World AIDS Day 2008 marked an occasion to commemorate the millions of people who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, to remember the lives lost, and to celebrate the power we all have to live positively or stay negative.

Kaelo’s focus during the week of 1 December was to increase awareness of the importance of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) among our clients and their employees.

To help achieve this goal, Kaelo distributed Fortune Cookies to clients and employees. The message inside the cookie read “Spread the word, not the disease.” This concept was intended to promote the idea that by taking responsibility for our lives and our actions – and by sharing the message with those we love - we can all take control of our respective futures and our destiny.

On the other side of the fortune cookie message was a place for employees to fill in their name and contact number to indicate their interest in being tested and to schedule a VCT appointment with Kaelo. This creative idea sparked immediate awareness and action, which resulted in a doubling of VCT requests for the week surrounding World AIDS Day.

HIV talks and trainings were also offered to Kaelo clients on topics such as Living with HIV, Sex in the Time of HIV/AIDS, and HIV and VCT Workshops. Such talks and workshops are vital to helping achieve an understanding among all South Africans of the capacity of HIV positive individuals to live and work as active and productive members of society – which remains a common misconception.

Kaelo’s speakers, who were kept very busy around World AIDS Day, included Masike Morelle, Terri Lyn Cohen and John Mokoto.

John Mokoto, a Kaelo employee, has been living with HIV for the past seven years. He has proven a positive role model to other HIV positive people, demonstrating that it is indeed possible to live healthily and work productively with the virus. John’s talk speaks honestly about the challenges of living with the virus, ranging from health ups and downs to the stigma of HIV/AIDS imposed by fellow South Africans who lack knowledge and understanding. Yet John firmly impressed upon his audiences that through increased awareness, and a positive attitude, hardships of HIV/AIDS can and will be overcome.

Clients were enthusiastic about Kaelo’s events and service offerings surrounding World AIDS Day 2008, We hope that the Fortune Cookie Campaign will have sparked momentum among

can be a part of the Kaelo HIV/ AIDS awareness campaign. The idea is to create memory and action with employees so that when they receive a Fortune Cookie they will know it is a message from Kaelo Consulting, reminding them that testing and living responsibly is in their hands – they hold their Fortune in their hands.

Part of this responsibility to oneself and those you love and respect includes protecting yourself by using condoms, getting tested every 6 months, taking care of your health, eating well and, if applicable, taking ARV medication consistently to ensure you maintains a healthy CD4 count.

As we begin a new year, we encourage everyone to remember that World AIDS Day should not just be reserved for 1 December, but should be regarded every single day; millions of lives are still affected by this disease daily – particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa - and a comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS requires our attention and a scale up in both treatment and prevention in 2009 as much as ever.