www.whyville.net May 28, 2006 Weekly Issue



srfrgi
Guest Writer

What is Really Important

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Hi fellow whyvillians. Most of you likely know what's going on in the United States. Some things are good to know like politics, but what about the not so important stuff people care to watch. Like what's going on with stars -- who's having who's baby and who's marrying who, it seems that no one wants to hear the bad stuff.

I have a heart for Africa and other countries. Africa has so many people die each year of Aids, and starvation. It seems no one likes to hear about that though. But we need to do is to help stop this. There are many organizations you can join to help Africa and other countrys. I help support One Life Revolution. It helps families in Africa who suffer from Aids and starvation.

Here are some facts about Africa:

* In just two years (2001 to 2003) the number of children orphaned globally by AIDS rose from 11.5 million to 15 million, with the vast majority of those children.
* Roughly 5 million people became infected with HIV in 2004 - 640,000 were children under 15 years.
* 40 million people are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS - 37.2 million are adults: 17.6 million women, & 2.5 million children under 15.
* During 2004, AIDS caused the deaths of an estimated 3.1 million people, including 2.6 million adults and 510,000 children under 15.
* The global number of orphans due to AIDS is going to double in a decade.
* Current figures show there are now 15 million orphans worldwide due to HIV/AIDS.
* By 2010 UN AIDS estimates there will be a grand total of 107 million orphans in the world - virtually no change there - but a mind-numbing 25 million of them will be orphans of AIDS. That's 23.7% of all orphans.
* There are 34 million orphans in Africa, of whom 11 million are believed to be orphans of AIDS. One third of Africa's orphans, or about one child in 20 overall, has lost his or her parents to HIV.
* UNAIDS reports that a devastating number of nearly 30 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.
* Women and girls make up 58% of those who are infected.
* Studies in 20 countries--most of them in Africa--show that children whose parents have died are more likely to be malnourished and less likely to attend school than those who have not lost a parent.
* Many of these orphans are discriminated against, exploited, or abused. Some end up living on the street, surviving by picking pockets, theft, begging, and prostitution.
* Every day, almost 2,000 babies are infected with HIV during pregnancy, at birth or though breastfeeding.

1,500 kids drop out of school every day in the United States. 1 out of 10 kids GET to go to school in Africa.

An average American family uses 144 gallons of water each day. One out of two Africans get a safe source of water to drink from.

I interviewed three people about the subject, here's was what they said:

srfrgi: Hi can I interview you?
kchick: Sure.
srfrgi: Would you rather read magazines and hear about what's going on with movie stars or hear about the poverty in Africa?
kchick: Movie stars
srfrgi: Do you know about what's going on in Africa and about Aids there?
kchik: Kind of. srfrgi: What do you do about it?
kchik: I gave money once.
srfrgi: Thanks.

srfrgi: Hi can I interview you?
ashenbug: Sure.
srfrgi: Would you rather read magazines and hear about movie stars or hear about the poverty in Africa?
ashenbug: Movie stars.
srfrgi: Do you know what's going on in Africa and about Aids there?
ashenbug: I once heard my mom talk about it.
srfrgi: What do you do about it?
ashenbug: We sent them Pepsi.
srfrgi: Okey dokey then, thanks.

srfrgi: Hi can I interview you?
txgirl13: Ya of course!!
srfrgi: Would you rather hear about what's going on with stars or hear about the poverty in Afica?
txgirl13: The poverty in Africa definitely.
srfrgi: Do you know what's gong on there and about Aids and HIV?
txgirl13: No!! Why what's happening? srfrgi: Y-mail me and I will talk to you about it. But have you ever done anything about the people in Africa?
txgirl13: No I have never done anything to help them.
srfrgi: Well thanks for letting me interview you.
txgirl13: Anytime.

Wow! That was sad. People would rather hear about stars and things in tabloids that probably aren't even true!! People don't even relize or want to realize what's going on. Some people I talked to throughout the week wanted to know how they could help.

Here are some ways you can help:
- Ask your parents if you could find a Africa group to support.
- You can sponser a child for $10 a month.

There is so many ways you can help these innocent people. I hope from this article you learned about what's going on and I hope you do something. You can't say, "Oh, I feel so bad for these people," and not do anything. Thanks so much for taking your time to read this. If you have any questions y-mail me.

This is your friend srfrgi signing out, to go out there and help those kids in Africa.

 

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