May 7th World AIDS Orphan Day was observed in 11 Major Cities in India;

[Guest guest]

11 Major Cities in India; Athens, Greece; and Lahore, Pakistan

Spearhead International Drive

NEW YORK, May 7,– The New York City Council today took a leadership

position in supporting the global proclamation of May 7 as the first

annual WORLD AIDS ORPHANS DAY, a worldwide effort to bring attention

and support to the plight of 100 million AIDS orphans and vulnerable

children expected this decade.

The City Council was joined by two leading Congressmen, Major Owens

and Edolphus Towns, and the governments of nearly 20 cities and towns

around the world, including Newark, N.J.; 11 leading cities in India

(among them Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay), Bangalore, Calicut and Jodhpur);

Athens, Greece; and Lahore, Pakistan. The campaign, " Capital Cities

of Compassion for AIDS Orphans, " is part of a drive to establish a

Global Safety Net of funds for education, healthcare and freedom from

exploitation for AIDS orphans led by the international non-

governmental organization Association François Xavier Bagnoud (AFXB)

(www.fxb.org).

Former President Bill Clinton lent his support to the effort calling

AIDS orphans " one of the most troubling aspects of the AIDS

pandemic, " saying that he " will continue to draw attention to this

issue and speak out about it as much as I can. "

For 14 years, AFXB has established more than 87 projects in 17

countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America to support children whose

families have been destroyed by the AIDS pandemic and who suffer

social ostracism and exploitation as child soldiers, terrorists and

child prostitutes. In May 2002, AFXB launched the Symbolic Global

Safety Net drive by bringing it the United Nations endorsed by 2

million people, each of whose name is a stitch in the net, demanding

that the U.N., governments, donors and policy makers give top

priority to the 100 million AIDS orphans and vulnerable children

expected by 2010. Receiving the Symbolic Global Safety net carried by

AFXB's founder, Albina du Boisrouvray, Secretary-General Kofi n

also added his signature to it.

" An annual WORLD AIDS ORPHANS DAY will help keep a constant spotlight

on the plight of these vulnerable and destitute children, " declared

Albina, who is also AFXB's President. " While the pandemic itself has

gained the attention of the world, the child victims have all but

been ignored by government and international programs. With no one to

look after them, stigmatized and rejected, these lost young children

live as social outcasts, exploited by their societies and often

turned into criminals, child soldiers, terrorists and child

prostitutes. Soon there will be 100 million of them. They have no

voice; they cannot lobby for themselves. Stopping this crisis and

making their education and healthcare a top funding priority is a

moral and practical imperative. "

India Leads International Support for WORLD AIDS ORPHANS DAY

India led the international support declaring May 7 Annual WORLD AIDS

ORPHANS DAY, as 11 major cities held public events attended by major

governmental officials, as well as corporate and non-governmental

leaders. In Delhi, India's Minister of Social Justice and

Empowerment, Dr. S.N. Jatiya, led a ceremony in the Parliament

auditorium. In Mumbai (formerly Bombay), capital of the state of

Maharashtra, the Chief Minister endorsed the proclamation, and in

Jodhpur, a major city in Rajasthan, the mayor attended a symposium on

the needs of AIDS orphans and vulnerable children. Other Indian

cities holding special events were Bangalore, capital of Karnataka;

Calicut, in Kerala State; Bhopal, in Madhya Pradesh State; Baina, in

Goa State; Imphal, in Manipur State; Dehradun, in Uttaranchal State;

and Ranchi, in Jharkhand State.

Other international leaders, besides Athens and Lahore, were

Faisalabad, Pakistan; and Atlantico State and the City of

Barranquilla, Colombia. Representatives of Colombian hospitals,

schools, religious organizations, and medical societies also

expressed official support. In Brazil, the National Forum of NGOs, to

be held in June, will highlight the event and bring pressure on the

national legislature to recognize the day officially next year. The

former Prime Minister of Spain, Felipe , declared his

support. And in the United States, the towns of Wilmington,

Burlington and Woburn, Massachusetts, added their official

endorsements.

Celebration at Monroe Campus Schools in the Bronx

In support of WORLD AIDS ORPHANS DAY, students at the Monroe Campus

Schools in the Bronx held a celebration from 12 noon to 3:30 pm on

Saturday May 10, to display the first US Symbolic Global Safety Net

for AIDS Orphans, which students have been creating for several

months, and to dedicate a spectacular 100-foot mural created by Tats

Cru, the prominent Bronx-based urban muralist group.

About the Association François Xavier Bagnoud (AFXB)

AFXB was founded in 1989 by Albina du Boisrouvray, a French Countess,

in honor of her son François-Xavier Bagnoud, a rescue pilot who died

at age 24 in a helicopter accident in Mali, West Africa. Today, AFXB

is a global activist group dedicated to health and human rights, with

a specific focus on the needs of AIDS orphans and children made

vulnerable by the world HIV/AIDS crisis. The non-governmental

organization has numerous projects in Brazil, Colombia, India,

Mongolia, Myanmar, Rwanda, South Africa, Switzerland, Uganda, the

United States, and Uruguay, among other countries.

http://hydra-island.com/may7.html