HIV/Aids Part Two

With reference to my previous post under March 2007 (NGO Charities & HIV/Aids).

I have brought the subject up again, as I hope the information will reach out to many more people out there. Almost daily there is more and more information on this Virus.

If you have not gone for an HIV test, I suggest you go for one! I know many might think it is Taboo, but to start a New Life we must get tested. Not only for your benefit but for the protection of others around you. Even if a pregnant woman is HIV, she can still give her unborn baby a new life and not to contract the disease by going on anti-retrovirals. Also if you know your status you can protect yourself by either living a better sexual life and practising safe sex and also by not passing the virus onto to someone else intentionally or without knowledge of having it. It does not mean because you are on the pill that you must not still use a condom. YOU MUST USE A CONDOM (And remember a condom is not 100% effective in prevention of transmission of HIV/Sexually transmitted Diseases or Pregnancy) If sexually active and you are not married, try to have a monogamus relationship with your partner. And if married, try to stay faithful to your partner and find ways to improve your sexual relations if you feel you might be interested in someone else. And also communication in any relationship is important.

But even if you have HIV, it is not the end of the world, you can still live a positive life filled with happiness. By taking care of your health, having a social life and making use of your talents, eating the right foods and going on Anti-Retrovirals and gaining Spirituality.

Usually with HIV infected babies/children they are given Nevirapine.

Nevirapine (Viramune) is an anti-HIV drug that reduces the amount of virus in the body. Anti-HIV drugs such as nevirapine slow down or prevent damage to the immune system, and reduce the risk of developing AIDS-related illnesses. As with other anitretroviral drugs, HIV rapidly develops resistance if nevirapine is used alone, so recommended therapy consists of combinations of three or more antiretrovirals.

HIV/Aids is on the increase by the minute.

Reasons being:-
* Lack of knowledge on the virus
* Ignorance that it exists
* Belief that God will perform a miracle (THERE IS NO CURE)
* Sleeping with a virgin or an innocent baby/child/minor
* Prostitution (lack of protection)
* Poverty
* Rape/Abuse
* Sharing of Needles used with drug addicts
* Contact with contaminated blood
* Infidelity between couples
* Mother to baby transmission

* Blood Transfusions (if the blood is infected and not screened)

* INNOCENTLY contracting it because of an unfaithful partner or one that did not know they had the virus

TB and Pneumonia can be HIV related.

The list can go on and on, but they are all true.

NON OF US ARE SAFE FROM IT, AS IT DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE, WHETHER YOU ARE POOR, RICH, HAPPY, SAD, A CHURCH GOER ETC

Some people might have not experienced the effect of it first hand, but I have. Someone very special to me died from it. It affected me so much because I saw what it does to you. You can look like incredible hulk then one minute you look as if you are a 10 year malnourished child, unable to breath without an Oxygen Pump, unable to use the toilet without a Catheter and unable to eat without being on a Drip. It is not a sight for anyone, but it is around us and eradicating the human species. It eats at your body worse than a cancer. As I said before it is viciously deadly.

SO DO NOT BE IGNORANT!

Look after yourself and others, protect your planet and enjoy it to the maximum, filled with happiness and love.

A Quote for you:

God loves you, and He wants you to be His child more than you want to be His. In John 1:12-13, He explains that even more important to Him than how you were born physically is that you become His child by receiving Him: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." God wanted so much to give you the right to become His child that he left the wonders of heaven and died for you. He has added to your family and your blessings, because now you not only have your natural family, but also the family of God, with members like Abraham. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:9, "So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer."

WWF

Being that i'm an online campaigner with WWF. I have adopted and now will sponsor a Black Rhino from Kenya (in the Nairobi National Park), called Kinyanjui. It is an honour to help assist in the protection of his ntural habitat and from poachers.

So you too can help endangered animals, that face extinction by sponsoring one or making a one off contribution, every little penny counts. It's not how much you give, but what you can afford goes a long way.

Info on Black Rhinoceros

* The black rhino is a herbivore & has a narrow, hook-lipped mouth for browsing on shrubs & bushes.

*They have 2 horns made from keratin, which is the same protein that makes up human hair & nails.

