AIDS Awareness Charity Dinner
By Laila Rahman

Datin Hjh Edah (C) and other members of the Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council at the press briefing.

Datin Hjh Edah, President of the Brunei AIDS Council showing the charity dinner tickets.

By the end of 2002 UNAIDS reported that the number of people living with HIV/AIDS globally has risen to 42 million of which 3.2 million were children under 15.

The establishment of the Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council in 1997 has been able to implement many HIV/AIDS educational awareness and prevention programmes targeted at youths and women as well as provide support for HIV/AIDS patients, including financial support, which has been contributed generously by individuals and organisations. The Council's mission is to provide educational and preventive programmes to stop the spread of HIV by increasing public awareness and understanding of the disease and its transmission.

As an NGO, it does not have a steady and regular income to fund their many programmes and much of their funds are raised through fund raising activities such as the upcoming charity dinner that will be held at the Royal Berkshire Hall, Jerudong Park Country Club on Saturday, 18th October 2003 at 8.00 pm.

This was announced by Datin Hajah Edah bte Hj Mohd Noor, President of the Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council during the press meeting held at the D'Anggerek Hotel, yesterday. The event promises to be a colourful show full of music and songs performed by Malaysian artistes including Nash from Lefthanded and Dayang Norfaizah. Several local artistes will also be performing including Pengiran Zainal Abidin bin Pengiran Haji Puteh and Azlina Abdul Ghani.

Datin Hajah Edah added that there are 65 tables available for the auspicious event, 15 Platinum tables, which cost $2,000 per table, 20 Gold tables, which cost $1,500 per table, 20 Silver tables, which cost $1,000 per table and 10 Bronze tables, which cost $800 per table.

She encouraged individuals and organisations in the country to support their noble cause by purchasing the tickets for the upcoming charity dinner.

For more enquiries on purchasing these tickets please contact Dayang Hjh Hasnah Hj Azri at 2244457, Awang Ismail Pengarah Dato Paduka Hj Othman at 2237399, Dayang Hjh Rosmah Hj Hasbollah at 8720990, Datin Paduka Hajah Rokiah Hj Zakiah at 8754124, Awang Hj Hamdillah Hj Metarsat at 8626227, Awang Haji Mohd Hazrin bin Haji Mohd Daud at 8788476 or Dayang Hjh Ummi Mazrinah at the Charity Dinner Hotline number 2345573.

Another announcement made was the Poster Drawing Competition on Awareness & Prevention of HIV and AIDS 2003, which is open to the citizens and permanent residents of the country.

Rules and regulations of the competition are that the participants of the competition must be aged 21-years-old and above, the drawing submitted must be original and never been published before, exhibited or never entered for other competitions. Each participant should send only one poster for the competition.

The dateline of the competition is November 1, 2003 before 4 pm. All entries are to be submitted to the Secretariat of the Poster Drawing Competition on Awareness & Prevention of HIV and AIDS 2003, Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council, 5th Floor, D'Anggerek Hotel, Kg Luagan Pulaie.

During the press meeting Datin Hajah Edah mentioned that teenagers and youths are the easiest group to be influenced by their surroundings. Thus it was imperative that the focus should be on them to guide them to a positive, healthy way of life, which is also one of the missions and objectives for the establishment of the Brunei Darussalam Peer Guide AIDS Council.

Among the activities that the Peer Guide AIDS Council has participated in were programmes organised by the Commonwealth Youth Programme held at Kuala Lumpur and India, Asean Workshop on HIV/AIDS Malacca, 7th Prostar Meeting at Kuantan, Pahang and Jogjakarta Roundtable Meeting at Jogjakarta Indonesia.

She also explained that the other activities organised by the Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council, which will be held from November 2003 till January 2004, are Sales of Flag Day, World AIDS Day 2003, HIV/AIDS forum, Leaflet trail, Red Ribbon Charity Run, Youth Counsellors Convention Residential, road show with Standard Chartered Bank for RBA and a Charity Bazaar.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin