Hundreds of student from Hun Sen Boribour high school participated in the longest march ever in Boribour district of Kompong Chnang province to honour those who have been affected by the AIDS pandemic on Candle Light Memorial Day last week.

"Never give up, never forget" is a theme of the 9th National Memorial Day campaign that focused on remembering those who have been affected by HIV & AIDS and continuing support to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS in Cambodia.

 "When you light your candle today, feel touched by its meaning- remember what we did, who we helped, what we have lost due to the disease called AIDS and what we have gained. Let the Candle Light Day be a beautiful day in your life because of what you did," said Mr. Richard Pooley, manager of World Vision’s HIV and AIDS Programme.  

Mr. Richard continued, "HIV is not being spread as quickly as in the past. This is a good achievement. And on a day like this we let more people know that the spread of HIV is preventable."

18 year-old Tech Sokha, student in grade 10 of Hun Sen Boribour high school expressed his enthusiasm to be part of the march by sharing, "AIDS is everybody’s problem that needs to be prevented. My participation today is to show my respect and commitment that I am not discriminating against those affected by AIDS."   

Mrs. Sat Sina, a woman affected by AIDS shared, "When I fell into AIDS in 2006, I received so much discrimination from my neighbours that made me feel hopeless and wanted to commit suicide. But with the strong effort from local and international NGOs like World Vision, many people have become aware about HIV & AIDS transmission and stopped discriminating against me."
       
World Vision has been responding to the HIV&AIDS crisis in Cambodia for more than 15 years, commencing just one year after the country detected its first case.

"I do not consider people living with HIV & AIDS as scary as before. I understand how HIV is transmitted from one person to another," says Panha Sopheak (14), student at grade 8.  Another student from the same grade expressed her excitement by sharing, "I have a classmate who is living with AIDS, but I never discriminate against her. We play together, sit near each other just like normal friends."

At the end of the event, participants were asked to lit candles and pray for those who have
died due to AIDS.

After peaking at over 3% of the adult population, HIV prevalence has subsided to a less alarming 0.9%, World Vision Cambodia considers the candle light day as the most touching and beautiful event of the year.