Peace Corps and World Vision have provided the health volunteers here with brochures and information on various health topics. Yesterday was World AIDS Day and for the day we piggy backed off of Garrett's counterparts AIDS march and distributed information on AIDS prevention. Although AIDS isn't a very large health issue in Albania, it is still important to spread awareness on how to prevent the spread of AIDS. Due to recent studies,
it is said that 478 people have the HIV/AIDS virus in Albania and there have been a reported 65 new infections in the past year. We started off the day with setting up our tables with information on AIDS in Shqip and began talking to locals about Global AIDS Awareness day and handing out information and condoms. The march was scheduled to begin at 11 so Emily and I made our way down to the high school to take photographs. There were over 200 students with posters, red ribbons, megaphones and pamphlets ready to march down the main street of Bajram Curri. They marched to the History Museum where the AIDS rally was held and our table was set up. Crowd control was definitely an issue for a while when the march stopped around our table and hundreds of little hands began grabbing information. Some kids were even jumping off the steps in order to receive a brochure (as you can tell the pictures below). My main job of the fair was to document the event and I wish the pictures did it justice of how crazy it got for a while. Overall, I think the event was a success and it was such a good thing for us to be involved with this event because of the huge turn out.
