What is HIV and AIDS?
What is HIV and AIDS?
What is HIV and AIDS?
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Introduction: Why <strong>is</strong> <strong>HIV</strong> mainstreaming important?<br />
<strong>HIV</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>AIDS</strong> does not d<strong>is</strong>criminate. Age, gender, ethnicity, occupation, urban, rural,<br />
developed or developing – <strong>HIV</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>AIDS</strong> can impact anyone at anytime.<br />
VSO’s goal <strong>is</strong> to promote volunteering to fight poverty <strong>and</strong> d<strong>is</strong>advantage globally. In<br />
order to do th<strong>is</strong>, VSO recogn<strong>is</strong>es the need for <strong>HIV</strong> to be part of all its work regardless<br />
of whether it <strong>is</strong> an education, livelihood or governance project. But why <strong>is</strong> it important?<br />
Read about Xiao Gang.<br />
Xiao Gang <strong>is</strong> 12 years old. He lives in a rural village in Shanxi province. He has<br />
three younger brothers <strong>and</strong> s<strong>is</strong>ters. H<strong>is</strong> parents are both peasants <strong>and</strong> have a<br />
small plot of l<strong>and</strong> where the family grows vegetables to sell in a nearby market.<br />
Xiao Gang’s family only earns 800 yuan a month. They can sometimes earn a bit<br />
or less depending on what they can grow.<br />
At age 12, he no longer goes to school. Although the school he attended was free,<br />
h<strong>is</strong> parents could no longer afford the school books <strong>and</strong> uniform. Also, h<strong>is</strong> parents<br />
need him to help on the l<strong>and</strong>.<br />
The future for Xiao Gang <strong>is</strong> bleak. At age 17 he finds it difficult to get a job. H<strong>is</strong><br />
parents are getting older <strong>and</strong> the l<strong>and</strong> does not provide enough for them all. There<br />
are no job opportunities available to him in h<strong>is</strong> village. He decides to move with h<strong>is</strong><br />
best friend to the provincial capital, Taiyuan to find a job. Finding a job here <strong>is</strong> hard.<br />
There are lots of people from all over the province looking for the same things as<br />
him. Without h<strong>is</strong> high school qualifications, he can only find as a security guard at a<br />
shopping mall. He works longs hours for very little money. He lives in a cramped<br />
basement apartment with 10 other people just like him, all hoping for the same – a<br />
better life.<br />
So, if only Xiao Gang had opportunities to attend school, if the school could find<br />
money to pay for the books of these students, if Xiao Gang’s parents could find other<br />
means to help support their income then Xiao Gang’s future may change. However,<br />
now think about how th<strong>is</strong> situation might change if Xiao Gang’s parents were living<br />
with <strong>HIV</strong>.<br />
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