Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 17

wrK Wednesday December 28 1994 THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE A-17 i 1 4 i i Iv I'' "i- UZABETH Glaser died on Dec: 4 of AIDS as a resultof an infected blood transfusion 13 years agoIn recent years she had made a fundamental difference in the treatment of HIV infection and AIDS Previously no funds had been spent on pediatricAIDS research But because of her extraordinary energy millionsof dollars are now allocated to such research Writing about her the day after she died Jim DWyer of Newsday has beat focusing on pediatric AIDS rioted that this year the research money she championed led to the most Stunning success of allihe AIDS study programs A treatment was able to reduce -by two-thirds the chance that pregnant trainen with HW will give the djseaae lo their Onthe Evening NewsI" Dr AnthonyPsud an AIDS expert at the National Institutes of Health said of that new was a trial in which women -in- William Wong who were HIV Infected were givenAZT during the preg nancy and at the time bfdeliyay anri thert to child for a couple of weeks after And the transmissibility from the infected mother to the child decreased dramatically from255 percent in the mothers who were not treated to 83 percent in the treated mothersThis is a major impact both truly and potentially for thou- sands of HIV infected mothers and the transmissibility of the infection) to their children On the same day as Dr Fauci's CBS news report on the AZT study Patricia Kean of Nefesday interviewedPatricia Fleming the Hew White House director of AIDS policy Kean: recent study found that HIV-positive pregnant women who took AZT dramatically reduced the chances of passing along the virus to their newborns ta light of that -would you be in favor of mandatory prenatal Fleming: "No lam in favor of 1 tests to pregnant women and to all women I a violation of a rights to have not Consented "3 If there were a comparable breakthrough preventing the transmission of an ultimately fatal infection to a child testing the mother to find out if that virus would take place as an essential public health measure But where HIV is concerned treatment and prevention become a political issue Patricia Fleming says she would have providers thetesL That means voluntary counseling which does not offend the AIDS establishment But counseling is far from being totally effective So the new AIDS czar is actually saying that those mothers who are not persuaded to take the test or Who never show up at the hospital until it's time to give birth -7 will keep their privacy intact But their children will have theprivacy of the grave hi November Evening Newa" had broadcast another report on the remarkable impact of the new AZT discovery Dr Philip Pino of toe National Insti- -tutesof Health saklthat if all pregnanlwomenwere" tested for the HIV infection and then wre given AZr -many children's lwesrouldbesaved Speaking forthe opposition: Dr Ruth Macklin a bioethicist atthe Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York said: is an invasion of privacy It threatens the women's Macklin was asked: (the mother's) freedom that important that ypu might allow 15000 babies' Mjves to be poured down the 6 certain point" this prominent hioethidst atKV- swered balances freedom against fives We fii "1" wars to preserve freedom knowing that a certain "nuHibenofprople will On future Veterans Days will these early victims of AIDS be remembered as having given their lives for freedom? Meanwhile the American Civil Liberties Union ccm-tinues totuiequi vocally opposemandatory HIVtesting of mothers during pregnancy or at birth The ACLU like Patricia Fleming at the White House shows no concern for the HIV-infected child who of course cannot make the case for himself or herself Nat Hentoff isan authority on this first Amendment and the rest qf the Bill qf Rights my brother-in-law Ed- ward Wong walked along a narrow raised dirt path amid lush' green farm fields in Li Chee Cheun village which is an hour east of the Guangdong dal capital of Guangchou a picture popped into his head "My mom told us how she met my was remembering "She Said she was working the fields when someone brought a man -over to meet her She quickly washed her face and hands That man tumedout to be her future husband my father" Ed gazed over the fields now presided over by some first cousins he had just met In search Of and he marveled are prob- aby the fields shewas working in when she met my This magical IlOrYTC moment was part of my extended family's roots search in southeastern China last month' Edward Wong a vigorous 60-year-old retired Silicon Valley electrical engineer who is married to my sister Florence was one of our group His entire nuclear family wife Flo children Felicia and Brad was with him when he made connections with the children of one of his uncles All planned out Alter visiting the villages of Ed's mother and father both of whom had emigrated to Augusta Georgia in 1930 then to Oakland and who are now deceased he joined my sisters and me in our search for our parents' village of Goon Doo Hong What distinguished his visit from ours was Ed's advanced planning The trek to my parents' village wasn't planned in advance We even know whether we had relatives remaining in the village my southeastemChina The latteris a dear indicator extended family here is being touched by the rapid prosperity of the New China After Ed passed out gilts his cousins suggested we all go to lunch Our conveyances? Motor scootere owned family members or hired for the occasion A motor scooter caravan It was quite a sight: five visiting Americans) hanging on far dear life as pur' motley scooter caravan wended its way out of the village dodging traffic and pedestrians along the way and into Sun Tong an adjacent marketplace area The multi-course lunch for which Ed picked up the tab was delicious We then visited different homes owned by various brothers as well as an old structure once occupied -by mother father's village not far away is a stark contrast to his mother's much poorer with open sewers and little signs of viable economic life Them a granddaughter of Ed's uncle an his sidebeseeched Ed to contribute funds to restore a fallen-down family home She was egged on by one of Ed's maternal first cousins She also told him how much it cost her to clear the rubble from another family structure: Ed