I took this last Christmas in Kailesha, South Africa
Think about all the time you spend sending messages. There are the obvious ones – like the emails, the texts, the tweets, the Facebook posts. And there are the not so obvious ones – like the message you send your daughter every time you complain about your weight. Or the message you send your neighbor every time you’re too busy to look up from your cell phone to say hello. The message you send to the government every time you vote. The music you listen to sends a message; so do the clothes you wear and the car you drive. We send messages all the time.
So why not send a message that can make a difference?
Today, I’m participating in One’s 12 Days of Change: 12 ways to give back and change the world, without getting on a plane, without too much strain or disruption of your own life, without writing a check. Each day of the campaign, a ONE Mom blogger will announce a simple action you can take to make the world just a little bit better. So far, there have been posts from SelfishMom (not so Selfish after all, is she?), Upper Case Woman, The Culture Mom, Coast to Coast Mom, Mom it Forward Love that Max, and Her Bad Mother (not so bad, I’m guessing). I’m day nine, and my mandate is this: to get people to take a moment to send a message to people on the front lines of the fight against AIDS – to the people working the combat and control the disease in Africa – to let them know that they are appreciated and not forgotten.
It’s simple: leave a message of thanks or encouragement in the comment section below, and the kind folks at One (yes, that’s Bono‘s organization) will deliver the message to the people battling the disease every day.
I’ll start: Here’s my message:
Be proud. Because look what you’ve accomplished already:
- Currently, an estimated 3.9 million Africans are on antiretroviral treatment, up from 50,000 in 2002.
- Botswana and Rwanda have achieved universal access – treatment levels that reach at least 80% of patients in need – for antiretroviral therapy. Benin, Ethiopia, Mali, Namibia, Senegal, Swaziland and Zambia had coverage rates between 50 to 80%, demonstrating progress towards universal access.
- 54% of HIV-positive pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa received drugs to prevent the transmission of HIV to their children in 2009, up from only 11% in 2004.
- More than than 95% of HIV-positive pregnant women in Botswana received medication that assists in preventing mother to child transmission in 2009, up approx. 35% since 2005. (source http://www.one.org/c/us/progressreport/778/)
These are encouraging, wonderful statistics. And they send a message. A message that you have been working hard. A message that it’s working, that fewer people are getting sick, fewer babies are born sick, more people are getting the medication they need to live long, full, lives. So be proud. Be strong. Be assured that your work is neither in vain, nor taken for granted. You are making a difference in the world.
Now it’s your turn, readers. Your kind words to these health-care and aid workers can make a difference, too. So leave a comment. Tell these people you appreciate them. Then tweet out this post and tell your friends to do the same. Because wouldn’t it be nice to make a difference by making someone feel good? By showing someone just how many people over here care about what’s happening over there? (Remember, it won’t just live on this blog, One will deliver it to AIDS workers in Africa.)
After you leave a comment, encourage others to do the same by tweeting out this:
! @hip2housewife is sending messages of thanks to those fighting AIDS in Africa. Click over & add yours. http://ht.ly/7X96P #12daysofchange
And don’t forget to leave your own message. One Voice can make a difference. Why not let it be yours?
I used to think that the problems in Africa were overwhelming and that nothing could be done, but the message I want to give them is that now I get, logistically, how they can be helped. From giant groups like One.org that secure millions in aid money to smaller groups that help with start-up loans, mosquito nets, water purification, and other essentials, there are ways to help that make a solid difference in the lives of actual people, not on some faceless region that seems so far away.
My message is, we know how to help now, and we’re trying.
I cannot imagine the obstacles you find yourselves up against on a daily basis. The only thing I can imagine is the joy you receive when you’ve helped someone that otherwise would not have found help. That, in itself, is a huge achievement! I hope you know how much I appreciate what you do on the front lines of this fight against AIDS! Thank you for your brave, constant and, unwavering devotion to this cause! May God be with you and guide you on… to see that the light at the end of the tunnel is a little brighter this day because of people like you!
I can’t imagine doing that work on the ground day after day. Thank you for doing the work, reaching lives every day in a meaningful way and giving so much of yourself to make a horrible situation a little more hopeful.
Thank you so much for doing this work. It is incredibly important and I’m embarrassed that I needed to be reminded to send my thanks.
Thanks to you, too.
That’s amazing! It’s nice to know that something can be done to aid African people. I’m all for it!