Sunday December 1, 2013 was World AIDS Day an event observed around the world by millions.
World AIDS Day began as an event that was created to bring awareness to a disease that to this day has significant stigma surrounding it. While the event began as a commemoration for those we love and have lost to AIDS, today I think we partially have something to celebrate. Being HIV positive is no longer the death sentence it once was and the advances we have made in the medicine associated with living with HIV and AIDS are enormous. That being said we are not all the way there and that’s why we work so hard at CANFAR to help fund research to help find a cure.
As the Awareness and Prevention Programs Officer, I am lucky enough to deal directly with the students in our Campus Clubs program. Despite being full-time students they manage to volunteer inordinate amounts of time to educate their peers and fundraise for HIV and AIDS research. Many of them prepared amazing World AIDS Day events, despite the event’s proximity to exams, which both celebrated World AIDS Day and commemorated its losses. Congratulations to all the Campus Clubs, we are truly lucky to be able to work with such an amazing group!
Stay tuned for more pictures in the CANFAR Clubs section.