
Cricketers call for respect and fairness for people living with HIV
Some of the game's top cricketers visited a local youth programme Tuesday to pledge their support for youngsters living with HIV.
THINK WISE champion and Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, along with team-mates Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera and Lasith Malinga, met with young people affected by HIV at the WITSECHO Adolescent Sprint Holiday Progamme as the Katlehong Art Centre near Johannesburg, South Africa.
The visit was organised by one of UNICEF's local partners, ECHO, which serves more than 11,000 South African children and their families and helps to provide approximately 10,000 children with anti-retroviral therapy.
Following a fun fielding session at the start of the visit, the cricketers heard from the programme directors and youngsters about the important work that the clinic carries out to allow adolescents to develop important life skills.
Sangakkara said: "As an ambassador for the ICC's social responsibility programme THINK WISE, it is fantastic to be here today to see firsthand the work that local partners carry out to tackle HIV."
"The work that this programme does has a real impact on the life of these young people and gives me great hope that by continuing to raise awareness and reducing the stigma associated with HIV, cricket will continue to play its role in helping to reduce HIV infections," he said.
"I hope that young people living with HIV can grow up without discrimination and can lead fruitful lives," said Mathews.
"The young people I have met today are an inspiration and I hope more people across the world will be able to make informed decisions as they grow up."
Malinga added: "Protection, respect and fairness - these are all values which cricketers easily relate to in our own sport. We can all do our bit in everyday life to use the values to make informed decisions so that we can all live better lives and help to address the HIV epidemic."
Most of the children at the clinics contracted HIV from their mothers who either did not know they were HIV positive when they were pregnant or did not have access to the treatment which would have prevented them from transmitting the virus to their children. The ECHO youth holiday programme helps develop the capacity of adolescents to implement a peer education programme which encourages HIV prevention focusing on building self-esteem and confidence in young people to promote responsible choices within sexual relationships.
The visit formed part of the ICC's THINK WISE partnership with UNAIDS, UNICEF and the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI). The message of THINK WISE is to encourage people to protect themselves and others by showing respect and fairness to people living with HIV.