Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to Provide Assistance to AIDS Orphans in South Africa
Former South African President Nelson Mandela announced on Saturday that the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund will team up with the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to fight HIV/AIDS in South Africa, Reuters reports (Reuters, 11/2). The two charities will work together to help children who have lost one or both parents as a result of the disease (Agence France-Presse, 11/3). Mandela said that the late Princess Diana helped lessen the stigma surrounding poverty and disease through her charity work. "When she stroked the limbs of someone with leprosy or sat on the bed of a man with HIV/AIDS and held his hand, she transformed public attitudes and improved the life chances of such people," Mandela said (Clarke, Sunday Telegraph, 11/3). "AIDS is our number one enemy. ... While the research for a cure continues, four principles -- love, support, acceptance and care for those affected -- can make us winners," he added (Associated Press, 11/2). More than 660,000 South African young people have lost one or both parents to AIDS-related causes (Agence France-Presse, 11/3).
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