If you're observant, you've probably noticed "(red)" in a variety of places of late. So, what is (red) all about anyway?????? It's simple. When you're buying a product, you check to see if there is a (red) version of the same product available. If so, you choose to purchase (red). Then, a percentage of the profit from that sale will go directly to The Global Fund which distributes the money throughout Africa to be used in the fight against AIDS. The (red) manifesto says it pretty clearly, so check out their website.
So, why should we care about AIDS victims in Africa? It's simple. It's because we're all human. Most of my readers are from industrialized nations. That makes you one of the richest humans in the world, regardless of whether you happen to be a bit behind on your cable TV bill at the moment. And yet so many of our human brothers and sisters are dying of AIDS, which is not such a common occurrence anymore in the westernized world that we're privileged enough to live in. And this is thanks to ARV drugs that keep the amount of the HIV virus at not-s0-dangerous levels in the bodies of those who are HIV+.
The poor of Africa are just as much human as you and me. They are just as smart, or even smarter than you and me! They have hopes and dreams for their children. They want to see their children educated and successful, just like you and me. Again, they want to see this. They want to live long enough to witness it for themselves. They cry when they hurt, just like you and me. They bleed when they get cut. They laugh when their children take their first steps. And their children grieve when they watch their moms and dads die from AIDS, a very preventable death. Again. They are human. Just like us.
And furthermore, if you consider yourself to be a Christian, then you are undoubtedly responsible for the AIDS victims in Africa. Jesus said that whatever we do for the least of these (humans!), we do it for Him. It's not a choice to care for the poor. It's not something we are told to do someday when we have more time and money. It's a mandate. A mandate for now.
Our family's contract for our cell phone is set to expire in just a few weeks, and our phones are on the brink of death. So Avery began to shop around for a phone and discovered that purchasing a (red) phone would not cost us any more money than a non-(red) phone. In fact, often when you're selecting a cell phone contract, you can get a discount on a (red) phone that the cell phone company will more than make up for over the term of your service contract. This was the case for us. So the choice was really quite simple. We purchased new (red) cell phones and thereby have purchased the needed medication so that 200 HIV+ women can receive the drugs that prevent the HIV virus from being passed to their unborn babies. That's right. Also, we have paid for 2 months of ARV drugs that will keep one of these moms alive in order to care for her HIV- baby. That's right. By simply choosing to buy (red) on a product that we were already going to purchase anyway, we have made an impact in the fight against AIDS in Africa.
So I challenge you, beg you, plead with you, reason with you. Please choose to buy (red) products. Together, we can make a difference. Together we can keep more mommies in Africa alive to care for their children, which means that there will be fewer orphans like my Yosef and Mihret. That means more children get to stay in their native Africa with their biological parents. This is one "trend" that I am proud to be a part of, though with 5 million AIDS orphans in Ethiopia alone, I hardly would consider this a "trend" just yet. But won't you please join me and countless others in being a trendsetter for the sake of women and children in Africa?
1 comment:
well, you know that I love the RED line and their mission! I am going to be so jealous if you get a red phone, as I want one so badly.
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