H. D wayne D avis
Alazar has penned approximately 100 letters
to famous black figures, but thus far has heard
little in response. He remains optimistic that
this aspect of his fundraising efforts will yield
results before AID S Walk, but says getting
adults to listen—let alone talk to him about
HIV—has been a frustrating undertaking.
“People don’t want to talk about [HIV]
with each other, and they especially don’t want
to talk about it with kids because there’s so
much bad stigma with it,” Alazar says.
At a recent trip to the barbershop, he tried
to persuade the barber to let him leave a flier
about his campaign, but the conversation was
quickly waved off.
“When Alazar got back to the car he was
asking, ‘Why can’t we talk about it? Why
can’t we talk about HIV in the black com
munity?’ Everybody at the barbershop was
black, and we were asked not to bring it up,”
Robert explains.
Robert helps Alazar with the typing for his
blog, along with email correspondence. Still,
he’s quick to note that his assistance with the
project is minimal. Upon meeting father and
son in their Southwest condo, it’s immediately
apparent that though the typical guidance and
support from Robert is strong, Alazar is an in
dependent, remarkably bright 11-year-old. His
goofy personality contrasts a serious focus on
his goals. Alazar is often told to temper vocal
izing to his peers what he knows about HIV—
which is more than most adults know.
“My dad tells me not to talk about it at
school because I don’t know what they know,”
Alazar says. “If you talk about HIV, you have
to talk about how you can get it, so you have
to talk about means of transmission, and I
don’t know if they know about that.”
Alazar rattles off data on individuals in
fected with HIV in the world, and their rela
tion to statewide and citywide percentages,
the same way other kids might discuss un
earthing secret levels in a video game.
“It certainly is rare to find someone as
young as Alazar that is such a strong force in
raising awareness and funds,” says Kaplan.
“He’s really quite incredible.”
Kaplan’s partner Sean Sasser, who became
a mentor to Alazar in 2008, spends time each
week with the youth, engaging him in conver
sations about growing up, being responsible,
having fun, and HIV.
“It has been a joy having Alazar in my life,”
says Sasser, who is HIV positive. “I feel hon
ored that he thinks of me as his mentor.”
Just a month before the AIDS Walk Portland
fundraising deadline, Alazar has already sur
passed his 2010 mark with 12,770 as of press
time. His A-Team is currendy in sixth place.
In the meantime, he continues to spread
his message to “be smart, get tested, and have
safe behaviors” to anyone who will listen.
“I hope people take after me and do what
I did. Follow my example, and talk!” Alazar
says. “One out of five people infected with
HIV don’t know they have it. By the time
they do, they have AIDS. If we talked about
it, everybody would know how to do the
right things.”
1220 NW Lovcjoy. Suite 130 • Portland. OR 97209
www. Bridgeview TeamRTG .com
503 319-4057
-
For more information about Alazar Manning,
or to sponsor, pledge or help him raise money for
AIDS Walk Portland 2011, visit ateamfund.
wordpress.com. AIDS Walk Portland takes place
Sunday, October 2. For more information, visit
aidswalkportland.org, and pick up the September
16 issue o/Just Out.
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