HIV sufferers should be banned
Friday, April 13, 2007
The Australian Prime Minister has called for a ban on HIV-positive people entering the country.
John Howard said his government was investigating whether it could tighten existing restrictions to stop sufferers migrating to Australia.
Asked in a radio interview whether people with the virus that causes AIDS should be allowed into Australia as migrants or refugees, Mr. Howard said: 'My initial reaction is no.'
He said there may be 'humanitarian considerations' in certain cases, and that he would like to take 'more counsel' on the issue.
'I think we should have the most stringent possible conditions in relation to that nationwide,' he added.
'I know the health minister is concerned about that and is examining ways of tightening things up.'
Mr. Howard was asked about the issue during a visit to Melbourne, where the state health minister said this week 70 of the 334 new HIV infection cases reported in Victoria in 2006 were among immigrants who had arrived in the country with the virus.
Don Baxter, of the non-government group the Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations, said HIV tests were among health checks prospective immigrants were given already.
Infection was already grounds for rejection on the grounds that an HIV-positive person could impose an unfair burden on the public health system, he added.
'It's very tight already," Mr Baxter said.
Many countries, including the United States, impose restrictions on immigration and visa approvals for people with HIV, though there are often exceptions in special cases.
*************************************
I'd heard about these restrictions before but after reading that news article, it hit me that HIV/AIDS sufferers are still going to be treated with scorn and the stigma isn't going to ever go away.
If they can be barred from entering a country just because they are HIV positive, then how is the western world going to claim to be fighting the disease when they give it an "arm's length" attitude. It's not like they will catch it thru a sneeze.
According to the article, the US only allows "special cases" into the country. I wonder what special cases these are seeing as it makes no difference when u're infected. And they can't be going for treatment because ARVs are now available almost everywhere. So maybe the special cases they talk about are the positive persons that are going to attend a cetrain conference on HIV prevention.
This is really absurd and pathetic.
-Cheri.
PS: Original articlae adapted from Metro News @ metro.co.uk. Additional writing below the stars by Cheri.
Showing posts with label Fight AIDS. Keep the Promise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fight AIDS. Keep the Promise. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2008
The fight just got tough
Adapted from Metro News. @metro.co.uk
One in five people in Britain is unaware that HIV is transmitted through unprotected sex.
Experts fear the number of people with HIV, which can lead to Aids, will increase dramatically as ignorance about the virus grows.
About 21 per cent of people did not know that unprotected sex spreads the virus, a survey showed, compared with just nine per cent eight years ago.
And 31 per cent of people were unaware that sharing a needle also spreads HIV, compared with 12 per cent in 2000.
Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National Aids Trust, said: 'In recent years we have witnessed knowledge and understanding about HIV decline at the same time that HIV diagnoses have reached an all-time high.
By 2010 there will be over 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK if current trends continue. We cannot afford to be complacent about HIV education.'
Only six per cent of people could correctly identify the four main ways HIV is spread: unprotected sex, blood transfusions, shared needles and via breast-feeding.
Ms Jack added: 'Ignorance about HIV increases vulnerability to infection and also contributes to stigma and discrimination.'
But the Public Attitudes Towards HIV survey did show that more than two-thirds of people claimed it would not affect their relationship if a relative or neighbor had HIV.
-Cheri
One in five people in Britain is unaware that HIV is transmitted through unprotected sex.
Experts fear the number of people with HIV, which can lead to Aids, will increase dramatically as ignorance about the virus grows.
About 21 per cent of people did not know that unprotected sex spreads the virus, a survey showed, compared with just nine per cent eight years ago.
And 31 per cent of people were unaware that sharing a needle also spreads HIV, compared with 12 per cent in 2000.
Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National Aids Trust, said: 'In recent years we have witnessed knowledge and understanding about HIV decline at the same time that HIV diagnoses have reached an all-time high.
By 2010 there will be over 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK if current trends continue. We cannot afford to be complacent about HIV education.'
Only six per cent of people could correctly identify the four main ways HIV is spread: unprotected sex, blood transfusions, shared needles and via breast-feeding.
Ms Jack added: 'Ignorance about HIV increases vulnerability to infection and also contributes to stigma and discrimination.'
But the Public Attitudes Towards HIV survey did show that more than two-thirds of people claimed it would not affect their relationship if a relative or neighbor had HIV.
-Cheri
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Stigma is the bigger issue here...
I read a post over at Chichi’s in the (2nd and 3rd paragraphs) about the Red ribbon she wore on world AIDS day.
