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Interview: UNAIDS lauds China's summer camp for children orphaned by AIDS

Xinhua, July 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

A senior official of the United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has lauded China's initiative to provide care and support to children orphaned by AIDS through its summer camp.

Hellen Atieno Odido, Investment and Efficiency Adviser at the UNAIDS office in Ghana, said the camp was an opportunity for children living with HIV and those affected by it to see the world and to expand their view beyond their problems.

The "Love Under the Sun" camp is an initiative of the Chinese association of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS prevention and control.

It aims to open the children's view through sightseeing tour and interesting training activities which will make them relax, feel others care for them and improve their mental and physical health.

Odido said the seven-day visit would send out messages of hope to the children for them to know that they had a future beyond HIV.

"So, this is a show of love to children who have not seen love for a long time," she told Xinhua in an interview on Thursday after a send-off ceremony for the delegation at the residence of the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana.

"I will tell Ghanaians that we have these children in Ghana who have no parents, no love, who are affected by HIV. They have a lot of needs out there. Let us try and show love to all of them," she said.

"If the Chinese can give our children this kind of opportunity, why can't we do it in this country? There are a lot of people in Ghana who have resources and love who can do the same," she told Xinhua.

Salome Amenyah, one of the delegates, thanked the Chinese government for the gesture.

She hoped to meet new friends in China, learn more about Chinese culture and also tell them about the Ghanaian culture.

Chelsea Eldridge Tuffour, a representative of the team, said they hoped to build a life-long friendship with young Chinese people during their seven-day visit to the country.

The Ghanaian delegation for the camp includes 10 children, two teachers and one official.

The summer camp has successfully been held for six times since 2010 and this is the first time foreign delegations from Africa will be attending the camp. Endit