08.12.11
Every year, on 1 December, the world community celebrates World AIDS Day and shows their support for those affected by HIV. Caritas Ukraine currently invests a lot of effort to improve the lives of HIV positive individuals, and helps prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS by spreading information. AIDS is a very pressing social issue in Ukraine today; its manifestations are very acute and painful for ever member of society, regardless of sex, age, social standing, religious affiliation, and even health status.
During World AIDS Day, an event was initiated by one of Caritas Brody’s social pedagogues. It was aimed at distributing information to prevent the spread of HIV and unhealthy behaviours among young people.
The goal was to improve the level of awareness of how HIV is spread and treated. To achieve this they organized a meeting for adolescents with medical worker Mariya Pidluzhna. 
The meeting was held on 30 November at the local Caritas centre. They screened a video called The History of One Symbol. Using games they encouraged young people to express their attitudes towards drug addicts, how HIV is spread, and tolerance for those with HIV/AIDS, and to evaluate how much they know about these problems. Participants all received a red ribbon—the internationally recognized way to express solidarity with AIDS victims and informational booklets on preventing HIV.
“We hope that this event will promote healthy habits and safe practices among children and adolescents in our city,” said Yuliya Prysyazhnyuk, the event’s organizer after it ended.
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