PLEASE, JUST DO IT!

"Pins and needles, pins and needles, all I get is pins and needles...." kids singing a jump rope song', playing hop scotch, keeping summer hours leisurely - no worries beyond dreading the beginning of school or desiring the beginning of school. That's the way it is supposed to be. That is the way my childhood was. Perhaps that was true of your childhood also. That is the way it should be.

But for many kids it is not that way at all. Young children who have been touched by HIV/AIDS have very little of such worry free time on their hands. When they should be wondering how long before Daddy gets home from work, instead they are wondering how long does Daddy have to live. Instead of being worried because Momma's expecting another baby they are worried because Momma is in the hospital with AIDS related pneumonia.

But there is good news. There are more people becoming aware of the problems of children in homes that suffer from AIDS. There is more help becoming available. More organizations are becoming aware of the needs of children whose parent or perhaps even both parents are sick. More people are making themselves available to adopt these children or to provide temporary homes of refuge for such children.

In the mean time we can all simply become more aware of the special needs of HIV/AIDS families. They need people who can do all of the things that need doing in a normal household. Meals need to be cooked and dishes washed. Repairs need to be made and bills paid. There are phone calls to be made and errands to be run. Help with homework and clothes to be washed.

What can I do? I'm not an HIV specialist. I can't commit to doing these things for someone every day. The answer is, I can do anything I know how to do. Anything I have learned to do over the years in the course of everyday living I can apply to helping "make ends meet" in a home that is reeling from the effects of HIV/AIDS. And you don't have to commit to every day. Even one day a week, perhaps even one day a month for some chores can help more than you will ever know.

If you can drive a car, change a diaper, tutor a student, relieve a care giver, comfort a care giver, sit with a patient, walk a dog, help facilitate the application for disability or food stamps -the list is endless - then you can help. And most of these same needs exist in homes where there are no children -perhaps just a couple or a single person.

Perhaps you have heard the old poem that goes something like this, "For the want of a nail a horse shoe was lost. For the want of the shoe a horse was lost. For the want of a horse a rider was lost. For the want of a rider a kingdom was lost." In just such a way, for the want of a person to give a few minutes of help here and there a family with HIV or some other dread disease can be made to suffer many losses unnecessarily, if you are reading this and are not yourself in the catagory of needing the help that I have been listing, then you are the one that can help.

"Pins and needles,pins and needles. all I get is pins and needles...". lf all you can do is help a child learn how to jump rope or play hop scotch - please do it! It will make such a difference!

Learn more about this author, Donald Hancock.
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