Are you a woman living with HIV and interested in sharing your story with others, but not sure how? Do you like to write or keep a journal? Maybe you are 22 years old, live in New York City and are dealing with dating and disclosure issues. Maybe you are 55 years old, a grandmother to 5 and live in a small town in rural Mississippi where the nearest HIV specialist is 75 miles away. Maybe you are pregnant, live in Bangkok, Thailand and only recently found out your status. A Girl Like Me, a program of The Well Project, is a safe place for your voice to be heard regardless of your race, background or orientation, and may inspire thousands of other women around the world as they read your posts and relate to your experiences. How can you become a part of A Girl Like Me? Read on.
What is A Girl Like Me?
A Girl Like Me (AGLM) is a pilot program of The Well Project with initial
funding provided by the YWCA. It is an online “blog” where women of all ages
can share their stories and promote understanding of HIV through online
storytelling. AGLM will utilize social networking sites (such as Facebook and
Twitter) to enhance traffic
of a national and global audience. For a preview of the blog, please go to www.girllikeme.org to
view an introduction (and first-time blog!) from The Well Project's
founder, Dawn Averitt Bridge.
What is a blog?
A blog is an online journal or diary where individuals regularly post their
thoughts and comments on events and experiences. Some blogs include several
individuals who post under one website, such as AGLM. Readers can leave
comments on the posts, which is an important part of many blogs. Bloggers (the
individuals contributing to a blog) can also post images or links to other Web
pages that are related to the topic.
What is the purpose of AGLM?
There are literally millions of women around the globe who are living with HIV
and AIDS, yet many feel they are alone in their disease and isolated in the
experiences they go through each day. The goals of AGLM are to help normalize
HIV and AIDS in women and girls, and to create a space for women living with
HIV from around the world to speak out and share their experience of what it is
to live life with HIV.
How does someone get involved in A Girl Like Me?
If you are a woman living with HIV and interested in participating in
the pilot phase of AGLM, please send an email that includes a brief
biography, why you would like to participate in this program and a sample blog
entry (500 words or less) to: update@thewellproject.org
by Tuesday, October 20, 2009. Please allow 2 weeks for a response to your
application.
What's in it for you?
If you are interested in contributing to AGLM, you will become a voice for
women around the world and will likely help thousands of others by sharing your
story. The Well Project will provide the website and platform for you to
participate in this online community, and will also provide support in setting
up your account to link to the blog. The Well Project also hopes to provide
online and/or in-person training focused on storytelling and media in the
future.
If you are selected, what will be expected of you?
You will be asked to contribute a brief blog (no more than 1000 words; blog
entries are often 200-400 words or even less) every 2-3 weeks for a period of
approximately 6 months. If you receive numerous comments to your blogs by
readers, we ask that you also periodically check in and post responses if
necessary. The blogs will be monitored and we will not allow any content that
is offensive or graphically inappropriate to readers.
What are the technical requirements?
All you need is an internet connection. We will work with you to create a
username and password and set up the account, as well as connect you to the
AGLM blog. After set-up is complete, you can sign on at any time and add to
your blog page.
Will this be viewed by the public?
Yes. We will be promoting this blog in many ways in hopes of reaching as many
women as possible. We encourage women to apply who are open about their HIV
status, however we will consider entries who would prefer to remain anonymous
and post under an alias as well.
