Moved To Tears

What are your reactions to yesterday?

I think we really did an excellent job at raising awareness for HIV/AIDS in the school yesterday. I was really pleased to hear that despite the lack of rehearsal we had, the performance we gave at the World AIDS Day assembly moved several people in the audience to tears. Making people cry is not usually a very ethical thing to do, but in this case it was gratifying: the emotion they expressed really showed that they cared about what we were saying.

What did our actions mean to you, other students at ISKL and the world around us?

What we did on World AIDS Day made me feel like I was really helping all the people out there who are suffering from HIV/AIDS. I felt like I really helped make an impact on the school, by teaching everyone about the disease and spreading the desire to help its victims. Our actions on World AIDS day meant that more people were aware of the terrible AIDS pandemic that is taking the world by storm. Spreading the knowledge among the entire middle school of ISKL is a small step towards spreading the knowledge across the world.

What were your highlights from yesterday?

I think the best thing about yesterday is that, at the assembly, we really accomplished what we set out to do: make people care about HIV/AIDS. It was amazing, hearing that several people in the audience were actually crying, and knowing that we really made an impact on peoples' feelings towards AIDS.

What will you remember about the day?

I'll remember that on that day, the entire school was united under one cause. It was amazing to see so many students care so much about one thing, and enthusiastically working together to help fix it. I think this World AIDS Day, we really made an impact on everyone's feelings. I think we gave people a desire to help those who suffer from the disease, and that's exactly the reaction we wanted.

What do you think Global Issues students should do next year on World AIDS Day?

I think we could do basically the same thing that we did this year, but by planning further ahead of time, we could perfect it and make a bigger impact. I also think we could decorate the school a little more, because there was all this action happening near the lower field, and the rest of the school didn't look like World AIDS Day was going on at all. The idea about red Chinese lanterns was a good idea, and more posters around the school wouldn't hurt either.

What did you learn after taking part in an action project like this?

I learned how terrible AIDS really is, and how it could be so easily prevented and treated if we could just educate everyone. I also learned that it really feels rewarding to know that your actions have improved someone else's life. Taking part in this action project has taught me that helping others is really something you can feel pride in.

World AIDS Day Ideas

World AIDS day is coming up, and ISKL is looking to raise money to help fight the pandemic that is spreading across the world at an alarming rate. Here are some ideas for what we can do on December 1st, 2009.

Assembly Ideas

I'm interested in speaking in the assembly. I think it definitely would be very powerful to start the assembly with just a few people on stage with all the lights off. The assembly would start with people calling out random AIDS statistics ("33 million people live with AIDS, x kids are AIDS orphans"). Then a spotlight would come on one person, who would ask what HIV/AIDS is, and another spotlight would come on another person who would explain what it is and how it is spreading. I could talk about what World AIDS Day is, and what the rest of the world does for it., and someone else could talk about what we’re doing at ISKL to support victims. Someone could read a poem or story, and then a video could come on.

Soccer Game

We could have a soccer game down on the lower field on World AIDS Day. Students who want to play can pay five ringitt, and teachers can pay ten. Everyone can have fun, while raising money to fight AIDS/HIV. Players can be subbed off after about five to ten minutes, to let everyone have a chance to play, and to raise as much money as possible.

Face Painting

Students could come into a classroom at lunch to have the red AIDS awareness ribbon painted on their faces. If they paid a couple of ringitt to have it done, we could raise money and awareness at the same time.

Bake Sale

Have everyone in Global Issues bring in a batch of some kind of dessert to sell for a couple of ringitt. Or maybe, because we pretty much have a bake sale for everything, people could bring in real food. If it isn’t the usual desserts, we could raise the price a little, which would mean more money for AIDS.

…Although it may steal a little business from Connie’s and Sam’s Snacks.

Raffle

Students could donate the prizes, and then sell raffle tickets for five to ten ringitt. Because the prizes are donated, we would make a 100 percent profit.

The Chain Reaction.

What are global issues?
A global issue is any problem that has spread on a worldwide level. Poverty, war, disease, discrimination, terrorism, the financial crisis, environmental issues and human rights violations are just a few of these issues that affect tens of millions of people around the world on a daily basis.

Why should I care?
Everyone should care about the world's problems. This is the earth we're talking about: our planet. Not one of us owns any more of it than the next person, and we all have equal responsibility over what's happening to it. All of the global issues mentioned before - all of them and dozens more - are happening to people around the world as we speak. Maybe none of them are affecting you or anyone you know right now, but at the rate they're spreading they could be in just a couple years. So yes, you should care. You should care because you could be be affected by any of these issues not too far in the future. You should care because there are already so many people out there, living in pain every single day; living a life that many of us could never imagine. You should care because they need our help, and caring is the first step to solving the problem.

Why this quote and picture?
I picked this picture because it shows what I feel is the most important global issue of all: poverty. Almost every major problem with the world is linked to poverty. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is spreading because people don't have enough money to buy the medication necessary to treat it, and because they don't have enough money to afford an education that would teach them how to prevent it. Wars are started when people fight over food, medicine and other things that they don't have enough money for. Poverty begins a chain reaction that causes dozens of other issues to pop up. When poverty is solved, most other global issues will begin to fix themselves.
I picked this quote because it's the truth: poverty is the worst form of violence. A kick in the ankle may hurt for a couple of days, but will eventually heal - whereas poverty will leave you in pain for your entire life. Poverty effects people on so many different levels. Not having enough money obviously means no food when you're hungry, but it also means no medicine when you're sick. It means that people can't get a good education, and so they can't get a good job. It means young children have to spend their time working alongside their parents, instead of playing like they should be. Poverty is the worst form of violence, because instead of hurting you for just a little while, it hurts you for your whole life.