On June 5th, 1981, AIDS was first reported when the CDC recorded a rare form of pneumonia that occurred in five homosexual men with weakened immune systems in Los Angeles. Today marks the 30th anniversary of that day. Since then, the AIDS pandemic has claimed over 25 million lives worldwide, and there are over 30 million people living with HIV/AIDS today.
In my senior year of college, I decided to join my friends in doing Dance Marathon, a fundraising event in which participants raise money to fight against pediatric AIDS and make a pledge to stay on their feet for 26 hours. When I first came into it, I wasn't expecting much, it was just my idea of fun. Prior to the event I had very little exposure to AIDS, other then sex ed in high school and a human sexuality class I took in college. Little did I know that God was about to use those 26 hours to break my heart and give me a passion to serve those whose lives are affected by HIV/AIDS.
Three hours into the event and already I can feel my legs are hurting. After about five hours is when I wanted to die from the agonizing pain. And let me tell you, there is not enough good music in the world to cover a 26 hour dance shift. There are some hours when the music just sucked and those were the worst. There were some people who had a hard time staying awake when it was getting late, luckily I wasn't feeling too tired throughout the event so I didn't have to worry about falling on my head. I have to admit though, they fed us like kings! There were a lot of company sponsorships so there was a huge variety of food, drinks, and caffeine. They would feed us about every four/five hours or so, we would eat standing of course. Another awesome thing was when our friends who didn't participate would come in and morale for us when we really needed it. They would bring us food and dance along with us.
Throughout the event they would have various performances, videos, and guest celebrity appearances. But the most special thing during these breaks was when the friends and family members of those whose lives were affected by AIDS came up and shared about their hardships. Remember that this was for pediatric AIDS, so a lot of the people that shared were kids. When I think of pediatric AIDS, I would think of Africa, but I didn't realize that it was present at home. Many of the children acquired HIV through contaminated blood transfusions and perinatal transmission. Despite these past 30 years, many people are still very ignorant of AIDS, and because of that, many children living with HIV/AIDS are still being ostracize by society. They were turned away by schools, churches, and other institutions because of the fear and ignorance that still plagues us today. So not only do they have to do they have to face a life threatening disease, but the real tragedy is that they have to do it alone.
"There are 4 things that you should know about HIV, it's not contagious through hugs, kisses, dog bites, and most importantly of all, friendships."
The words of a little girl whose brother was HIV positive. After she shared this I couldn't hold back my tears. In that moment God met me in one of the most powerful ways of my life. His heart was broken for these children, and He wants to use us to show these kids that they were loved beyond imagination. The pain that I felt staying on my feet was nothing compared to the pain that these children must have felt growing up. I wanted to let them know that I was willing to dance for them.
When I chose a route for the World Race, one of the criteria was that it had to include Swaziland. A country in which 26.1% of adults and over 50% of adults in their 20s are stricken with AIDS. The country has the lowest age expectancy of any other country at 32. 50% of pregnant women are HIV positive. Most of the children won't live long enough to graduate secondary school. And it's estimated that by 2050 the country of Swaziland would cease to exist. But these statistics are very familiar to the people behind the World Race, they want to see the statistics reversed. We can place our hopes in a God who loves his people too much to let this country disappear.
The students at UCLA raised over $400,000 that event for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the UCLA AIDS institute, and organizations that run day camps for children who are living with AIDS. I managed to last the whole 26 hours through, and I knew that that wasn't my last encounter with AIDS. I imagine that the stigma that exists here can only be so much more apparent in southern Africa. God has given me the opportunity once again to join His cause in the fight against AIDS. Through my prayers and commitment to serve in Africa on this race, I will join the battle to eradicate HIV infection worldwide.
