Dear
sir/madam,
You
don’t know my name; you don’t know who I am. You don’t know the color of my
skin or the faith that I believe in. you don’t know what makes my spirit soar
or what causes a smile to break across my face but today I am going to tell you
about an incident that had shattered my heart not so long ago.
I
am a mother or rather I was one. I carried another soul inside me for 9 months
and 9 days. I borne all the burdens that came my way mixed with the absolute
joy of creating an unspoiled human being, one who is pure and untouched by the
worldly traits we inevitably acquire as we grow up, with eager anticipation. I
spent a tedious 14 hours of labor pushing my daughter out in to the world with
inexpressible gratification in my heart and then spent a quiet moment in solace
shedding a few tears of profound happiness and absolute wonder as I crooned her
delicate body to sleep, tucked in my arms. And then I spent uncountable hours
where heart wrenching sobs broke out of my body as I buried her young form in
the gloomy cemetery one bleak Monday morning.
I
am not telling my tale today in search of pity but instead with the deep hope
that by telling you the terms of how my daughter came to her death you will be
able to prevent it from happening to your own sons, daughters, wives, husbands
and loved ones.
The
cause for my daughter’s departure from this world can be expressed easily by
one single word but the full impact of what this disease did to her body I hard
to be fathomed by a few mere sentences.
My
young child was inflicted by an illness most commonly known as AIDS or Acquired
Immunodeficiency Virus. Even though the majority of us have heard about this
disease throughout the course of our lives, only precious few are completely
aware of the consequences and the torment that this disease has brought to the
lives of more than 33 million people on this planet.
This
is a disease that beats down the immune system of the body so that you are in
danger of succumbing to the clutched of even the most common disease such as
cold or pneumonia which can prove to be fatal for you. You are restricted from
living your life to the fullest and is often shunned by the society who fails
to understand that you are also a human being with feelings and emotions as
they treat you like an unstable bomb which might explode at any moment. This is
a disease that inevitably leads to death and threatens the very existence of
our species as we speak, for the number of people who are being infected each
and every day has already risen up to an astonishing number of 7400. This is
also a disease which despite the astounding revolutions in the field if
medicine remains without a cure. Our best solution is prevention and for this
we need to spread awareness.
There
are four main ways where we can be infected by the HIV virus which leads to
AIDS but much to my chagrin there only a few number of people who apprehend
these facts forcing me to ask what will happen to the rest of the population
who remain unaware? Some say ignorance is bliss but I believe in this case
insufficient knowledge is going to be the curse which will ultimately lead to
the end of our race as we speak.
So
my fellow brothers and sisters, today the fate of the world depends on us.
Perhaps you might not be able to save our kind single handedly. After all one
person cannot do everything but nevertheless if each person does his part I
believe in the end it will be enough to ensure that everyone remains
enlightened about the steps that can be taken to prevent AIDS from bringing destruction
to our lives.
Today
I am taking my step forward to creating awareness among people by revealing my
story to you with the hope that it will make an impact on your life. Perhaps
you will recount this story to your friends and it will eventually spread
throughout the far corners of the world to every single person’s ear so that
they would realize the importance of creating awareness about AIDS.
Yours
sincerely
A
hoping mother
Written by: Mariyam Maisha Mohamed
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