Reaching 25,000 Teens

In July Dr. John B. Chittick '70 set out on a 400-mile walk through Poland, Croatia, and Bosnia, the fourth leg in his 18-month, 1,800-mile trek across five continents to teach teens how to prevent AIDS. Then it's on to Brazil, India, and eastern Africa before Chittick finishes his global mission at the next international AIDS conference—in Durban, South Africa, in July 2000.

Chittick's goal is to train 25,000 teens in AIDS prevention. Each teen will be asked to share the information with at least five friends. "Peer teachers are the most effective and practical tool we have to educate and empower teens to avoid the high-risk behaviors that ruin young lives and that of their offspring—our next generation," says Chittick, executive director of TeenAIDS-PeerCorps Inc. (Gary Brooks 70 serves as board president of the nonprofit, charitable organization.)

Backpacking a tent and laptop, Chittick travels with teen guides and interpreters. A cell phone keeps him in touch with MIT, which is posting daily updates on his progress (). He sees the trek—"a marriage of high-tech networking and low-maintenance walking shoes"—as a model for future global health initiatives.

Chittick enrolls teens as teachers in AIDS fight.