self-portrait, world aids day
project 52, week 32
When I grew up, in a very conservative church, AIDS was considered "God's judgment" on people for sin. I'm ashamed to say that at the time, I didn't know any better. I went along with it. I even, perhaps, believed it.
And then I grew up. And I learned that in Africa, wives are infected with HIV because they sleep with their husbands, that babies are born with compromised immune systems because their (innocent) mom has it. Suddenly, AIDS awareness is something I'm very interested in. And while I know that many people consider things like Project (RED) to be a waste of money, since they sell over-priced items and claim its for a good cause. But this is what I know: it costs twenty cents a day to pay for the medication to keep one person alive. Twenty. Cents. That means that for every four holiday drinks Starbucks sells today, one more day of life is purchased.
When I grew up, in a very conservative church, AIDS was considered "God's judgment" on people for sin. I'm ashamed to say that at the time, I didn't know any better. I went along with it. I even, perhaps, believed it.
And then I grew up. And I learned that in Africa, wives are infected with HIV because they sleep with their husbands, that babies are born with compromised immune systems because their (innocent) mom has it. Suddenly, AIDS awareness is something I'm very interested in. And while I know that many people consider things like Project (RED) to be a waste of money, since they sell over-priced items and claim its for a good cause. But this is what I know: it costs twenty cents a day to pay for the medication to keep one person alive. Twenty. Cents. That means that for every four holiday drinks Starbucks sells today, one more day of life is purchased.
You can give people life. How often do you get that chance?
Comments
You can get HIV from needle sticks, broken skin to mucous membranes, contaminated tattoo and piercing equipment, french kissing if someone HIV positive and has any broken skin/gums, being bitten by an HIV positive person...
1 in 5 positive people do not know they are HIV positive. Get tested, regularly people!