I wasn't planning on posting anymore until after finals, but in honor of AIDS Awareness Day and how I feel about it, I had to write a few lines. The title of the blog is often quoted by many when asked about the victims of AIDS. Since the epidemic began its spread through sinful acts, many, especially Christians, associate everyone affected by the disease as a blatant heathen, deserving of the consequence of AIDS. However, how do you pass that same judgement on a child born with AIDS, a woman who contracted AIDS through her unfaithful husband (the biggest risk factor is S. Africa is being a married woman), or a grandmother who now suffers from the disease by caring for her HIV positive daughter's sores? It's a travesty that we condemn more readily than we understand.
I'm sure many of you are thinking, "This will never affect me; why should I care?" Colin Powell states that AIDS is the world's "biggest weapon of mass destruction," and it has already lowered the life expectancy in many countries of Africa to less than 40 years of age. Much of the workforce in these countries will soon be wiped out, leaving countless orphans and a continent of instability and devastation.
Though rigorous and complex, one can provide treatment for an AIDS patient for a mere $150 a year. That's about 1% of the income of someone at the poverty line here in the United States. One percent. Those drugs could provide 10 more years of life to allow a father to raise his children or a mother to be a mother and not leave her 15 year old daughter an orphan and caretaker of the entire family. Think about it.
In the meantime, I urge you to visit the following websites and support the effort to stop this tragic epidemic.
http://www.theonecampaign.org
http://46664.tiscali.com
Hope you guys have a wonderful holiday season and don't ever forget how blessed you are.
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2 comments:
Yeah. Because its distant to a lot of people, they tend to think that way. Mental Illness are also something that seems to be misunderstood by a lot of people. Good luck to ya as you finish out this semester.
Sadly, there's many people out there who still treat AIDS (and mental health) patients with contempt because of their condition. You could call AIDS the modern day leprosy in a sense though admittedly the situation has improved since the mid 80's/early 90's.
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