Still full of the joy they felt from last weekend's Children's
Day, a group of Chinese youth came together again on June 8, this
time offering their loving care to those children living with
HIV/AIDS and arming themselves with information
about the disease.
The United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) Beijing Office
held a welfare event at the Juyongguan Section of the Great Wall on
the morning of June 8. With over 600 primary students attending,
the event was designed to raise public awareness about the
situation of children living with HIV/AIDS.
The global luxury brand Cartier announced at the event a plan to
donate 3 million yuan (US$385,600) to UNICEF through its sales of
"Love Series" products in China. The funds will be used by UNICEF
to support programs aimed at HIV prevention and care.
Advancing UN's global campaign on children and AIDS, called
"Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS," UNICEF and the Chinese
government cooperated to launch China's Campaign on Children and
AIDS last year. Many programs have been undertaken focusing on
helping children orphaned or affected by AIDS as well as improving
young people's awareness of HIV/AIDS.
In her welcoming address, UNCIEF Representative to China Dr. Yin
Yin Nwe congratulated Cartier on the social responsibility and
leadership the company had shown through its support for the global
campaign. She expressed the hope that "other enterprises will
follow the Cartier example and lend their support to addressing the
epidemic which affects young people so much but where equally young
people are part of the solution."
Li Qimin, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National
Committee for the Care of Children, said to the students that as
the future of the country, young people should actively join the
campaign on AIDS, contributing efforts to support the cause besides
doing academic works.
Guo Yujie, a high school student from Hebei Province, is one of the "Loving Care
Ambassadors" of the campaign. She shared her experience
participating in the campaign with the students attending the event
and called on them to join her team.
The 16-year-old girl has contributed a large volume of stories
about her personal visits to children in AIDS families to
children-oriented publications distributed nationwide and has
spearheaded many activities in her school to inspire classmates to
help provide loving care to those HIV/AIDS affected kids.
Over 100 youth ambassadors like Guo Yujie are working in schools
and communities to promote "Learn, Share and Care": learning the
facts about AIDS, sharing knowledge with friends and family and
caring for friends and families affected by AIDS. "They can help
both disseminate information and reduce discrimination toward the
affected and infected," said Dr. Yin Yin Nwe.
China has in total an estimated 650,000 HIV/AIDS cases and
around 76,000 AIDS orphans. UNICEF predicted that the disease could
orphan more than 150,000 children by 2010.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Zhang Tingting June 9, 2007)
