The School of Public Affairs Leadership Sophomore Class is co-sponsoring a dance on April 21 to raise money to build a school for AIDS orphans in Uganda.
According to the World Health Organization, Uganda is one of a few countries to have experienced a decrease in HIV/AIDS prevalence in the past 15 years. This drop in infection rate is attributed to a strong public education program.
More schools are needed in order to continue educating children about the deadly disease and to provide a safe place for children whose lives have been tragically affected by AIDS.
"These children have lost their parents to AIDS, and many are impacted themselves by this devastating disease," said SPA sophomore Adi Vecchio, co-organizer of the event. "Africa has major problems getting the proper treatments to HIV and AIDS patients. Building a school will not only brighten their future, it will give them a peer group with similar experiences."
The SPA Leadership class is working in conjunction with Destination Kampala, the Student Government, the Gay-Straight Alliance, Circle K and Building Tomorrow, an organization that builds schools in Uganda. The organizations hope to raise $5,000 by the end of the semester, approximately half the amount needed to build one school, according to Vecchio.
"We chose to organize this dance because dancing is a great activity in college," Vecchio said. "It's fun, it allows for great contests and events and it allows people to listen to new music."
"Dancing Tonight, Building Tomorrow" will be held in the Tavern from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Individual tickets cost $10, couples' tickets cost $15 per pair and a set of tickets for teams of six costs $90. Teams receive T-shirts with their ticket
purchases.
