Shades 4 AIDS is an initiative of Hope for Cambodian Children Foundation, which is an independent not for profit charity, non-government, non-religious organisation to provide support for NGOs working in Cambodia and neighbouring countries in AIDS education, prevention and care of HIV children and their families.
Most of the population is rural and most have limited access to medical services, and even when they do it is well below an acceptable standard.
We are initially focused on Cambodia as it is the poorest country in Asia and has the highest incidence of HIV.
90% of children with HIV got it from their mother. HIV transmission mother to child is totally preventable. If it is detected and then treated, along with education on alternatives to breastfeeding, no child should get infected.
Australia can make this happen. It costs about $250 to prevent a child becoming HIV+. That’s a small price for a life. That children will have a much better chance to develop as a productive individual that can support themselves and others after they have finished school.
But its not just about prevention, its also education. The discrimination against those children with HIV/AIDS results in rejection, abandonment, extreme poverty and no medical services. For the children already with HIV we can make a difference in changing peoples attitudes.
Discrimination occurs everywhere including Australia. Thus we have started with the people that can make a difference – Australian school children.
If each school pledges to raise the money to save the life of one child a year, then all the schools in Australia collectively can eradicate HIV/AIDS in children in Cambodia.
