December 1, 2009, at 5:09 pm
In the summer of 2004, I had an opportunity to visit and work in Tanzania for 6 weeks. Among things we did there, one highlight of mine that to this day haunts my mind was visiting an orphanage in Dodoma. Hundreds of kids were there alone, relying on one another, without their parents who have lost their lives to AIDS.
The kids there were talented. The older kids played the metal drums and sang to greet our group, while the little kids stood and looked at us with a gleeful smiles. They were adorable. After their presentation, they clung onto us, wanting to be held and be recognized. They crowded over our digital cameras as we were taking pictures with them. We played games with them and they were so happy, forgetting for a brief moment of their loneliness. We too forgot the pain of their lives when we were playing with them. Most of us left the place and cried in our ride back to our compound.
They too were infected with AIDS and they were going to die before they become adults. And they didn’t know about it.
We could see the effects of AIDS getting to them. We saw the skins falling off their scalps. They had marks on their skins. It was slowly eating them alive.
December 1st is World AIDS Day. I firmly believe in the need to see the pain that this disease brings to people around the world. For far too long our society has brought prejudice and neglect to those infected with the disease.
I invite you to read more about the disease and find ways to help.
Some organizations and reading materials I recommend:
- World AIDS Day
- Global Change.org
- CBC Story The global epidemic
- AIDS Research (Donation)
- World Vision (AIDS) – Donation
