HIV/AIDS awareness, and a world without AIDS.

I know that I have been talking a lot about cancer recently, and the reason for that is actually rather personal. However, those of you who have known me for a while will know that one of the first causes I championed was HIV/AIDS awareness. This goes back to the late 1990s when I was still in college, and it continued on when I went to Australia. When I returned, most of my “activism” was in the form of articles I wrote in the papers about that issue.

So, when I was approached to join a whole bunch of other personalities to support the #AIDSaware cause organised by RuumzCauses and PT Foundation, I agreed immediately. What the two organisations are trying to do basically is get 13,000 people to take pictures of themselves with HIV/AIDS related messages by World AIDS Day this year (Dec 1). These pictures will then be collected and made into a photo wall to be displayed somewhere in town.

RuumzCauses have created quite a few messages that you can choose from, print out and then take a picture with. I chose to write my own for the photoshoot.

This picture was taken by Warbaby for his Twitter. The actual shot which will be used as part of the campaign will only be revealed in December, together with shots from the others who took part in the campaign including Erra Fazira, Marina Mahathir, Hansen Lee, Elaine Daly, Joey G, Asha Gill, Jehan Miskin, Melissa Indot, Sarah Lian, Mizz Nina, Xandria Ooi, Sazzy Falak, Aishah Sinclair and much more. I think over 40 of us are participating. You can view the sneak peeks here (first, second, third and last).

CALL TO ACTION

Please take part in this campaign. It’s very simple and you can help spread the awareness to others about HIV/AIDS. All you need to do is take a picture of yourself holding up a sign with a HIV/AIDS related message.
Click here for more info.

Speaking of AIDS, there is another campaign going on – but this one on a global scale. I have Twittered previously about Nike’s collaboration with the (Red) campaign which I have always supported. I have Product (RED) shoes, baju, belt, laptop … and the shoelaces, the highlight of Nike (Red) campaign. Today, the two will launching another phase of the campaign in conjunction with the Ivory Coast vs Brazil game tonight featuring Didier Drogba, calling for people to rally against HIV/AIDS.

You can watch the teaser trailer here:

The highlight of this #endAIDS campaign is Drogba’s imagining of a world without AIDS. This of course coincides with Nike’s Write The Future campaign (I blogged about it before, and it revolved around the ethos that everything we do and every decision we make will Write The Future).

For me, these two campaigns are more than just marketing – but the potential impact it can have on the HIV/AIDS cause is good enough to support them. I hope you will too

12.04pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)

Tags: #aidsaware, #endaids, #red, aidaware, aids, didier drogba, hiv, Nike, pink triangle, pt fundation, ruumzcauses, write the future