One of the sweetest smiles on earth.

Happy Friday, everyone.

The children that we meet through Pediatric AIDS Canada are an amazing bunch.  Brave, welcoming, fun.  And sometimes, their stories can just break your heart.

Like little Esther.  She was  born HIV+.  Her mother died of AIDS when she was just a baby.  Her father couldn’t face the burden of raising an HIV+ child, so he threw her out with the garbage and left her to die.

Miraculously, someone heard her cries and opened their heart and home to her.  Through Pediatric AIDS Canada, she receives an antibiotic that protects HIV+ children against opportunistic infections and delays the need to start ARV therapy. 

When the time comes, she will receive ARVs through us as well.

I am so grateful to the woman who rescued this precious little girl and gave her a new life.

I found a fairly distressing report from AIDSmap news this morning.  Fewer than one in five people with HIV in Kenya and Malawi know they are infected.  The implications of this are heart-breaking.

The good news is that awareness is starting to build.  And there are dedicated people working hard on the solution.

Find a friend and have some fun this weekend.  If these two can do it…

You may have noticed a new badge in our side bar.  I put it in last week.  It involved copying and pasting HTML code, which is always just a little scary for me.  

It links to our We-Care.com marketplace so that you can make a donation to Pediatric AIDS Canada just by adding one click to your online shopping.

It’s easy, it’s cool, it costs you nothing.  There are now nearly 1000 online merchants signed up with We-Care.com so chances are, at least  a few of the places you regularly shop online are already participating.

Next time you need to buy something online, please click through to our online marketplace first.  You’ll find the merchants you want, make a donation to a great cause at no extra cost to you and possibly even save money with the great coupons on offer!