Alliance Ukraine raises awareness about vulnerable children
22 August 2007
Building on the momentum of events surrounding its commemoration of World AIDS Day 2006, Alliance Ukraine organised a press tour of the Kviv regional orphanage for HIV-positive children in Bila Tserkva on the eve of Candlelight Memorial Day in May 2007. Alliance Ukraine launched its project to help children affected by HIV during a fair held on 1 December 2006. The fair included a three-day exhibition and auction entitled “Young art against AIDS” that raised over US $4,000 in charitable donations used to purchase necessities for HIV-positive children residing in the orphanage. The exhibition featured art by children and young people, in addition to works by famous artists and photographers.
The press tour is the latest in a chain of events that grew out of the World AIDS Day activities. The charity fair and auction culminated in a joint artistic event during which participants added different colours and elements to a large painted picture. Photos from the exhibition were later used for printing Alliance memorabilia, including the Alliance Ukraine 2007 wall calendar. National TV news programmes reported on the World AIDS Day fair, and a number of national newspapers published articles on issues related to children affected by HIV.
Finally, in addition to the press tour of the regional orphanage, Alliance Ukraine, the Belgian Aero Club and the Embassy of Belgium, along with international organisations and businesses, teamed up to arrange an event called “reach for the sky”, just prior to Candlelight Memorial Day in May. This event was aimed at vulnerable children, including AIDS orphans, children in foster care and HIV-positive children from different regions of Ukraine. Children got to ride in a hot-air balloon, which, according to organisers, demonstrated that only the sky was the limit for children’s horizons. Momentum from the World AIDS Day fair continued into June, when replicas of the exhibition paintings were posted on Kyiv billboards and city-lights, along with slogans such as “there are 6,000 HIV-positive children in Ukraine: they have a right to education and communication with their peers” and “give your love to those who need it most.”