In the post, a much older colleague of hers asks her why she’s “advertising” her status with the ribbon. By this, that guy obviously meant that by Chichi wearing the Red Ribbon symbolised her infection with HIV/AIDS and positive living. This is very astonishing coming from someone that lives in Uganda (a country that has fought the HIV/AIDS virus so hard that the scars will never go away.) This guy works for a humanitarian organisation that provides food and aid to people in need. Most of these people in need are HIV orphans and victims.
Being an employee of this organization alone should bring him into close proximity with HIV patients almost everyday. And he still asks why she is “advertising” her status? And given that this man is higher than her in both age and seniority makes it a disgusting thing that he said that. I’d understand if it came for a 15 year old. But him?
Stigma is the biggest obstacle in the success in the fight against AIDS in the world. Stigma is the open aggression towards HIV/ AIDS. It is what we called “Pointing fingers” way back when AIDS had just hit. Way back when every “thin” person, or anyone with a cough or fever was suspected of having “silim”/Slim". It is this that gave the sufferers that embarrassment they suffered when they learnt that they were infected with the virus. I learnt that when u point one finger at someone, the other 3 are pointing right back at u.
Further down in Chichi’s post, there is another female colleague of hers that says that “she can never be close to an HIV positive person.” I think this is very careless and ignorant of her. It borders on illiteracy. When we were children (about 9 yrs olds) we hid from our relatives that were thought to suffer from AIDS. Because we thought they would infect us if they touched us. That was then. HIV was not talked about then and we could be excused for our actions because we were very young then and we had not been educated about HIV. For someone to still speak of such in this day and age is short of stupid.
In the past decade, there has been a huge transformation. 2 decades ago, when people found out that they were infected, most of them took their own lives because they saw HIV/AIDS as a death sentence. Infected people were excommunicated and shunned by everybody, including their relations. Suicide was seen as a way out.
When the government of Uganda fought AIDS by fighting stigma, this was a well aimed arrow. These days, many “high” society people are living positively with HIV and are well known activists. An example is ActionAid’s Beatrice Were. HIV should no longer be seen as a curse of a death sentence. It should be seen as a manageable illness. Just like Asthma.
I still think that the fight against AIDS is one that will never end if we still have adults that think like 5 year olds in this era of sensitization.
- Cheri
In the post, a much older colleague of hers asks her why she’s “advertising” her status with the ribbon. By this, that guy obviously meant that by Chichi wearing the Red Ribbon symbolised her infection with HIV/AIDS and positive living. This is very astonishing coming from someone that lives in Uganda (a country that has fought the HIV/AIDS virus so hard that the scars will never go away.) This guy works for a humanitarian organisation that provides food and aid to people in need. Most of these people in need are HIV orphans and victims.
Being an employee of this organization alone should bring him into close proximity with HIV patients almost everyday. And he still asks why she is “advertising” her status? And given that this man is higher than her in both age and seniority makes it a disgusting thing that he said that. I’d understand if it came for a 15 year old. But him?
Stigma is the biggest obstacle in the success in the fight against AIDS in the world. Stigma is the open aggression towards HIV/ AIDS. It is what we called “Pointing fingers” way back when AIDS had just hit. Way back when every “thin” person, or anyone with a cough or fever was suspected of having “silim”/Slim". It is this that gave the sufferers that embarrassment they suffered when they learnt that they were infected with the virus. I learnt that when u point one finger at someone, the other 3 are pointing right back at u.
Further down in Chichi’s post, there is another female colleague of hers that says that “she can never be close to an HIV positive person.” I think this is very careless and ignorant of her. It borders on illiteracy. When we were children (about 9 yrs olds) we hid from our relatives that were thought to suffer from AIDS. Because we thought they would infect us if they touched us. That was then. HIV was not talked about then and we could be excused for our actions because we were very young then and we had not been educated about HIV. For someone to still speak of such in this day and age is short of stupid.
In the past decade, there has been a huge transformation. 2 decades ago, when people found out that they were infected, most of them took their own lives because they saw HIV/AIDS as a death sentence. Infected people were excommunicated and shunned by everybody, including their relations. Suicide was seen as a way out.
When the government of Uganda fought AIDS by fighting stigma, this was a well aimed arrow. These days, many “high” society people are living positively with HIV and are well known activists. An example is ActionAid’s Beatrice Were. HIV should no longer be seen as a curse of a death sentence. It should be seen as a manageable illness. Just like Asthma.