* Black rhinos can charge at 40 miles per hour.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization for the conversation, research & restoration of the natural environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in the US & Canada. It is the world's largest independent conservation organisation with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 90 countries, supporting 15,000 conservation and environmental projects around the world. It is a charity, with approximately 90% of its funding coming from voluntary donations by private individuals and businesses.

The group says its mission is "to halt and reverse the destruction of our natural environment". Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of three biomes (ecosystems) that contain most of the world's biodiversity: forests, freshwater ecosystems, and oceans & coasts. Among other issues, it is also concerned with endangered species, pollution & climate change. The organization runs more than 1,200 field projects worldwide in any given year.

Founders Julian Huxley, Max Nicholson, Peter Scott & Guy Mountfort.
Founded: 11 Sept. 1961, Morges Switzerland
Headquarters: Gland, Switzerland

Green Tips:

*Reuse plastic bags
*Use energy efficient light-bulbs
*Start a compost heap

*Don't leave your TV on stand by

*Use public transport when you can

*Use ecofriendly cleaning products

Cimate change, pollution, and over-use of natural resources are all capable of damaging the natural world.

By making small change to our everyday actions, we can help to protect the world's wildlife and the habitats it depends on.

AVERT

AVERT is an international HIV and AIDS charity based in the UK, working to AVERT HIV and AIDS worldwide.

AVERT has HIV and AIDS projects in countries where there is a particularly high rate of infection, such as South Africa, or where there is a rapidly increasing rate of infection such as in India.

They also take education and information to people in almost every country in the world through our highly successful web site, www.avert.org

AVERT's Work in Southern Africa

Some areas of Southern Africa have an alarmingly high rate of HIV infection and thousands are dying from AIDS. AVERT is concentrating on these areas not only to prevent new infections, but also to help those who are already directly affected by HIV and AIDS.

It is difficult to overstate the suffering that HIV has caused in South Africa. With statistics showing that almost one in five adults are infected, HIV is widespread in a sense that can be difficult to imagine for those living in less-affected countries. For each person living with HIV, in South Africa and elsewhere, not only does it impact on their lives, but also those of their families, friends and wider communities.

With antiretroviral drug treatment, HIV-positive people can maintain their health and often lead relatively normal lives. Sadly, few people in South Africa have access to this treatment. This means that AIDS deaths are alarmingly common throughout the country. It is thought that almost half of all deaths in South Africa, and a staggering 71% of deaths among those aged between 15 and 49, are caused by AIDS. So many people are dying from AIDS that in some parts of the country, cemeteries are running out of space for the dead. A recent survey found that South Africans spent more time at funerals than they did having their hair cut, shopping or having barbecues. It also found that more than twice as many people had been to a funeral in the past month than had been to a wedding.

As well as the death and suffering that HIV has caused on an individual and community level, South Africa’s AIDS epidemic has also had a substantial impact on the country’s overall social and economic progress.

It is clear that AIDS is having a devastating impact on South Africa. There are many possible reasons why South Africa has been so badly affected by AIDS, including poverty, social instability and a lack of government action.

SOS Children's Villages

SOS Children's Villages
http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/

SOS Children is the world's largest charity dedicated to giving a new family to orphans and supporting the remaining family of children orphaned by Aids. They help Aids Orphans and other orphaned children in almost every country in Africa (44 Countries to date).

Aids Orphans in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has a high incidence of HIV/AIDS - nearly 25% of the adult population and one in five orphans are as a result of HIV/AIDS. The current political instability has resulted in a limited capacity for social support. This has been exacerbated by drought. The outcome has been an increase in the number of orphaned and vulnerable children. Nationally the National Aids council of Zimbabwe has set up District Aids Committees with the support of USAID.

SOS Children's Zimbabwe Projects

SOS Children works with the Ministries of Health and Child Welfare and the District Aids Committees to develop programmes that help to strength families.

In Bindura, the SOS Social Centre has, since 2003, been co-ordinating an AIDS outreach programme. This programme reaches out to 2,000 children a year and provides them and their families with food, school fees, basic medical treatment, counselling and psychosocial support. Families affected by HIV/AIDS are offered support to improve their housing and their living conditions. Priority is given to children who have lost both parents and now live with grandparents, older siblings or other relatives, as well as those whose parents are seriously ill.

