On December 1, 2008, we mark the 20th anniversary of World Aids Day. With more than 33 million individuals infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide, according to UN AIDS, and 2.7 million new HIV infections in 2007, steady support for those dealing with the disease is critical.

Such consistent support comes from Fair Trade companies focused on artisans with HIV/AIDS. Many members of the Fair Trade Federation help make the lives of these individuals easier by providing work and access to clinical care.

Members focused on partnering with those infected with HIV/AIDS include

• Bead For Life - Women in Uganda living with HIV turn recycled paper into beautiful necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, as well as elegant jewelry bags from hand printed cotton fabrics. BeadforLife also sponsors community development projects in the areas of health, education, vocational training, affordable housing, and savings programs.
  
• Cards from Africa - Based in Kigali, Rwanda, CfA manufactures beautiful hand-crafted greeting cards and other paper products for all occasions. CfA seeks to break the cycle of poverty for orphaned youth by providing stable employment, fair wages, and job training through a nurturing, highly creative environment – all with the goal of teaching them the skills to one day start their own business. Card makers are all young people who lead their families because they have lost their parents to the 1994 genocide, HIV/AIDS, or other illnesses.
• Creative Women, Inc. - Ellen Dorsch founded Creative Women Inc. after visiting Ethiopia and observing former sex workers who were training for other professions, but could not find work. Women in HIV/AIDS rehab centers were sewing and embroidering beautiful tablecloths, but the only market for their products was a small bazaar for the ex-pats in the capitol. She realized that an opportunity existed to improve women’s lives and to maintain a centuries-old art form by introducing the West to the beauty of Ethiopian textiles.
• Imani Workshops - A revenue-generating social enterprise focused on producing high quality crafts by HIV+ artisans in western Kenya. Imani offers jewelry, paper, tailoring, and knitting products. One hundred percent of all Imani sales and donations go back to the artisans to provide wages and various materials for business operations.
  
• Siempre Sol - Siempre Sol is a micro-enterprise bringing work to Hondurans living with HIV/AIDS. All proceeds go to the workshops and to the Siempre Unidos clinics, which seek to help those infected—and their families—with medical and emotional support. Siempre Sol produces stylish jewelry and fun baby clothes, handmade with earth-friendly materials, as well as small order logo items, such as canvas bags and hospital gowns that are great brand-builders for companies and organizations.

Today, and each day of the year, your support for these organizations changes the lives those living with HIV/AIDS.