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Hundreds joined Afrika Tikkun, Lead SA, Constitution Hill and the Johannesburg Junior and Mini Council in Braamfontein on World Aids Day, 1 December, to create what is believed to be the longest HIV/Aids awareness ribbon in the world.
 
Over 6 000 donated red T-shirts were pinned together to create a 1.5km-long HIV/Aids awareness ribbon, which was 50% longer than the previous record. The ribbon has yet to be ratified as a new Guinness World Record.
 
The Johannesburg Junior and Mini Council, which also encouraged local schools to participate, supported Afrika Tikkun and Constitutional Hill.
 
Constitutional Court Judge Edwin Cameron, one of South Africa’s most prominent openly HIV-positive citizens, spoke on the day and said that although the disease is now easy to treat and manage, the biggest problem still facing HIV-positive people is stigma.
 
“Stigma is condemnation, rejection, ostracism, moralism and isolation,” said Justice Cameron.
 
The Justice, who has been on treatment for HIV for the past 15 years, concluded his speech by saying: “We South Africans, we Africans, have suffered too long and too terribly under this epidemic. Its grief and fear lie deeply in our hearts. It does not have to be so. This World Aids Day 2012, starting with you and me, let us begin to make it different.”
 
“The HIV/Aids ribbon initiative is intended to create awareness and encourage people to know their status, in order to prevent the spread of the disease and manage it effectively. HIV/Aids is everyone’s problem and by working together, we can eradicate the disease,” says CEO of Afrika Tikkun, Marc Lubner. .
 
“The T-shirts from this event will be donated to the communities where Afrika Tikkun works. In addition to this, we need ongoing support for our programmes to continue. We welcome donations to fund our Primary Health Care programme.”
 
Visit the Afrika Tikkun website, www.afrikatikkun.org.za or contact 011 325 5914 or info@afrikatikkun.org.za for more information. To donate R20, SMS Ribbon to 40218.
 
Afrika Tikkun is grateful for the support it enjoyed and would like to thank its partners Lead SA, Constitution Hill and the Junior and Mini Council, sponsors and the general public formaking the world-record HIV/Aids awareness ribbon possible, says Marketing Events Manager Amanda Blankfield