BREAKING STONE SILENCE
Giving Voice to Aids Prevention in Africa

by Paul Terry

Breaking Stone Silence is about the astounding struggle over life and land in Africa and the resounding relationship between principles of prevention, community organization, social justice and community health...Like African masks that symbolize both bravery and death, AIDS, community action and prevention education represent Africa’s harshest legacy as well as Zimbabwe’s heritage of hope...

Breaking Stone Silence is about the astounding struggle over life and land in Africa and the resounding relationship between principles of prevention, community organization, social justice and community health.

Written to be accessible to both students and lay readers concerned about AIDS in Africa from a world citizen’s perspective, readers will feel challenged to place the global AIDS crisis in the context of the learning needs, hopes, privileges and responsibilities of those living in the western world. This is also a book for health practitioners and scholars grappling with the complexity of an unprecedented epidemic and feeling the urgency for insight into effective prevention interventions.

In as much as this book reveals truths about the despair of African life, the main message is about the spiritual resiliency and cultural notability of the Shona and Ndebele people. "Stone Silence" explores the dynamic tension in the black and white Zimbabwe community between those with moral courage and a commitment to social equity and those who just want things the way they were. Like African masks that symbolize both bravery and death, AIDS, community action and prevention education represent Africa’s harshest legacy as well as Zimbabwe’s heritage of hope. This book looks behind the masks--we see tearful eyes, inspiring smiles, a stark reflection of ourselves.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PAUL TERRY, Ph.D., is the President and C.E.O. of the Park Nicollet Institute, the research and education division of Park Nicollet Health Services in Minnesota. He was a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Zimbabwe and is co-founder of Shape Zimbabwe, an NGO committed to HIV prevention in Africa. He was a Kellogg National Fellow studying community capacity building in developing nations. He is widely published in professional journals and has co-authored patient publications that have won five awards of excellence from the Society for Technical Communications and five National Health Information awards. He is a nationally recognized speaker and co-author of four books including Well Advised: Your Guide to Making Smart Health Decisions.

CATEGORY
Current Affairs, Health Education/AFRICA