In Bulawayo, the SOS Social Centre has, since 2003, been co-ordinating an AIDS outreach programme. This programme reaches out to 2,000 children a year and provides them and their families with food, school fees, basic medical treatment, counselling and psychosocial support. Families affected by HIV/AIDS are offered support to improve their housing and their living conditions. Priority is given to children who have lost both parents and now live with grandparents, older siblings or other relatives, as well as those whose parents are seriously ill.

In Waterfalls, Harare the SOS Social Centre has, since 2002, co-ordinated an AIDS outreach programme with the aim of supporting children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in their own community. Following consultation with the local authorities, Glen Norah, a heavily populated suburb of Harare was chosen. Priority is given to children who have lost both parents and now live with grandparents, older siblings or other relatives, as well as those whose parents are seriously ill. The most urgent need was to provide food, basic medical treatment and to support the education of children. In addition the programme aims to improve housing and living conditions. This programme reaches out to up to 2,000 children a year. The long-term goal of this programme is to develop within the local community - people and organisations - full understanding of HIV/AIDS , so that, in the future, the programme is self-supporting within the local community.

If you interested in helping the situation in the Zimbabwe you might like to consider how to sponsor a child in Zimbabwe.

SOS Children in Zambia

The republic of Zambia is in south central Africa. It was potentially one of the richest countries on the continent, but is now amongst the world's poorest. The average daily income is about 60p. The economy has been in serious decline since the mid 1970s due to civil unrest and corruption, and more than half the population lives below the poverty line. Cuts in government spending on social services mean that people now have to pay for basic health care and education. There is an extremely high number of children in need in Zambia, either orphaned or neglected, due to the rural exodus in search of employment which is destroying the traditional concept of extended families or because of the AIDS epidemic. At least 50 per cent of Zambia's population are expected to die of HIV related diseases in the next three years. Life expectancy is 32.5 years.

The charity began its work in Zambia in September 1999 when the first families moved into the charity's Lusaka community, situated about 4 miles from the city centre in a densely populated and very poor area. The 40 acre site was donated by the Zambian government. The 15 family houses have been built in groups of three in the local style, using red burnt clay bricks with green roof tiles, and are surrounded by eucalyptus trees. The grounds have been planted with ornamental trees, flowers and grass. As well as the family houses, there is a youth house and a nursery which pre-school age children from the local community also attend and are given two meals a day, with priority given to children from the poorest families. A primary school and medical centre, which caters for 10,000 patients a year, have since been added as well as a social centre whose main focus is a community outreach programme for children and families affected by HIV/AIDS.

In Zambia there are 75,000 children who are homeless orphans, many affected by HIV/AIDS. SOS Children is supporting a project in Lusaka which will help 1000 street children. This will provide mobile education facilities and encourage children to attend the social centre for training in vocational skills. The social centre provides hot nutritional food, washing facilities and clean clothes.

A second SOS Children’s Village has been opened in Kitwe, the capital of the Copperbelt region in northern Zambia, an area of increasing poverty due to falling copper prices. The village has 16 family houses for 190 orphaned and abandoned children. There is also a nursery which focuses on children from the local community who have special needs. There is also a primary school for 700 children. The SOS Social Centre provides practical help and counselling to 2000 families in the local community affected by HIV/AIDS. The SOS Medical Centre treats patients from 10,000 families in the local community.

A third SOS Children’s Village is planned to be built at Livingstone, about 300 miles south of Lusaka. It will have 15 family homes for 150 orphaned and abandoned children, nursery and primary schools and social centres focussing on family strengthening and helping children and their families affected by HIV/AIDS.
Aids Orphan Projects
See also more information on our Charity's African Aids Orphan projects in Zambia.

Samba / Brazil

Samba

Samba brings about happiness, peace and harmony as well as laughter and is definitely relaxing and fun.

Samba is one of the most popular forms of music in Brazil.

Samba's roots come from Africa.

Typical instruments used to create the samba sound: surdo, tan-tan, pandeiro, cavaco, violao, tamborium, cuica, repinique, caixa, chocalho, agogo, apito, timbale & banjo.

The Origin of samba music history in Brazil, which today can be seen in awe at the vibrant Brazilian carnivals, can be found in Angola,Africa, from where it was brought to Brazil with the slave trading in the interval 1600-1888.