I still think that the fight against AIDS is one that will never end if we still have adults that think like 5 year olds in this era of sensitization.
- Cheri
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Still Keeping the promise...
Thank you for putting up a brave fight. However, we need to re-arm now.
How time flies; it feels like just the other day that I talked about the Red Ribbon for the first time. And a year has gone by already. Another year and more good news on the HIV battle front. Well, not entirely good news. It’s just Uganda that’s doing well in that war. It’s shouldn’t be just Uganda that does well, the whole world should be ululating and jumping with joy. The prevalence rates in Uganda have fallen drastically from 21percent to 7 percent between 1991 and 2004. With this result, Uganda; which was once seen as one of the worst affected countries; is seen as a huge success story in the global fight against AIDS? This is a direct result of the awareness campaigns mounted by the government with assistance from international grants and donations. However, in countries like Jamaica, Dominican Republic Zambia and Senegal, the prevalence rates are soaring. Perhaps they should adopt the steps Uganda took to fight this disease.
Aside from all the campaigning and marketing, the Red Ribbon still continues to cause waves. Like the poppy campaign in Britain to remember World War heroes, the ribbon is worn in remembrance of the dead, the people living positively with AIDS and it also helps as a reminder to people of the danger of AIDS.
Teenagers here completely disregard whatever is said about protection. According to some sources most teenagers are more afraid of unwanted pregnancy than they are of contracting the virus. On a popular talk show here, the Jeremy Kyle show which features mainly adolescents with issues such as child custody, drug addiction, multiple sex partners and teenage pregnancies, most of the guests don’t really know much about HIV. Countries need to adopt stronger and more effective communication methods to get the vital information to the people in this age group as they are more in danger given their lax approach to sex.
People should stop thinking about HIV/AIDS as a disease that affects only people in developing countries as this stereotype only works to put them in danger. Reports show that the prevalence rates in Britain are rising faster than rates elsewhere in Europe.
It’s almost 4 decades since the HIV virus first hit and no vaccine has been discovered in spite of all the money and time sank into it. It has claimed more than 25 million lives worldwide. That is a little under the entire current population of Uganda. Each day, about 6000 children are orphaned. More than ¾s of these children are in Sub Saharan Africa and Asia. The statistics are sad. But statistics are not a way to win a war. Statistics only work to make staggering exaggerations.
The only statistics that matter to this fight are the increase in the number of people that choose to Abstain from sex until they get married; the number of people that choose to Be faithful to their partners and finally, the number of people that choose to use Condoms as a method of protection. As these numbers increase, HIV/AIDS will be kicked out for good hopefully.
Here’s to the continued fight against AIDS and stigma. And hopefully to an HIV free generation in 20 years.
-Cheri
How time flies; it feels like just the other day that I talked about the Red Ribbon for the first time. And a year has gone by already. Another year and more good news on the HIV battle front. Well, not entirely good news. It’s just Uganda that’s doing well in that war. It’s shouldn’t be just Uganda that does well, the whole world should be ululating and jumping with joy. The prevalence rates in Uganda have fallen drastically from 21percent to 7 percent between 1991 and 2004. With this result, Uganda; which was once seen as one of the worst affected countries; is seen as a huge success story in the global fight against AIDS? This is a direct result of the awareness campaigns mounted by the government with assistance from international grants and donations. However, in countries like Jamaica, Dominican Republic Zambia and Senegal, the prevalence rates are soaring. Perhaps they should adopt the steps Uganda took to fight this disease.
Aside from all the campaigning and marketing, the Red Ribbon still continues to cause waves. Like the poppy campaign in Britain to remember World War heroes, the ribbon is worn in remembrance of the dead, the people living positively with AIDS and it also helps as a reminder to people of the danger of AIDS.
Teenagers here completely disregard whatever is said about protection. According to some sources most teenagers are more afraid of unwanted pregnancy than they are of contracting the virus. On a popular talk show here, the Jeremy Kyle show which features mainly adolescents with issues such as child custody, drug addiction, multiple sex partners and teenage pregnancies, most of the guests don’t really know much about HIV. Countries need to adopt stronger and more effective communication methods to get the vital information to the people in this age group as they are more in danger given their lax approach to sex.
People should stop thinking about HIV/AIDS as a disease that affects only people in developing countries as this stereotype only works to put them in danger. Reports show that the prevalence rates in Britain are rising faster than rates elsewhere in Europe.
