Home Based Care Kit; £60

AIDS is ravaging Africa.
It is stigmatised even in rich and educated countries like the UK - so it's not a huge surprise, shocking though it is, that some African leaders try to deny that it exists. While politics rumble on irrelevantly over people's heads, blocking their access to treatment and swollen pharmaceutical multi-nationals dig their heels in to protect precious pennies that they wouldn't even notice - people have to live. The orphans and other dependants they leave behind, many also HIV-positive, have to live too.

This present is slightly more practical than wearing a red ribbon - not that there's anything wrong with that, raising awareness is a good thing - it's too easy to forget when a situation's not immediate for you. It provides kitchen bits, blankets, soap & stuff and will have a big impact on their general health. Eating properly, staying warm and keeping clean all have a huge impact, even though they're very small things.

[ from Oxfam Unwrapped, www.oxfamunwrapped.com ]