Product (RED) Does it Again: Dell and Windows Join the (RED) Family

I am so encouraged and excited after reading this blog! It gave me this link, this link, and this link, and the goal of saving $1,500 dollars to buy myself a new computer! I am so excited for them!

The Middle Piece, a guest blog by Dr. Agnes Binagwaho

...just read my (RED) blog on Google Reader...thought I'd share...this shows first hand the impact that is being made right now in Africa by the (RED) campeign and those who are involved in it...it is a wonderful business model...buy (RED)!!!

The Middle Piece, a guest blog by Dr. Agnes Binagwaho
from (BLOG) RED by (RED)

To mark World AIDS Day 2007, I visited with (RED) shareholders in Rwanda. Among the clients, caregivers and officials with whom I met, was Dr. Agnes Binagwaho, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for the Fight Against HIV/AIDS. Dr. Agnes epitomizes the amazing accomplishments of the country in strategy and spirit. She made several compelling points about the importance and impact of Rwanda's efforts to bring all stakeholders into the decison-making process around disease eradication and beyond. In doing so, she described (RED) as the "middle piece" to Rwanda's economic development. I asked her to describe in her own words what she meant. Below is her explanation. --Tamsin

With the first funds to finance the fight against AIDS, we reinforced our health system, improved access to care for communities and established a solid platform with strong leadership and a clear vision. However, two years ago we weren't sure that additional funds to support the HIV/AIDS work would be available to sustain our achievements. We were nervous that many of what we had built might crumble if the money dried up. This negative energy was dispiriting.

But then (RED) came. It was the "middle piece" upon which we could place the next floor of upward progress. (RED) monies ensured the sustainability of Rwanda's efforts. (RED) brought the positive energy back, allowing creativity and innovation to flow again.

Tackling HIV and AIDS is just a piece of the economic development puzzle. Fighting this disease – and defeating it – builds our capacity to address all the Millenium Development Goals. It makes us open-minded and open-hearted. In Africa, we need to share our experience and help each other.

(RED) gives Rwanda the peace of mind to do much more for our population and our neighbors in other countries, many of whom visit us to learn and collaborate to make our futures brighter.

Dr. Agnes Binagwaho is currently Rwanda's Executive Secretary of the National Commission for the Fight Against HIV/AIDS. She is also a member of the expert panel of the Country Coordinating Mechanism in Rwanda for the Global Fund and the chair of the PEPFAR Steering Committee in Rwanda. She is member of several boards and foundations combating AIDS and infant mortality. Dr Binagwaho has also co-coordinated the Task Force of the Millennium Development Goal Project for HIV/AIDS on access to essential medicines.

Making a Difference

Paul told Timothy to not allow his age to hold him back to make a difference in the world around him. I just read this blog of a few kids who don't let their age stop them either...

Santa Monica, California, is far from Tanzania. But a group of high schools there makes the distance seem closer. The Crossroads Teen AIDS Ambassadors are the youngest certified educator-activists in the country working toward the eradication of the disease.

The California students bring their mountainous mission to Africa. They travel to Tanzania and other countries to help tell their young counterparts about the history of the pandemic, the virology of HIV, and the importance of safe sex. But they also bring the "mountain" to them: Kids from Tanzania have come to California to go through the program to experience and see inspiration of a life minus the disease.

The hours are long, the information is daunting, and the trek is substantial. But from the AIDS Ambassadors' perspectives, even their small hands can help start move the mountain.

World AIDS Day 2007

People around the world, from Brazil, to Africa, to China, to Europe, to DC, came together today, to bring awareness to a disease that has hit so many lives, changed countless lives, and taken too many lives…AIDS. World AIDS Day is a campaign to bring the fight against AIDS to the forefront of people’s minds; awareness is half of the cure.

A large ribbon, the internationally-recognized symbol for the fight against AIDS, is placed in front of the “Christ the Redeemer” statue atop Corcovado Mountain, during a campaign for World AIDS Day in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Danish human rights activists adjust candles during a rally to mark World AIDS day in Copenhagen.
A huge red ribbon hangs from the North Portico of the White House to mark World AIDS Day on December 1, 2007. President Bush announced he will travel to Africa in 2008 to check on US efforts in combating the disease.
Members of civil society light candles to create awareness on the eve of World AIDS day in Multan, Pakistan.
AIDS activists wearing body paint participate in an awareness campaign during the World AIDS Day in Lome, Togo.
HIV/AIDS activists march in Abidjan, the largest city in the Ivory Cost, to mark World AIDS Day. Held each year on December 1, World AIDS Day is a time of grim stocktaking as AIDS campaigners worldwide sound the alarm over the disease’s rampage through Africa, the threat it poses to Asia and former Soviet Union republics, and the risks to vulnerable communities such as sex workers, drug users, and gay men.
Pedestrians walk past a giant poster made by undergraduates during an AIDS awareness promotion to mark World AIDS Day in Nanjing of Jiangsu Providence, China. According to official estimates, there are around 700,000 HIV/AIDS patients nationwide.
HIV affected people take part in an AIDS awareness campaign on World AIDS Day in the northwestern Indian city of Siliguri. India has been the world’s third biggest caseload of people living with the deadly virus. After originally estimating some 5.7 million were infected in India, the UN reduced that estimate to 2.5 million.

Updated AIDS Statistics

I read this post from the (RED) blog this morning on my Google Reader. It is refreshing.

UNAIDS updated its statistics on Worldwide AIDS for 2007, and the numbers are quite encouraging. There has been a 16% decrease in the number of AIDS victims worldwide from last year to this year.

. 68 % of the global total of people living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa
. 4,383 is the average number of deaths daily due to AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa
. There are an estimated 11.4 million orphans due to AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa
. Adult HIV prevalence rate in Swaziland is 26% vs 33% in 2006.

These numbers are encouraging. Keep it up, make that number larger in next years statistics. It can be done, AIDS victims, every single one of them, can receive the treatment and care they need. The children orphaned by this terrible tragedy can be saved, can be helped. I want to help.

World AIDS Day is December 1st...it's also payday, go spoil yourself and buy soemthing (red) that day. Help out someone who can't really help themselves. Start a conversation with a co-worker, bring up AIDS awareness. Be aware for yourself. Know what people around the world are facing, are living through, are dying of.