Students praised for work on HIV
May 6, 2006
Toronto Star, by Peter Edwards
Sometime next week, impoverished children in Africa will be smiling when they hear about friends they have never met in York Region, Stephen Lewis told a packed auditorium at Newmarket's Sir William Mulock Secondary School.
"I will tell them that back in my home country, there's a school called Mulock where all of the children care," the United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in
Lewis, who leaves his UN post to become scholar in residence at
He also said he's confident that many Mulock graduates will be working in AIDS relief in
"You should meet these kids," said Lewis, who plans to return to
Some students had tears in their eyes as Lewis described how he recently told children in Africa about fundraising efforts in
Drugs already exist that could dramatically cut death and suffering from AIDS in
"Young men and women of your age are dying - and for no reason whatsoever except for the lack of response from the world, the international community," Lewis said. "We could save incredible numbers of lives. We have the drugs to keep them alive."
Lewis noted that AIDS has created some 14 million orphans in
He said he recently asked a teacher in Africa why so many children there rely heavily upon prayer, and she told him: "If you went to funerals at lunchtime, and you went to funerals after school, and you spent your entire weekend going to funerals, then you'd understand why the only solace they have is God."