Academic Program

HIV/AIDS Prevention Project: The HIV/AIDS pandemic is among the worst health crises that the Caribbean region, and by extension, the world has had to face. Since its emergence in Trinidad and Tobago in 1983, the disease has already laid claim to many lives, threatens economic devastation and harbors the potential to reverse the nation's development gains. Therefore, the Office of the Prime Minister has charged the National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC) to initiate a five-year (January, 2004 – December, 2008) strategic plan with over 90 million dollars of funding to respond to the crisis. The two (2) overarching goals of the National Strategic Plan are:

•  To reduce the incidence of HIV infections in Trinidad and Tobago; and

•  To mitigate the negative impact of HIV/AIDS on persons infected and affected in Trinidad and Tobago.

Academics: Graduate and undergraduate students can earn 3 credit hours by registering for May session, HTH 490/590. We will meet 4-5 times throughout the year to become familiar with trip logistics, get to know each other and acquire materials and educational resources. A mandatory, three-day training will take place on campus prior to our departure on May 12. The primary objective of our course will be to provide HIV/AIDS prevention programs to citizens of Trinidad as well as assist in various research efforts under the direction of our sponsors, the National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC). We will also visit the Cyril Ross Nursery where children, ages 1 – 16, and infected with HIV live and receive medical care. We will attend presentations from representatives of UNAIDS and WHO/PAHO and tour medical facilities in Trinidad and Tobago.

Excursions: Trinidad and Tobago are the southernmost islands of the Caribbean archipelago, and are geologically an extension of the South American continent. Trinidad is separated from Venezuela by the seven (7) mile (11km) straits of the Gulf of Paria.

In Trinidad, we will spend a day taking a walking tour of Port of Spain, witness the Leather Back Turtles making their annual nesting journey on the northeastern coast, visit the Asa Wright Nature Centre, a protected reserve with the widest array of birds, flora and fauna in the Caribbean, hike to the Marianne waterfall, and sun at Maracus Bay. We will also visit the National Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

In Tobago, we will tour the Island and visit the Bloody Bay Rain Forrest. Finally, we will take a glass-bottomed boat trip out to Bucco Reef where you can swim, snorkel and enjoy a traditional barbeque.