living with HIV

i do apologise for the length of this, and i know i am not a poltician or someone of much importance, but i have a voice and i have something to say and i know that some people, if not many, do come on this blog to see my pictures, so i ask you to give me some of your time to read this. thank you

in support of the lives that have been taken by AIDS, but more importantly, for those who are still living with HIV.

we have been educated and made aware about these issues and lots more, but there are many who aren't as lucky. we do take things for granted, and i, myself, in the past, have felt that sex education and lessons on STI's were pointless and "i'm not stupid, duh" is something i am guilty of saying. i failed to comprehend that just because something isn't happening to me or around me, doesnt mean its not happening at all. almost 34 million people around the world are living with HIV and since 2007, 2 million have already died. these numbers are big enough that you never know who is going to be included in it.

it doesn't matter whether you are male or female, black or white, gay or straight, from a developed or a third world country, anyone can get HIV and there's a misconception that those who get it bring it upon themselves, which maybe true in some cases, but not on all ocassions. who are we to blame the 2 million children who were born with HIV? who are we to point fingers at the illiterate couple who didnt even know what a condom is or does, or even if they did, felt obliged to follow the man they believe as being closest to god?

there are many misconceptions about the condition/disease itself and also about those who live or/and die with it. no it doesnt spread by touching or hugging someone who has it. no, its not just gay men who get HIV. yes, you can still have a normal life expectancy if right treatment is provided, so no, you dont die soon even if it can't be cured. yes, it is a very serious issue not only in the UK, but everywhere in the world. yes, we can make a difference...

there are millions who have died and many who are fighting to live with this disease that has no cure. just because it cant be cured, it shouldnt stop us from taking initiatives to prevent it in the first place so that someone else doesn't have to go through the same things that they go through everyday.
it must take a lot of courage to go on each day knowing that your body is not strong enough to fight even a cold virus or flu. the prejudice from the society and negative attitudes towards them really don't help much either! the disease itself hasn't got a cure, but this disease of prejudice has, and discrimination against anyone should not exist in any form. just because someone has HIV doesnt make them any less of a human than someone who hasn't got it. there isn't a written rule or a book that tells you so, so why do we do it? because everyone else does it? or because you think its okay to make fun out of it? whatever the reason there is, or whatever reason there isn't, it needs to end and we can all do something to make it happen.

sometimes ignorance is bliss, but is it really? when lives are being lost, and when there's so much that can be done to save those lives, ignorance is not bliss. so find out more information by going on websites such as ( http://www.worldaidsday.org/ http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/HIV/Pages/Introduction.aspx ) please share what you know, talk to your friends, talk to your family, your siblings and relatives. knowledge is only worth anything if shared. tell them its okay to hug a person with HIV. tell them and yourself, that they are the same as you, or anyone of us. wear a red ribbon. the money collected from those go towards supporting the treatment and the research in the cure of HIV so anything you can give will matter, regardless of how much it is. if there's a programme or an event happening in your school/college/local community, go and participate. show your support. you may think it doesn't really make any concrete difference, but it does! if a person with HIV sees that they have so much support from other people, they may not feel like they have to hide the fact that they have HIV to avoid facing discrimination whether at work or from society in general. having them see so many people taking part in raising awareness, telling others what they didn't know before, or just reinforcing what they did know, doing something to help them, by donating money or just by being there... yes it does make a difference, not only to them, as victims, but also to those who might be one as well, but because you've done something about it, they would then be less likely to get it.

SO PLEASE DO SOMETHING! (click on the link for ways you can help!)

thank you for reading, i'm sorry i havent uploaded any pictures on this blog in a long time. i promise i havent stopped taking pictures. its just that other things have taken more priority and i am not able to spend as much time editing the pictures that i have taken in the past few weeks and even months! i'll try to not disappear for longer.

gyan