It's not the End

The OLE campaign has been concluded some time back and we sure hope that you will continue the support to fight AIDS and fight the HATE.

Although the campaign is over, it doesn't mean that the problem is solved as yet. There are still so many people out there who need our understanding and acceptance. Recently, I was watching this korean drama and it struck a cord in my heart.

In the story there is a small family of 3 in a rural village of Korea. A little girl was infected with HIV by accident and her single mother kept this a secret from her and the rest of the village. The mother was afraid that the little girl will be discriminated against if this was known.

They were a happy family, well-liked by the villagers. The grandfather in the family had dementia but did not forget the love for his family. The mother was the kindest soul who led the toughest life trying to keep this a secret. The little girl was taught from young to take care of herself even if she falls and not let others touch her blood. She was bright and lively with a kind heart.

It was heart-wrenching to see her in confusion when her disease was known to the villagers. The other mothers took their kids away from her, the villagers shunned the family. The grandfather was locked in the house, the little girl couldn't go to school. And she couldn't understand why the attitude of those around her changed overnight.

Until she began to understand what happened.

She didn't despair or give up on life. What was touching was that she wasn't angry and spiteful. The first thing she did was to hide herself, for the fear of infecting another. The little girl was only worried for those around her - her mother, grandfather, friends, neighbours. She didn't dare kiss her mother goodnight, she backed away when someone came close. She didn't see the fact that HIV is not a disease that can be spread through touch, kissing or sharing the same space. Even living with HIV, her life has never been short of happiness for the past years till the secret is out.

The only difference between the past and now is knowing that she has HIV. For the past years, no one around her was infected. Everyone had liked the family.

It was the result of stigma and discrimination that stemmed from ignorance. And even if they knew the facts about the transmission of HIV, the attitude didn't change. It's simply does not make sense, does it?

I was watching the drama and I thought of OLE. I'm glad that young people like you have supported the campaign this far. Many of you have emailed us your thoughts on this matter and we appreciate it. I think this is only a small start of a new revolution. The campaign may have ended, but the fight continues.

Remember, you have one life, do something.

P.S. The OLE campaign went into our neighbour, Malaysia, recently. :)

Incredible India (through Jingyi's eyes)

This entry is not as timely as I hoped it will be cos I've been swamped by work ever since returning from India four days ago. But here goes the saying... Better late than never right?

About the workshop. I went to New Delhi, India for a HIV/AIDS regional training workshop for the Commonwealth Youth Ambassadors for Positive Living (CYAPL) -- I know, what a mouthful. Was feeling rather excited about going since it would be my first exchange yet at the same time, I was hesistant for 2 reasons. First, I did not know my Singapore counterpart at all before the trip. Second, it didn't help that I was going to spend Valentines Day in a foreign country.

However, it turned out that I was thinking too much. Ultimately,I had a great time over there, where I learnt a lot and made new friends.

Alright, back to the workshop proper. It was a fruitful experience and I'm very impressed with the works that many of them had done. We had people coming from WHO, UNAIDS, UNDP etc coming to talk to us about the technical aspects of HIV/AIDS, the implications of not controlling the epidemic, stigma & discrimination and ways to advocate to policy makers. Also, we had sharing sessions by the other Commonwealth countries (Brunei, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Malaysia) and many discussions, in which I could really see the passion in many of them when they try to fight for the cause.

On top of all these, we had the opportunity to go on field trips. Visited a NGO where they are trying to contain the spread of HIV/AIDS through Intravenous Drug Users (IDUs). And I actually saw, for the first time, addicts injecting drugs into themselves on the streets. Also visited a pediatric hospital where they care for HIV positive kids. It was heart wrenching and I understood the dilemma mothers faced when deciding whether to breastfeed their child.

Through the workshop, I made several new friends from a strategic regional alliance between Singapore, Brunei and Maldives. Without them, my time in India would not have been as amazing. Since a picture speaks a thousand words, scroll down to catch a glimpse of my life in the land of butter chicken and butter naans.

Eunice Olsen

This is one of our ambassador Eunice Oslen. Although the campaign as ended, we hope that the message of fighting the hate goes on.

Pass it on with this link:
http://good-times.webshots.com/slideshow/562327745prCUAa



ambassdor videos

As this is a video, pls wait a while for the streaming to load...

St Anthony Roadshow

So sorry for the delay of your photos, St Anthony girls...
As our team member Jingyi just came back from a HIV/AIDS conferences in India, we can only upload these photos today.
Feel free to download them!



St Anthony

Virtual tour

The One Life Experience exhibition has officially ended.

If u missed visiting the exhibition or want to experience it again, click on this link now to take a virtual tour around OLE.

http://www.worldvision.org.sg/onelifevr/onelifevr.html

**Last 3 days to visit OLE**

This is your last chance to visit OLE! Come on down to campus green at SMU today for the multi-sensory experience. The exhibition will end on 3 Feb, Sunday. So hurry down to OLE today!!!

Stefanie Sun in Africa