A chance of rain didn’t stop at least 25 people from attending Sunday night’s AIDS Candlelight Memorial in North Perth.
HAPAN, the Western Australian branch of the National Association of People Living With HIV/AIDS (NAPWA), organised the event with assistance from the WA AIDS Council and the Order of Perpetual Indulgence.
Organiser and NAPWA board member Diane Lloyd said she was pleased with the event.
‘About 25 to 30 people attended and the weather held off which was really good,’ Lloyd said.
‘I didn’t expect many more; it was much the same as last year.’
‘Louise [Pratt] spoke locally and globally while John Hyde spoke from the heart, [it was] different but good.’
MLA John Hyde shared some of his personal stories and experiences of how HIV/AIDS had touched his life while Senator Louise Pratt, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Liaison Group for HIV/AIDS spoke about HIV/AIDS on an international scale.
Jess, a Perth resident read a poem she had written on the everyday impact of HIV/AIDS as James Rendell from OPI paid homage to the late Elizabeth Taylor and her efforts in raising awareness for HIV/AIDS.
In NSW, Sydney moved its candlelight vigil from World AIDS Day in December to May 15 to align with the International Candlelight Memorial Day for the first time.
This year marked the 28th anniversary of the memorial; the grassroots movement is run by some 1,200 organisers from 115 countries around the world.
Benn Dorrington
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