It’s almost 4 decades since the HIV virus first hit and no vaccine has been discovered in spite of all the money and time sank into it. It has claimed more than 25 million lives worldwide. That is a little under the entire current population of Uganda. Each day, about 6000 children are orphaned. More than ¾s of these children are in Sub Saharan Africa and Asia. The statistics are sad. But statistics are not a way to win a war. Statistics only work to make staggering exaggerations.
The only statistics that matter to this fight are the increase in the number of people that choose to Abstain from sex until they get married; the number of people that choose to Be faithful to their partners and finally, the number of people that choose to use Condoms as a method of protection. As these numbers increase, HIV/AIDS will be kicked out for good hopefully.
Here’s to the continued fight against AIDS and stigma. And hopefully to an HIV free generation in 20 years.
-Cheri
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Happy new year!!!!
Okay, totally inappropriate title up there. Only used it cuz it's been a long while since we last met here. No?
Well, alot has gone on here and there. But the highlight is an activity that took place at the bank premises last week on Wednesday and Thursday.
We had an awareness talk here at the bank. We had a guest speaker from ActionAid. Her name is Beatrice Were. It was the most amazing talk I've had/heard. And I've had/heard many. I love my job. Our HR dept provides such talks. This particular VC&T/T is the in-theme this year. We've had/heard about 5 so far.
Beatrice Were is HIV+ and has been so so the last 15years. She contracted the virus when she was on campus. She said, her life literally stopped when she got that bomb. Her husband died soon after they realised they were positive. Her father was there for her throughout the whole time and so was the rest of the family.
But she told us that during that time, everything that mattered to her, ceased to matter. She just sat back and awaited her death wih such eagerness that she paved way for it. Then after about 8 years;alive not seeming to die; she woke up and decided she wasn't gonna die afterall. So she went ahead a followed the dreams she'd cast by the wayside.
She went to school, completed her PHd and is pursuing her 2nd one by correspondence with a top UK university.
She met another HIV+ dude and fell in love. Together, they have a daughter. And 2 others from her previous marriage.
Beatrice looks absolutely great. Greater than u and me. Cuz she accepted he condition and decided to live through it. And with it.
From Beatrice' talk, we learnt not to die within after we got such bad news. It's managable if we really wanted to get on with our life. It is.
Her talk also revealed a bizzarre truth. The most recent studies show that HIV prevalence was rampant among marrieds. And that women seemed to be the most vulnerable one because they seemed to trust their husbands wholly. Because of this, they ignore the routine tests and go on to infect each other. It's scary!
Then on Thursday, we got the VC&T/T(Voluntary Councelling and Testing/ Training) team down. The whole day was spent taking AIDS tests and awaiting the results.
This was a test even on the safest person. You never know where u'll get the virus from. Earlier, Beatrice had told us she knew of people that contracted it from salons that used un sterilized gadgets and nails clippers. This scared us so much, seeing as I never leave the salon.
We took our tests, got free soda, chocolate, splash and candies. This was the highlight of the VC&T/T. We got lots to eat.
The real test came when we had to go back 30mins later to recieve our results. The suspense in there is nail biting. My heart wnet on rampage during this wait. My results;though came out as expected. NEGATIVE! But with the complimentary tummy churning and sweating that comes with so much anxiety.
It was worth though at the end of the day. So much.
According to the training we got......it's better to know your status. So u can seek relevant help from trained specialists.
And how was yo long weekend?
Well, alot has gone on here and there. But the highlight is an activity that took place at the bank premises last week on Wednesday and Thursday.
We had an awareness talk here at the bank. We had a guest speaker from ActionAid. Her name is Beatrice Were. It was the most amazing talk I've had/heard. And I've had/heard many. I love my job. Our HR dept provides such talks. This particular VC&T/T is the in-theme this year. We've had/heard about 5 so far.
Beatrice Were is HIV+ and has been so so the last 15years. She contracted the virus when she was on campus. She said, her life literally stopped when she got that bomb. Her husband died soon after they realised they were positive. Her father was there for her throughout the whole time and so was the rest of the family.
But she told us that during that time, everything that mattered to her, ceased to matter. She just sat back and awaited her death wih such eagerness that she paved way for it. Then after about 8 years;alive not seeming to die; she woke up and decided she wasn't gonna die afterall. So she went ahead a followed the dreams she'd cast by the wayside.
She went to school, completed her PHd and is pursuing her 2nd one by correspondence with a top UK university.
