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Are To Carry On A Real War Against War, We Shall Have To Begin With The Children"

The speaker thanks the audience for receiving an important award and recognizes the challenges they have faced to get to this point. They discuss how facing challenges has made them stronger. The document then discusses how HIV/AIDS affects children by causing them to drop out of school, engage in child labor, and become orphaned. It stresses the importance of everyone playing a role in fighting HIV/AIDS and quotes Gandhi about the importance of involving children. Statistics are given on the number of children infected with HIV/AIDS in India and issues they face like discrimination and lack of funding for treatment. The closing remarks encourage the audience to never give up and emphasize that HIV/AIDS is a reproductive health issue and children need protection, respect, guidance and

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Karan Trivedi
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72 views2 pages

Are To Carry On A Real War Against War, We Shall Have To Begin With The Children"

The speaker thanks the audience for receiving an important award and recognizes the challenges they have faced to get to this point. They discuss how facing challenges has made them stronger. The document then discusses how HIV/AIDS affects children by causing them to drop out of school, engage in child labor, and become orphaned. It stresses the importance of everyone playing a role in fighting HIV/AIDS and quotes Gandhi about the importance of involving children. Statistics are given on the number of children infected with HIV/AIDS in India and issues they face like discrimination and lack of funding for treatment. The closing remarks encourage the audience to never give up and emphasize that HIV/AIDS is a reproductive health issue and children need protection, respect, guidance and

Uploaded by

Karan Trivedi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am extremely honoured to be receiving such an important award (mention the name of the
award). I am earnestly grateful for the recognition I have received for my work, because I am
very sure that every other nominee for this award was as capable if not more, of winning this
award.

I have faced several challenges on my way here, but each one of them has only strengthened
me to make me the person I am today; a thorough professional who knows exactly what she
wants; someone who sets her eyes on a goal and does not lose sight of it, unless it is
achieved. I am grateful to everyone who has always been a part of my journey, from my
family to friends, from boss to my team and everyone. It is a pleasure to witness this beautiful
moment in the presence of you all. My strength always increased on dealing with the
challenges and overcoming them.
Children are not only personally affected by HIV/AIDS, but it is also affecting their families
and their right to a parental care and affection. UNICEF finds that infection can lead children
to drop out of school; infection of parents can lead children to engage in child labour in order
to survive. Many children are orphaned and highly exposed to abuse, exploitation and neglect
because of a loss of a parent(s) or guardian.

it is important that all of us recognise our roles in this fight because we all have a role to play.
As the saying goes- it is either you are infected or affected.

Mohandas Gandhi said, and I quote “if we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we
are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children”.

This quote tells us that if we are to get to zero new infections, we must involve the children
because they make one third of our population and all our future. We must ensure that
children are part and parcel of every step we take in the fight against HIV and AIDSs.

According to UNICEF India there are 220,000 children infected by HIV/AIDS in India. It is
approximated that every year 55,000 to 60,000 children are born to mothers who are HIV
positive. 30% of these children are likely to be infected themselves. For young children early
detection, nutritional supplements and medical treatment especially antiretroviral therapy is
essential for survival. Children living with the disease experience a great deal of social stigma
and discrimination. This results in children being marginalised from essential services such as
education and health.
Some areas of concern are the discrimination faced by orphaned children of HIV/AIDS
parents, lack of funding or utilization of funds in giving treatments, unsafe health care
practices, and lack of attention to HIV/AIDS amongst children in health policy. Child
affected by AIDS need medical treatment, counselling, support from extended families, and
other non-institutional care, and help with medical care for parents so as not to create debt
and need for child labour. For this, we society has to step up and work for the betterment of
them in all ways we can.

On a closing note, all I want to tell each one of you present here today, is that you should
never, never, never give up, even if you are convinced that it's all over. It's not over unless
you want it to be, and a true example of this is me, standing right here, in front of you.

 Remember, HIV and AIDS is a reproductive health issue.

“if we do not stand for children, then we do not stand for much” said Mariah White
Edelman.

I am a child, protect me, respect me, guide me and most of all raise me to be what you were
never and aspired to be.

Thank you.

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