The word Brazilian Samba comes from Quimbundo language (the language of the area that became Angola) as “semba” and can mean several things. One meaning is to pray, or invoke the spirits of the ancestors, or the Gods of African pantheon. Samba could also be a complaint, a cry, or something like "the blues". Still another meaning is something of a “navel bump” which depicts the intimacy and "invitation" to dance. Today the word can also be a verb in Brazil as in “sambar” which is to samba (To dance samba)

The origin of Samba music has a lot of similarities with Mambo and Salsa, which are undeniably linked to slavery and the religious traditions of West Africa.

Though the people of Africa, samba history evolved by singing, dancing and rhythms which had ties into rituals culture and religion. You also find the samba rhythms in Capoeira (Brazilian martial arts / dance) and the Candomble (Religion from Africa), which today are a part of Brazilian culture and Brazil religion.

As the West Africans were forced into slavery in the strange foreign land of Brazil, the origin of samba music was preserved in their religious traditions by making them part of their daily life.

The governing forces demanded Christianity of their slaves and prohibited executions of worship to their orixá (their god / saint, protector and helper). To the African, dance and song is worship. So what the slaves did was to camouflage the ceremonies as parties with dancing.

The authorities weren’t fooled that easily and even up until the early twentieth century, police often raided "suspect parties". The need for secrecy made it necessary to conceal the meaning of certain dances and songs from the uninitiated. At times, to the annoyance of the "tias" (Candomble priestess, means aunt in english), musicians revealed and at the same time preserved the secret rhythms by mixing them with more accepted musical forms.

Candomble and the mixing with other music gave rise to a series of dances in the twentieth century, among them the origin of Samba music. To adherents of Candomble, the word Samba, means to pray, to invoke your personal orixá (god).

With the abolition of Brazil slavery in 1888, came a greater mobility for the population of Bahia (The state in which the city of Salvador lies and which was the primary target of the slave traffic). Many fled south, using samba as a way to survive. Samba is believed to have spread to Rio some time after 1889

Christ the Redeemer

Iguacu Falls

Brazil

Capital: Brasilia
Largest Cities: Sao Paolo & Rio de Janeiro
President: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Independence from Portugal 7 Sept. 1822, as a Republic 15 Nov. 1889

Brazil has the largest population in South America and is the fifth most populous country in the world. The people are diverse in origin, and Brazil often boasts that the new “race” of Brazilians is a successful amalgam of African, European, and indigenous strains, a claim that is truer in the social than the political or economic realm. More than half the population is of European descent, while another 40% are of mixed African and European ancestry. Portuguese is the official language and nearly universal; English is widely taught as a second language. Most of the estimated 150,000 indigenous peoples (chiefly of Tupí or Guarani linguistic stock) are found in the rain forests of the Amazon River basin; 12% of Brazil's land has been set aside as indigenous areas. About 75% of the population is at least nominally Roman Catholic there.

http://www.raceandhistory.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl/noframes/read/96

African Union

"An efficient & effective African Union for a new Africa"

The African Union, established as AU on 9, July 2002, was previously known as OAU (Organisation of African Unity) since 25 May, 1963.

Head Office is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and other administrative office is in Midrand, South Africa

Chairman: President Muammer al-Gaddafi of Libya (Jan 2009)

Commission Chairperson: Jean Pine of Gabon (diplomat and politician )


Previous chairman - President John Kufar of Ghana
Previous Commission Chairperson - Former President of Mali, Alpha Oumar Konare


The AU consists of 53 African Countries.

Languages worked in Arabia, English, French, Portuguese & Swahili.

The AU recognises to promote unity & peace among African Nations, Encourage democracy & good Governance and Economic growth.

AU Anthem

Let us all unite and celebrate together
The victories won for our liberation
Let us dedicate ourselves to rise together
To defend our liberty and unity


O Sons and Daughters of Africa
Flesh of the Sun and Flesh of the Sky
Let us make Africa the Tree of Life


Let us all unite and sing together
To uphold the bonds that frame our destiny
Let us dedicate ourselves to fight together
For lasting peace and justice on earth


O Sons and Daughters of Africa
Flesh of the Sun and Flesh of the
SkyLet us make Africa the Tree of Life


Let us all unite and toil together
To give the best we have to Africa
The cradle of mankind and fount of culture
Our pride and hope at break of dawn.


O Sons and Daughters of Africa
Flesh of the Sun and Flesh of the Sky
Let us make Africa the Tree of Life

www.african-union.org