Global Camps Africa to host World AIDS Day event in Reston

Global Campfire event to support World AIDS Day RESTON VA-  In honor of World AIDS Day on December 1, a local non-profit organization, Global Camps Africa (GCA), will host an event in Reston, Virginia.

Through high-impact camp experiences and follow-up programs, GCA provides HIV education and life skills to HIV-affected children in South Africa. Using the power of camp as its vehicle, GCA delivers these services to the under-served and at-risk population of orphans and vulnerable children from some of the neighborhoods hardest hit by the HIV epidemic in South Africa.

In keeping with the camp tradition, the World AIDS Day event, called Global Campfire 2011, will feature music, singing, and poetry readings.  The campfire will take place at Lake Fairfax Park, Campsite G1, from 6:00 until 8:00 PM and will be open to the public.  Global Camps Africa will also be streaming the Global Campfire event live on its web site so that people all over the world can participate virtually.

“We invite everyone to join us at Global Campfire to remember the 30 million people who have died of AIDS-related illness since 1981, and to bring attention to the continuing need for prevention, care, and treatment for HIV-affected youth around the world,” said Emily Crowder, Global Camps Africa’s Executive Director.

The theme for World AIDS Day 2011 is “Getting to Zero,” which refers to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) strategy to reduce the number of new HIV infections to zero by 2015.  Global Camps Africa’s efforts to reach HIV-affected youth in South Africa with messages about prevention and empowerment are one important component of that strategy.

Phil Lilienthal, Founder and President of GCA, described the goal of the Global Campfire event, saying,“We want our campfire to bring the community who attend closer together to feel the strength of what a group can bring to a problem: even one as immense as HIV/AIDS.”

For further information, please contact Jessica Johnson (jessica.johnson@globalcampsafrica.org).