decided to reimhiu se her on the spot for that cost about US $35 a goodly sum here Similar to finding the rice field where his mother and father met Ed made another amazing discovery in his father's village Before coming to Cliina Ed went to the National Archives in Sai Bruno that houses immigration records of Chinese Americans and found a map of his father's village On that map was an that marked the spot of the home occupied by his parents just before they left for Georgia in 1930 Now he stood cm that William column appears on Weiinesdnys Fridays Sundays I father mother and three oldfit tersleft 61 years ago-We arrived unannounced and were lucky tofind some distant cousins trip' to his parents' villages was well thought out His Unde Robert who now lives in Oakland has visited this ancestral village a number of rimes aunt had sent an introductory letter on his behalf and drew up a detailed genealogical chart that guided him when he met six first cousins (two sisters four brothers) the children of another brother of Ed's mother These cousins range in age from the early 60s to muMOs Although not a surprise our convergence at the home of the third brother was nonetheless emotional and chaotic Ed had brought family pictures American soap and candies and plenty of (red envelopes with money) to pass out to all his relatives Other brothers and sisters came over from nearby homes to the third brother's sturdy three-story stucco house quite a few notches up from the dilapidated brick and tile-roofed structure we later found in my parents' village This house for instance has a flush toilet a rarity in rural China Alas it flushes directly into the village pond Ed's six first cousins are one of the more prosperous families in this village known for the bountiful spring harvest of li chees a sweet true-borne fruit Among them they farm crops for sale operate a mo- tor-scooter taxi service and have sons and sons-in-law who drive trucks and buses to Shenzhen one of tlie most prosperous cities of The Oakland Tribune 5) action! North Oakland wants to unlock its doors Peggy Stinnett Advertising in The Oakland Tribune has been a great success! The Trib's Action Ad program (which gives me 4 ads during a 7-day period) is appropriately named when we use that schedule we get' action! are very pleased with the response that our ads in The Oakland Tribune have generated" open in late summer "We feel optimistic because community leaders know the renewal of the neighborhood center is critical to the future of Northwest Oakland says Hanson few of the programs planned include child care job counseling parenting assistance and all of the traditional YMCA recreation and educational DOLORES Ward a school administrator for Oakland Public Schools in the area foresees the renter becoming a vital resource center for the community where the center and the schools ran work together providing grams for young people that build life skills and self-esteem After-school and summer programs will also work hand-in-hand with the school system said Ward The renter was limit in 1953 under Uic guidance of the late Josh Rose who was a director and branch executive of the YMCA Later he became an Oakland City Council member serving from 1962 through 1977 as the first African American on the council His widow Virginia Rose is an active YMCA supporter The building at 3265 Market Street is Jurt across from Hoover elementary school where 700 potential customers students In the school are waiting for those door across the street to swing open When they do a whole new world will open for a generation of young people Frggy Si inmil's column appears in TV Ukdlamt Tribune on Weilnrstlay amt Sumtays THERE are about 4500 school age kids in Northwest Oakland who live perilously with drive-by shootings walk-by dnig deals broken families homelessness and in some rases hopelessness So it docs seem strange that a wonderful recreation renter in their neighborhood that could provide wholesome fun and friendships is closed The door has been padloc ked for five years ITiis is the Robinson Baker YMCA described by old timers as bricks and mortar" that once was the spirit of the Northwest Oakland community" The "bricks and mortar" include a gym an indoor swimming pool a large kitchen dining and meeting rooms Just exactly what a community of 28 000 residents has been saying it needs for young people who are looking for wholesome things to do It was an institution in the for three decades until the fauna Prieta earthquake came rolling through in 1989 seriously damaging the building But the building still stands held up by a wonT-die spirit and waiting to make a comeback Oh if only the walls could speak I bet they would have plenty to aay about providing a healthy environment where young people can thrive Former Oakland leaders such as the late basketball great Don Barksdale and the Rev Earl Slur key former Fire Chiefs Sam Gold and Godwin Taylor and most visible of all former Mayor Lionel Wilson They knew and valued the Northwest Oakland 'T in the lives of young people Immediately following the earthquake in 1990 a fund raising was launched under the leadership of Wilson who grew up in West Oakland "For the youth who lived in the flatlands there the Baker YMCA was much more than a place to shoot baskets or take a swim It was a place that helped mold many of the current leaders of Oakland and played a major role in our said Wilson as he spearheaded the fund raising So why is the place still dosed five years later? The ramMign raised $300000 in pledges but fell short of an estimated $600000 that's needed to renovate and retrofit the building AS 1995 Ivgins so does a renewed effort to recqien the Baker YMCA An executive director of the center Sandra Hanson was hired recently to direct the ftuid raising She says the goal is in sight Lincoln Rode king a YMCA patron has made a generous gill of $100000 and a $25000 donation was made by the Kaiser Foundation About $43000 is being requested from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) capital fund of 1995 "We're going out to bid in January" said Hanson If all goes as planned the Baker YMCA should be (utc Estelle Dong South Sea Jewelers Oakland ft nunr Information about advertising with The Oakland Tribune call today fthc Tribune Rstall Advsrtlslna Clssslfitd Advartlalng National Advertising (510)208-6312 (510)26742 (510)293-2613 tw i sisMAAi smma rt r-i.