AIDS documentary

The First of December is World AIDS day. It has been 27 years since the CDC first recognized this deadly virus. Since than AIDS has grown worldwide to now affecting over 30 million people around the globe, including a quarter million children.

To my embarrassment the only reason I remembered today was World AIDS day was because of an offer sent to my facebook account from Starbucks, in which the coffee giant would donate a dollar for every type of specialty drink sold (due to my lack of funds I was unable to increase Starbucks profit margins sans the one dollar).

Than this evening as I was flipping through the television, I came upon a documentary on the Sundance channel about the AIDS epidemic in Malawi. Entitled I Am Because We Are and made by Madonna, the film had me hooked because of the subject matter. I watched as they showed how this disease has and continues to ravage the landlocked African country. According to the documentary, AIDS has thrived in Malawi because of the poverty, ignorance, witchcraft religion, tribal laws and social stigma that make up the culture of Malawi.

What absolutely broke my heart was the AIDS orphans that they featured in the film. Children from two to 15, left with no one, trying to care for themselves, sometimes getting help, sometimes not. Most often also being diagnosied with the disease after having to watch their parents die painfully from AIDS. Suddenly sitting in my large, plush carpeted, temperature controlled bedroom, I felt very very priviledged. With all that had happened to them, the children, the AIDS orphans, still smiled, yet I felt so sad. I wanted to gather them all up and give them hugs.

I can't even imagine living without my mom and dad. Who will comfort these orphans when they fall? Who will give them hugs just because they are so loved? Who will anchor them, support them, raise them up? Who will worry when they are sick, when they are hungry, when they are cold? Who will cheer with them when they are happy? Even writing this makes me tear up and want to hold my parents super close and never let them go.

While I can't adopt all of those children, I can bring awareness to the plight of Malawi and those two million AIDS orphaned children. As the documentary website points out, this is about, "the kind of consciousness shift required to save this beautiful and resilient population."

Here is the link to the documentary - http://www.raisingmalawi.org/blog_120108.php
The film will be airing on the Sundance channel again on December 6th and December 9th at 10am and December 17th at 2:50pm; if you have the channel I highly recommend watching I Am Because We Are.

The World Health Organization established World AIDS Day in 1988 and I hope through this post, I have focused attention, albeit very little, on this global epidemic.