New Stars Shine

Update Hello again, I know it has been a century since I posted on here, I have been in a whirlwind of lifestyle changes that have caused me to lose priority for something I genuinely enjoy; writing. I decided to pick this back up as a form of procrastination against what I should be doing (which is technically working, but I am procrastinating against that with doing university dissertation work).  Lots have happened. A short but quick update; University of Brighton (the SU specifically) have plugged a fee onto societies, making my Youth Stop Aids emerging society fall flat on its face. I have decided to preoccupy myself with local communities rather than the University and direct my efforts to something that matters and doesn't cost a fee. With that in mind, I did manage to leave the society winning the established 'Society of the Year' award... which is ironic considering they then shut us down. I am continuing to work part-time as a sub-par reservationi...

A HUGE Happy New Year! 2018 is a big year for Youth Stop AIDS, we plan to demand extra funding from DFID for AIDS medication and education in February, as well as bombard the Amsterdam Government meeting with all things powerful and youth-led to make sure our MPs are saying the right things in aspect to funding for HIV/AIDS.   With this in mind and more, the year kicked off to a great start, as a society in Brighton we achieved our developing status award, which was a challenge considering it was a brand new society in a very naive area (believe it or not). We also signed on new members at the Brighton SU Refresher's Fair (go us!). Kennedy, 25 from Kenya. In February it started with the Speaker Tour Event! A fantastic opportunity where selected speakers travel all over the country in a month speaking at various events about their own personal stories. On the 7th February, it landed in Brighton. A great chance for the society to get it's first official event, and ...

Hello everyone! Apologies for the delay in recent blogging. Unfortunately I have been experiencing long term back problems, and in May it finally meant I could get the operation to restore my spinal disc. This meant I was pretty much unable to do a lot for a few months. However in that time I did manage to meet a few people from Youth Stop Aids, and give a few updates on what is happening. For those of you who don’t follow my blog, Youth Stop Aids is an organisation which tackles issues facing young people suffering from HIV/AIDS, targeting the stigmas society holds against these people. Not only this, but as a group we help fight the large organisations that hold the medicines people have a right too, we support those suffering and promote testing for all. By doing all of this and more, we hope to end AIDS by 2030! So I have recently decided to join up with Youth Stop Aids in Sussex. With their help my aim is to bring a new society to Brighton University, which...

Good morning, It has been a while since my last post, I have been rushed off my feet with university and extra projects- as well as a full time job! As you know from my previous post, I am raising money for Biwati's Children Home: 'Established to protect children displaced by Kenyan post-election violence in 2007, the Biwati Community School was founded in Cham gi Wadu in 2010 by a group of 10 local women led by Jayne Awuor Owino. Their goal was to provide children with a safe educational environment as well as hope for a secure future because many of these children were being exploited through forced child labour and sexual abuse. The school comprises 100 children, 15 of whom suffer from maternal HIV infection. Whilst a large number of the children are orphans, many stay with elderly grandmothers. Some have been abandoned by their relatives and are homeless and these are accommodated group members in their own homes. There are two retired teachers, one of whom is th...

Second to last day here, at one of the greatest places in the world. Every morning I am greeted by a sea of incredible people. I have been here such a short time, but the people here have shown me what I needed. They showed me there is a possibility to change this world. ' The world is fucked, but it doesn't mean we have to be' (Chanelle Manton, first time volunteer, lifetime of change) Last night got pretty emotional for my collegue and I. We hit that pivotical moment of realisation, that the work we do helps, and little by little, step by step, volunteer by volunteer, we can create a following of people that believe in change, believe in better, and together we can achieve so much. Without belief we are just another man in a bucket of millions, working, eating, dying. Organising the kitchen distribution. Today was another day of work, we organised shelves for quick access distribution, and reorganised the overflow warehouse ready for the shipment ...

Hello! Interesting karma.. Another day with another day of work, another day of helping. Volunteering has always been a huge passion of mine for years. It is something that I consider a great aspect in my life. This evening I had an opportunity to go and speak with some of the volunteers working at the warehouse, it was interesting to see others with the same determination as myself.  I was speaking to one of the 'experts' as we call it (volunteers who have been at the warehouse for over a week), and he spoke to me on issues that affected him, and why he came to volunteer. It is perceived to be that people chose to do this for a few reasons: A passionate volunteer 1) They have had a difficult past, and think this is the best way to remove the past they've had and to rectify the future. 2) They have had a very fortunate past, and this is how they are returning the favour. 3) They believe they can be the change, and are fed up of what is seen in the media...