October 2006
Miss Universe on AIDS awareness campaign in Chennai
Chennai: Miss
Universe Zuleyka Rivera, who is on a visit to India to create
awareness about AIDS, visited Chennai on Tuesday. The 19-year-old
Puerto Rican urged the eople to get tested for the disease
if they valued their life and family. "All of us know that
this is a real very serious issue. Life is very important.
We have to value it. All those people who are there around
you and who care for you and love you and if it is in our
hands to take care about your life why wont you do it. Why?
So, that's why we are here to tell all of you that without
the test you can't know your status," Rivera said. Earlier
she visited Delhi and Mumbai's oldest and Asia's largest red
light area to advocate the need for protected sex among the
commercial sex workers. Apart from Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai,
Rivera's itinerary includes Cochin, and IT hubs Bangalore
and Hyderabad. Rivera is in India as part of a team of models,
using fashion as a medium to campaign against the dreaded
disease. The slogan of the campaign is "Get Tested, it's in
Fashion". India has the world's highest HIV/AIDS caseload
with 5.7 million infected people. Although the country reported
its first case over 20 years ago, many sufferers still face
acute stigma due to a lack of awareness and misconceptions
about the disease.
-Oct 31, 2006
Miss Universe visits Asia's largest red
light area
Mumbai: Miss
Universe 2006 Zuleyka Rivera met sex workers here to generate
awareness about AIDS. She visited Kamathipura, Mumbai's oldest
and Asia's largest red light area along with other international
models and her fashion designer friend Sanjana John. Aiming
to spread awareness about the killer disease among the sex
workers, Rivera advocated the need for a more humane approach
in dealing with persons who were a part of the profession.
"I think I am pretty sure, because when people come to see
and people take care of you then you feel that you are really
of value for those people, that you are somebody for those
people," said Rivera. Using fashion as a medium to spread
awareness, Rivera and the others preached the slogan "Get
Tested, it's in Fashion". Nineteen-year old Rivera of Puerto
Rico was crowned Miss Universe 2006 in July. Apart from Mumbai,
Rivera will also visit New Delhi, Cochin, Chennai, Bangalore
and Hyderabad. India has the world's highest national HIV/AIDS
caseload with 5.7 million infected people. Although the country
reported its first case over 20 years ago, many victims still
face acute stigma due to a lack of awareness and misconceptions
about the disease.
-Oct 27, 2006
Treat AIDS like any other disease: Miss
Universe 2006
Mumbai: Miss
Universe 2006 Zuleyka Rivera, who is on a two-week long AIDS
awareness tour of India, said there is no point in attaching
a social stigma to AIDS, and that this ailment should be treated
like any other disease. "It is not the end of the world. It
is like other disease that you can have. You just have to
take care of yourself, to take treatment, to take medications
to live long. In this generation you can do it, inclusive
of having children with HIV or AIDS. All you have to do is
to take care of yourself," Rivera said while on visit "Antarang",
a clinic that treats victims of sexually transmitted diseases.
Health officials said Rivera's gesture would go a long way
in attracting the public attention to fight the killer disease.
"People have elected her Miss Universe, and when she says
something on AIDS, people will listen to her and accept it,"
Mangal Bhanushali, a health official at the clinic, said.
Nineteen-year old Rivera of Puerto Rico, crowned Miss Universe
2006 in July, is on her first visit to India. Rivera, during
her tour will visit several red-light areas and work towards
creating awareness about AIDS particularly by using fashion
as a medium, including the use of slogans such as "Get tested,
its in fashion". Apart from Mumbai, Rivera will also visit
New Delhi, Kochi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. India
has the world's highest national HIV/AIDS caseload with 5.7
million infected people.
-Oct 26, 2006
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