UNCP´s new organization, Keep a Child Alive is the first in the state

By Shelby Hughes
Guest Writer

Keep a Child Alive has met all requirements of approval, as of last week, and is now officially an on-campus organization.

Keep a Child Alive is an AIDS awareness organization devoted to providing life-saving anti-retroviral treatment to children and their families with HIV/AIDS in Africa and developing countries by directly engaging people of all communities in the fight against AIDS.

The Keep a Child Alive @ UNCP chapter was founded by a few upperclassmen, who were drawn to the cause and the organization, worked to make the organization an established chapter.      

 ¨I'm happy to be an adviser for Keep a Child Alive because it couples public awareness with real action. In Africa and the developing world, AIDS is ravaging families and weakening communities, and it's the children who suffer. Because of globalization, we know about the problem, and we see that we have a responsibility¨ said Dr. Scott Hicks.

The organization is hoping for campus support and participation.        

“It’s a sleeping giant. No one knows how big its going to be” said Parris Dottery, a member of the Nu Omicron chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi. 

¨I am a first generation Congolese-American so the AIDS crisis in Africa truly hits home. As student body vice president myself and President Marvin Jacobs see a vision that many institutions have not emphasized, a vision of a unified university. UNCP has over 20 different races represented and an idea of a consolidation of cultures brings a different dynamic to the entire UNC system and the south as a region. Once a chapter was adopted here, UNCP became the first university in our region to endorse Keep A Child Alive and we look to set precedence in allowing us all to see the one important race, the HUMAN RACE¨ said Vice President Mo Mutima, of the Student Government Association.        

The KCA @ UNCP chapter plans to raise awareness of the ever-growing AIDS epidemic in Africa through various events, activities and fundraising throughout the year.
       
Keep a Child Alive is a huge milestone because it is the first organizations of its kind at UNCP and it will bring recognition to UNCP and hopefully other schools will follow.        

“It’s one of the best things to happen to UNCP, not to mention the state of North Carolina. This is the first chapter in the state” said Deanna Rooths, the secretary of the UNCP chapter.      

 The Keep a Child Alive @ UNCP chapter will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, October 24th at 7p.m. in the University Center.