World AIDS Day 2021: “End inequalities. End AIDS. End pandemics”
At MASYAP’s event in Blantyre, a former school fees student who passed her MSCE urged younger girls to keep studying.
World AIDS Day is marked on 1 December each year. In 2021 its global theme was “End inequalities. End AIDS. End pandemics”.
As a Muslim-led HIV/AIDS organisation, MASYAP held its commemoration on Saturday 11 December 2021 at Maone Vocational Training Centre in Blantyre district. We asked our speakers to inspire young people about the value of education, and to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS, the social exclusion faced by people living with HIV and how to overcome stigma.
Agents of change
Mr Gondwe spoke about preventing the spread of HIV so that Malawi can achieve an HIV/AIDS-free generation by 2030. He urged participants to be agents of change and to challenge cultural practices in their communities that may spread the virus.
From school fees to university
Aisha Billy, a youth member, was supported by MASYAP’s school fees programme through to Form 4 and passed her MSCE exams. MASYAP then helped her obtain a Mai Aisha tertiary scholarship, as her parents could not afford her tuition fees. She encouraged other girls to work hard at school, because education is what allows you to make informed decisions, and told girls on the programme that hard work could open the same doors for them.
