13,000 STUDENTS EMBARK ON AIDS AWARENESS PROGRAMME (SPREAD, MAY 31, 2010)

Thirteen thousand students from junior and senior high schools nation wide last year took part in HIV/AIDS awareness creation projects designed to prevent the spread of the disease in the country.
The awareness creation campaign, which was undertaken by the students themselves, was to break the barrier of age which sometimes worked against HIV/AIDS campaigns.
The project offered opportunities to the youth to relate stories on HIV/AIDS to their fellow youth, thereby removing the communication gaps which usually existed between the youth and adults.
The acting President of AIESEC, the world’s largest students organisation, Ms Lydia Elim Andrews, said the organisation provided students with the opportunity to develop themselves by avoiding HIV/AIDS, one of the killer diseases affecting the youth worldwide.
She said the Ghana branch of AIESEC also implemented three projects for young entrepreneurs in 2009, including Information and Communications Technology training for students of the University of Ghana, the Central University College and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Ms Andrews said as part of its achievements in 2009, AIESEC offered opportunities to 200 students to benefit from exchange programmes with other international bodies.
She said only five Ghanaian students were able to travel outside for the exchange programme because of financial constraints and appealed to corporate organisations to assist the organisation in its efforts at training the future leaders of the country.
She said in 2009, AIESEC also assisted in the organisation of Afritour, which was aimed at attracting more tourists into the country and generating foreign exchange for the development of tourism sites in the country.
Ms Andrews said a year-long programme of activities had been drawn up to mark the 50th anniversary of AIESEC, beginning from July this year to July 2011.
Newly elected executive members of AIESEC for 2011 were introduced at the dinner and awards night.
Mr Kwesi Tabiri Fosu, the new President of the organisation, will preside over the projects for 2011.
The dinner also saw the presentation of certificates to a number of institutions for assisting the students movement to undertake projects.
Some of the award-winning organisations were the Ghana Immigration Service for assisting AIESEC members to go through immigration formalities without undue hindrances and delays, the Central University College, the University of Cape Coast and the University of Ghana for running the best AIESEC programmes and projects and for their membership drive.
Another institution that was singled out for awards was Standard Chartered Bank, which sponsored most of the projects and programmes of AIESEC, while Toyota Ghana received commendation for sponsoring the awards nights.