AIDS is a taboo and terrifying topic in much of the world. So
how do you teach people to prevent or treat the disease? Piya
Sorcar (’01) has developed a curriculum that has millions of
people watching and learning. In Rwanda, crowds who gathered
outdoors to watch World Cup soccer saw Sorcar’s animated
tutorials between periods in the game. In Tanzania, an activist
named Saruni Olodi wanted to show the programs in a village that
didn’t have Internet access. Sorcar’s nonprofit, TeachAIDS.org,
made the materials available on CD-ROM, but that didn’t work out
exactly as planned. “He told us he didn’t have Internet. He
didn’t tell us he didn’t have electricity,” Sorcar said. Olodi
managed to find a generator, fuel and a projector and show the
tutorials on a sheet tacked over a classroom blackboard. Sorcar
started offering her curriculum in five countries in 2009. It’s
now in use in 70 countries. Last year, she was named to MIT
Technology Review’s TR 35 list of the top 35 innovators
worldwide under the age of 35. It