March 16, 2007
THE GOOD DOCTOR
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International relations (from left to right): Housing Works Vice President of Health Services Dr. Marcelo Venegas, Charles King, Dr. Gao, Gracia Violeta Ross Quiroga and Regan Hofmann. Photo credit: Anna Moller |
Housing Works played host to a surprise celebrity guest on Friday, March 2, when Dr. Gao Yaojie, an internationally renowned AIDS activist and doctor from China, dropped by for a day of tours and meet-and-greets with Housing Works staff and clients.
“I am impressed at all the programs Housing Works offers,” Dr. Gao told Housing Works president and CEO Charles King through an interpreter. “You do very great work. The situation in China is lagging behind.”
Dr. Gao was in the U.S. to receive a prestigious Global Leadership Award from Vital Voices Global Partnership for her fearless AIDS activism. She was presented the award during a glamorous event in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
Portrait of a Hero
Dr. Gao, an 80-year-old doctor of gynecology, gained international attention in the mid 1990s when she blew the whistle on a government-endorsed blood-selling scheme and cover-up that caused thousands of HIV infections in China’s Henan province. Thanks to her efforts, the government closed the blood donation centers. Dr. Gao subsequently became an outspoken activist, traveling to villages around China to care for people with HIV and educate them about treatment and prevention.
Despite China’s advances addressing AIDS, the international activist community will never forget the blood-selling scandal—or Dr. Gao’s heroic role in it. “Dr. Gao has been a hero of mine ever since I heard about what she did in Henan 10 years ago,” says King. “She was nearly 70 and had no personal stake other than her conscience, but she risked everything to blow the whistle on these practices. China isn’t like the West—there, if you blow the whistle, you’re risking your life.”
Dr. Gao’s visit to the U.S. was not a simple affair. When the Chinese government discovered that she was to receive the Vital Voices award, she was placed under house arrest so she couldn’t travel to the U.S. to accept it. Fearing bad publicity, they attempted to cover up her detainment with media misinformation.
Through international pressure and news stories, Dr. Gao was allowed to attend the star-studded event convened in her honor. It featured Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Kay Bailey Hutchison, actress Sally Field, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Honored guest
Dr. Gao wanted to come to Housing Works because “it has one of the best model facilities taking care of AIDS patients in New York City,” says Wenchi Yu Perkins of Vital Voices, who accompanied Dr. Gao throughout her visit.
Dr. Gao toured the Keith D. Cylar House, the Bookstore Café, Housing Works Supportive Services Center and the 23rd Street Thrift Shop. Along the way, she met with three winners of the 2007 Keith D. Cylar AIDS Activist Awards : Gracia Violeta Ross Quiroga, Mark Hayes and Deborah Small. She also got to know many clients, including some who gave her one-of-a-kind pieces of art.
“It was a tremendously inspirational and magical experience, not just for all the clients, but for all of us here at Cylar House,” says Erick Morales, the facility’s executive director. “The clients realize the type of significance this woman had in China and in neighboring countries.”
At a luncheon at the Bookstore Café, Dr. Gao met with Housing Works staffers, board members, clients and Regan Hofmann, editor-in-chief of POZ magazine. “I find inspiration in other activists,” says Hofmann. “Dr. Gao used her own funds to self-publish educational materials and traveled to remote areas to personally treat people. That’s an especially admirable breed of activism.”
“I couldn’t have been more honored to host Dr. Gao,” says King, who threw together a whirlwind itinerary for her in under 24 hours. “At 80 years of age, she is full of spirit, energy and good humor. I was most touched by her clear affection for our clients. She greeted everyone with a huge hug.”
For more on Dr. Gao’s life and deeds, read Hoffman’s special report on POZ.com and look for an article in the May issue of POZ magazine, available at the end of April.