Wednesday, June 9, 2010

HIV and AIDS is Deadly

It is known in some quarters that there is a difference between having AIDS and being infected with the AIDS virus.
My work with a non-profit organization for 7 years confirmed this. As I worked with 100s of infected and affected people with the virus, I arrived at the same conclusion as well. As I travelled to many countries to interview and work with people living with the virus, I came to the conclusion that no one should die because of this pandemic in this time and age.

The key here is to know your status when in doubt. If you go to www.hivtest.org where many people have gone to take this step, your life may be saved. The sooner the better because when one is infected with the virus, you may not know and live normally and could be weighing as much as 500lbs. But after the virus has stayed within your system for a long time , after it has broken down your immune system, then will you have the full blown AIDS; a condition which can be reversed with medication if caught in time.

Contact and help resources:

I worked with ActionAid Ghana, an Affiliate of ActionAid International, a non-profit organization with offices in over 50 countries world wide including the United States where I live now. I travelled widely to many of these countires to interview, collate and publish our work on HIV and AIDS among others.

I coordinated and brought to Ghana and West Africa for the first time, the world renowned Positive Lives Exhibiton which shows pictures of normal looking people with normal body weight living with the virus. The purpose was to prove to people that everyone is at risk.

The following is the summary of the work I did while working for ActionAid on this issue:

  • Worked directly with people living with AIDS (PLWHAs) through training, counselling and interviews for our newsletters and website to create awareness of their situation for funding.
  • Gave talks to schools and organizations and at exhibitions about how the pandemic is contracted; how to prevent it and encouraged people to do the test to find out their status.
  • Taught people on how to inter-act and live with PLWHAs.
  • Attended the annual World AIDS Day representing my organization by setting up an informational booth showcasing our work through videos, brochures, posters and books.
  • Designed and published several promotional materials like brochures, pamphlets and books for distribution to schools and organizations

I have videos and materials to share. I am available to share, teach and collaborate with schools and organizations about this issue.

Please contact me through this blog for further information.

Meanwhile stay safe!