I learned many new things upon attending this lecture, and it was very eye-opening for me. First off, she explained the purpose of AIDS Awareness Week, and why it is scheduled for this week (It was chosen so that after the elections in late November, the media would have openings in the schedules to cover new material, such as AIDS Awareness). And of course, everyone has heard horror stories on the disease, as well as the effects it has on developing countries such as Africa, but it is a much different story coming from someone who is/was directly impacted by the disease.
The speaker herself had eleven children. She explained how in Africa they kept having children until their body wasn't capable anymore, because they view them as God's gifts. After realizing that, it made more sense to me how much harder it is on the victims of this disease, when people attack them for putting their children at risk. Most of those who are free of AIDS believe that once a women contracts AIDS, she should no longer birth children, in order to avoid passing along the disease. But because of their beliefs, along with the outstanding desire to be a mother, the rewards still outweigh the risks for the.
Overall, I believe that events like these are good for the general public to attend. It goes to show how "blindsided" we are when it comes to world issues like these. Of course we know the effects of AIDS, but few Americans can say that they wake up everyday, fearing of contracting the disease, or even being effected by it in any way in their family or friends. AIDS Awareness Week, as well as other nationwide acts to spread knowledge and awareness, are very important to us whether we realize it or not.
