Unite for Children is the title of this year’s TV Gala in Norway, taking place on Sunday, October 21st. The fundraiser is organized by the Norwegian Broadcasting Association in partnership with UNICEF Norway, Right To Play and the Norwegian Olympic Committee. The funds will go to children affected by HIV/AIDS in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Ukraine, Jamaica, and Vietnam.
9/19/2007 :: AIDS has orphaned more than 15 million children. Every day 6000 children lose a parent and 1400 children die from AIDS. Children affected by HIV/AIDS are not necessarily sick with AIDS or HIV infected, but live in communities deeply scarred by HIV/AIDS. The adults disappear or are not able to feed themselves and their families. A support system does not exist and the infrastructure is gradually breaking down. Millions of children live without adult supervision and are left to fend for themselves. Their childhood turns into a lonely struggle for survival.
Fighting HIV/AIDS calls for extraordinary efforts, and to make an impact it is necessary to mobilise all levels of the society: governments, businesses, organisations, and private citizens. Unite for Children is such a mobilization in Norway – and now you can also contribute from the US.
Unite for Children is about more than providing emergency aid. The common denominator of all efforts is to help children survive and thrive, to provide them with a strong framework and life skills, and to give them joy and quality of life. Children should not have to struggle alone.
UNICEF Norway wants to use sports as a change agent – and has invited The Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports and the organization Right To Play as strategic partners in its work. The UN recommends integrating sports when engaging in health, education, and financial and social development efforts. Sports provide unity, self confidence, and a sense of self – and it enables children and young people to better grasp their demanding everyday life.
The aim of Unite for Children is to strengthen the local communities’ ability to handle the challenges posed by the HIV/AIDS problem. Its projects will focus on:
- Preventing HIV spread among children and young people
Activities in schools and in local communities
Activities through play and sports
Providing health care services to children and young people
Activities aimed at children who fall outside of society
- Caring for orphaned and vulnerable children
Home based care
Local community based care centres
Financial support to vulnerable families and support to the local communities
- Medicating children
- Prevention of mother-to-child infection