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Washington, D.C. — On April 4, Mary Beth Levin, assistant professor of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center, will depart on an incredible journey that began with the loss of a college friend and will continue in the mountains of South Africa.
Levin, in an effort to raise awareness about AIDS, will hike 75 miles, at altitudes as high as 4,500 feet, over a seven-day period in the Cederberg Wilderness Area of South Africa. The hike will raise money for research scientists studying AIDS, and for organizations in sub-Saharan Africa that care for people with AIDS. She will raise $10,000 for the cause. The first-ever trek is sponsored by Palotta Teamworks, which organizes annual AIDS rides and three-day Breast Cancer walks in the United States.
The AIDS Trek will coincide with the third anniversary of the death from AIDS of a college friend of Levin's. Levin and her friend, Beowulf "Wulf" Thorne, worked on various AIDS-related projects while studying at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Thorne went on to found and co-edit a magazine by and for people living with HIV.
"Wulf saved a lot of lives through his prevention work, and improved the quality of life of those already infected," Levin said. "He also had an impact on me personally. As a direct result of his influence and support, I have spent the last 14 years working in the area of HIV disease." At Georgetown, Levin teaches courses in health policy, community health and HIV advocacy, and is a consultant for multiple international organizations, including the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Levin noted that while Americans have benefited from the latest advances in AIDS research, Africans have not been so fortunate. The statistics, she said, are dire: AIDS is the single leading cause of death of all people of all ages in Africa; every day, 5,500 people die of AIDS in Africa; in sub-Saharan Africa, 17 million people have died of AIDS; in South Africa today, half of all 15-year-olds will die of AIDS.
To make a contribution, call Mary Beth Levin at (202) 332-3299. Donations of any amount are welcomed.
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Georgetown University Medical Center includes the nationally ranked School of Medicine, School of Nursing and Health Studies, the Lombardi Cancer Center and a biomedical research enterprise. For more information, visit
www.georgetown.edu/gumc.
About Georgetown University
Georgetown University is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university in America, founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. Georgetown today is a major student-centered, international, research university offering respected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs on its three campuses. For more information about Georgetown University, visit www.georgetown.edu.
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