UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS

December 1, 2007

World AIDS Day

Jamaica joined the rest of the world and commemorated World AIDS Day on December 1. I was in the town of Portmore in the parish of St. Catherine with my good friends from the Portmore Youth Information Centre and the Portmore Youth Council for the day.

Their World AIDS Day activities began with a road march, complete with a marching band, touring six communities. The festivities also included stops at homes and on “hang out” corners frequented by young people to talk to people about HIV prevention and the importance of not stigmatizing people living with HIV.

Our road march ended at the Portmore Mall, which is a busy place on any given day, but much more so on a Saturday. All the adolescents hang out there and since it is also the beginning of the holiday shopping season, people were out in throngs! It was the perfect place to offer HIV prevention education and voluntary confidential counseling and testing for HIV. Lab technicians and counselors worked for about six hours testing just over 200 people, the majority of whom were adolescents and young people.

The best part of the activities for me was to see the mighty team of young people who planned the activity and worked hard to see it through to the end. With UNICEF’s financial and technical support, they were able to bring their ideas to life and make their own contribution to reducing the spread of HIV in their communities. I was proud to watch as they interacted with their peers and adults alike, giving them invaluable information about condom use, delaying sexual debut and the importance of knowing your HIV status. For me, they are the epitome of this year’s theme of leadership.