Tomorrow, October 30th, Miami will launch it’s first ever “Southern Aids Living Quilt”. This quilt was organized for the purpose of revealing the faces of women, especially American women living in Southern states, who are living with AIDS. Organizers of the quilt hope to break the stigma attached to women living with AIDS and especially to bring awareness to those more likely to contract the disease: African American and Latino women. More than 25,000 women are currently living with AIDS in Florida. Compare statistics showing that one out of every 472 Hispanic or Latina women are living with the disease versus one out of every 1,281 white women living with HIV/AIDS. In the United States AIDS is the leading cause of death for African American women ages 25-34.
Along with the quilt there is an education campaign also being launched to promote awareness of HIV/AIDS. Also adding to this educational aspect is the attendance at the luncheon of some of the women who shared their stories on the quilt- their stories can be found at www.livingquilt.org.
Events such as this are important not only in the Southern United States, nor should the be limited to American soil, but abroad as well. People in all parts of the world should receive this education on AIDS awareness as well as motivation for those living with AIDS. There are stigmas worldwide about those with AIDS, it is important to see examples of women (and people in general) not only surviving after being infected with the disease, but people living with AIDS.
http://www.thewestsidegazette.com/News/article/article.asp?NewsID=92199&sID=20&ItemSource=L
1 comment:
Those numbers are very surprising. Although I know that AIDS exists in the U.S. I think we can sometimes take for granted that it is a domestic issue as well. Being of minority descent, I think it is important to distribute information to our communities, especially to those who are most at risk. Awareness is the key to cessation.
Post a Comment