there were many lined up to talk to him. I am proud to say we had quite a large group of Canadians attend and we had a Health Minister present.
It was another very eventful and exhausting day at the conference, but I can say I have learned a lot and feel my work is making a difference.
Jerri will be sending BayToday a daily blog update, however, if you would like more information, please check out her websites : www.patrick4life.org or www.youth4youth.net. Also, feel free to email Jerri at [email protected]