She met another HIV+ dude and fell in love. Together, they have a daughter. And 2 others from her previous marriage.
Beatrice looks absolutely great. Greater than u and me. Cuz she accepted he condition and decided to live through it. And with it.
From Beatrice' talk, we learnt not to die within after we got such bad news. It's managable if we really wanted to get on with our life. It is.
Her talk also revealed a bizzarre truth. The most recent studies show that HIV prevalence was rampant among marrieds. And that women seemed to be the most vulnerable one because they seemed to trust their husbands wholly. Because of this, they ignore the routine tests and go on to infect each other. It's scary!
Then on Thursday, we got the VC&T/T(Voluntary Councelling and Testing/ Training) team down. The whole day was spent taking AIDS tests and awaiting the results.
This was a test even on the safest person. You never know where u'll get the virus from. Earlier, Beatrice had told us she knew of people that contracted it from salons that used un sterilized gadgets and nails clippers. This scared us so much, seeing as I never leave the salon.
We took our tests, got free soda, chocolate, splash and candies. This was the highlight of the VC&T/T. We got lots to eat.
The real test came when we had to go back 30mins later to recieve our results. The suspense in there is nail biting. My heart wnet on rampage during this wait. My results;though came out as expected. NEGATIVE! But with the complimentary tummy churning and sweating that comes with so much anxiety.
It was worth though at the end of the day. So much.
According to the training we got......it's better to know your status. So u can seek relevant help from trained specialists.
And how was yo long weekend?
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The gist of it all......
We wanna welcome you officially to this blog. Under our theme, ‘Wear a Red Ribbon Today!’, we hope to add to the many voices fighting against HIV/AIDS around the world. Ours is mainly an awareness campaign through this blog and the blogosphere, all through which we believe more people shall come to learn about HIV and AIDS and shall, each one, strive towards living our lives more carefully. In this awareness campaign, we shall also promote the concept of “positive living” among people already infected by HIV/AIDS. “A friend with AIDS is still a friend” and “God loves embraces people with AIDS”.
Through the ‘Wear a Red Ribbon Today’ campaign, we are encouraging all bloggers with a heart to learn a little more about HIV/AIDS. This blog could be a good start for that. And as you learn more about HIV/AIDS everyday, it is our humble request that you advertise this knowledge through your wearing a red ribbon on any article of your clothing or accessories; the rationale here is that anyone who didn’t know about HIV/AIDS would ask you why you were the red ribbon…and this would be your cue to share your lessons learned on HIV/AIDS. You will have made a positive impact on the global fight against HIV/AIDS. One by one they say…
In addition, under the ‘Wear a Red Ribbon Today’ Blog campaign, we hope to get more people factoring HIV/AIDS into whatever they do. HIV/AIDS Mainstreaming: how does what you do (your work) increase/reduce vulnerability to HIV/AIDS for people that are not infected and how does what you do (your work) reduce/increase people’s vulnerability to cope with HIV/AIDS for people that are living with HIV/AIDS. In our future posts, we hope to tackle aspects such as these and others, more eloquently. So please stay glued here.
As you wear your virtual and physical red ribbons, please remember the reasons for which you were them and to share those reasons with others!
Cherie: “I wear the red ribbon because I figure it’s a simple way to remind myself of the “Promise”. Also, it’ll serve as a reminder to whoever sees it, of their own promise to stay HIV free. It will also encourage the HIV positive to live positively and protect themselves and others.”
Zack: “I wear my red ribbon to show my support for the fight against HIV/AIDS, but more importantly to remind me to factor HIV/AIDS in everything I do”)
This blog is still in its nascent stages and as a result, we ask you to bear with us should there be any changes with the template and/or layout design. We also welcome any feedback and/or positive criticism that you might have towards the initiative. We are thankful for the positive criticism from this blogger. You could do that in a comment or if it’s long, in an email. Our email address link is also present in the blog sidebar. If you want to contribute to this blog, you can also send us an email, and if possible, write a few lines explaining why you think you should participate in this campaign. This is a global initiative so applicants from around the world are welcome irrespective of whether your country of origin or residence is affected by HIV/AIDS or not.
As a good gesture, we shall be giving away a red red-ribbon freely to the first few bloggers (our rationale being six for each continent, but given we’re saying first to contact, then we believe it will still be o.k. if this number does not represent all the six continents) who request for them by email. Please note that this is just a promotional offer and once it’s over, we shall encourage everyone to go out and purchase an AIDS ribbon or other paraphernalia relating to the same, preferably from a cause that is supporting people living with HIV/AIDS in your local community or somewhere else around the world. Your money will go so far in the global fight against HIV/AIDS as a result.
