Steinbach, Manitoba

My lovely raven-haired mother, Amanda Marie Reimer, was born 82 years ago today… and was married to my remarkable father, John Jacob Peters, 19 years later to the day—congratulations (and thanks :-) are once again in order.

So sorry you were taken away from us at such a young age, Mom—there’s been so much in the past four decades you would have loved to experience…

What is it they say—only the young die good?

Geneva, Switzerland

According to UNAIDS (the joint United Nations project on HIV/AIDS) estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2007 some 2.5 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35. Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

Started on 1 December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done…

Find out more about HIV/AIDS and efforts to fight the disease here.