-- Sir Roger and Lady Kristina Moore touched down safely in Beijing on August 4, and have already begun their mission to raise awareness and funds for AIDS orphans in China.
-- Their first major engagement was the Asian Football Confederation's 50th Anniversary Gala Evening at the Beijing Grand Hyatt Hotel, where table sales, an auction of football memorabilia and an innovative pledge campaign linked to the number of goals scored in the Asian Cup are all being used to raise funds for a UNICEF-assisted project that provides support to China's AIDS orphans, now believed to total some 78,000.
-- Sir Roger has talked about his work for UNICEF and the situations regarding HIV/AIDS and IDD in China in a series of interviews with international and national media, including APTN, Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, China Radio International and the Football Asia TV Channel. Sir Roger paid tribute to China as "a bright shining example to other countries in the world" through its achievements with IDD. He had also been pleased to note the governments determination to address HIV/AIDS so that China would never have to face the situations he had seen at first hand in Africa. He movingly recalled an old lady he had met in an African village who had told him that "we used to live like human beings, but now we live like animals".
-- Saturday evening, Sir Roger and Lady Kristina will attend the Asian Cup Final between China and Japan at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing. Sir Roger is really looking forward to seeing the game. "I hope that we will see a lot of goals" he said. "Not just because this will make for an exciting game, but because every time a goal is scored, AIDS orphans all over China will reap the benefits of UNICEF's Goals For Children campaign."
-- Sir Roger and Lady Kristina will travel to Xian on August 8, where they will look at the production and use of iodized salt. Sir Roger has been heavily involved over the years with IDD, both for UNICEF and Kiwanis, and points out that "Iodine Deficiency is one of the few global problems for which we have readily available and affordable solutions."
-- Upon his return to Beijing, Sir Roger and his wife will attend the Opening Ceremony for an AIDS orphans Summer Camp, which will be held at the Great Hall of the People on August 10. During this event, Sir Roger will meet AIDS orphans in person and talk with them about their experiences.
-- On August 11, Sir Roger will give a Press Conference in Beijing with Mr. Pu Cunxin, at which he will talk about his field visit to Xian and his other impressions of this, his first visit to China.
(China.org.cn August 7, 2004)