Let’s go out and ‘Wear a Red Ribbon Today!’ you and me!
Friday, March 9, 2007
Jump in and join the fight.
Hey y'all
The "Wear a Red Ribbon Today" is a new initiative from Ugandan Bloggers to start an awareness drive. This drive is intended to remind people to do everything to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. Everybody is targeted with this message. Unlike all these other messages designed for this purpose, this one is a simple one.
It basically involves a small red ribbon and you! Wear your red ribbon everyday and it will get the message across. Your ribbon will serve as a reminder to u and to whoever sees it that they made a promise they aren't going to break. The promise here is to protect ourselves from HIV/AIDS. By Abstaining from sex. Maintaining a faithful relationship with your sexual partner and using Condoms.
With this, we sure gonna conquer this demon. But, we need to keep reminding people about it. Its simple. This is how.... The ribbon is not that huge, it'll only cover like a small area on yo dress/shirt/blouse/top/jacket-whatever, wherever. Its red, one color, so it wont spoil yo ensemble. As part of your apparel, its guaranteed to raise some eyebrows and questions. And this is where your sensitization comes in. U tell them about its meaning and how its gonna work.
This is how.
Its gonna have a positive impact on the person wearing it and the person that sees u wearing it. This obviously is gonna raise a question or two from the seer. From this question, the person that asks is gonna learn the basic info that u're gonna give....which is that this ribbon is supposed to b a symbol of your fight against HIV/AIDS. Simple as that. The seer will definately love the whole idea and ask for a ribbon. This is when u refer them to TASO and African village. They have some bracelets and bangles.
At this point, u're free to tell them more about what u think of the ribbon vis a vis your anti HIV/AIDS campaign. Anything to juice up the whole thing. Make it pretty with the truth.
I hope I've helped.
We'll have some ribbons for u guys soon,,,in about a weeks' time. So feel free to ask for one. We're still tryna devise ways and means to get them to u. One of us will have some at the BHH next week.
Be there.
And also, this blog is open to contributors(mainly anti- AIDS contributions). So anyone will be welcome to post up here. Once we're done with the blog layout and some other stuff.
So, hold your fire. By Tuesday next week, u could be a contributor.
The "Wear a Red Ribbon Today" is a new initiative from Ugandan Bloggers to start an awareness drive. This drive is intended to remind people to do everything to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. Everybody is targeted with this message. Unlike all these other messages designed for this purpose, this one is a simple one.
It basically involves a small red ribbon and you! Wear your red ribbon everyday and it will get the message across. Your ribbon will serve as a reminder to u and to whoever sees it that they made a promise they aren't going to break. The promise here is to protect ourselves from HIV/AIDS. By Abstaining from sex. Maintaining a faithful relationship with your sexual partner and using Condoms.
With this, we sure gonna conquer this demon. But, we need to keep reminding people about it. Its simple. This is how.... The ribbon is not that huge, it'll only cover like a small area on yo dress/shirt/blouse/top/jacket-whatever, wherever. Its red, one color, so it wont spoil yo ensemble. As part of your apparel, its guaranteed to raise some eyebrows and questions. And this is where your sensitization comes in. U tell them about its meaning and how its gonna work.
This is how.
Its gonna have a positive impact on the person wearing it and the person that sees u wearing it. This obviously is gonna raise a question or two from the seer. From this question, the person that asks is gonna learn the basic info that u're gonna give....which is that this ribbon is supposed to b a symbol of your fight against HIV/AIDS. Simple as that. The seer will definately love the whole idea and ask for a ribbon. This is when u refer them to TASO and African village. They have some bracelets and bangles.
At this point, u're free to tell them more about what u think of the ribbon vis a vis your anti HIV/AIDS campaign. Anything to juice up the whole thing. Make it pretty with the truth.
I hope I've helped.
We'll have some ribbons for u guys soon,,,in about a weeks' time. So feel free to ask for one. We're still tryna devise ways and means to get them to u. One of us will have some at the BHH next week.
Be there.
And also, this blog is open to contributors(mainly anti- AIDS contributions). So anyone will be welcome to post up here. Once we're done with the blog layout and some other stuff.
So, hold your fire. By Tuesday next week, u could be a contributor.
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