October 15th, the last day of Hispanic Heritage month, marks the National Latino AIDS Awareness Day 2004 (NLAAD 2004). ContraSIDA Program, the only program in SC providing HIV education exclusively to the Hispanic community, will commemorate the NLAAD 2004 with a series of events and activities that include a Hispanic Community Festival on October 15th and a one-hour radio program called "Abre los Ojos: el VIH no tiene fronteras" to increase HIV awareness in the only radio station in Spanish in the area of Midlands SC, 840 AM.

CHALLENGE FOR LATINOS IN CONFRONTING HIV/AIDS:
OPEN YOUR EYES: HIV HAS NO BORDERS

We must join as a Latino family regardless of country of origin into a united voice for awareness and confronting the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. We must demand access to care regardless of immigration status. We must not settle for waiting lists or exclusion for access to life saving medical care. We must talk frankly to each other and to our families about sexuality, drug use and the fears and stigma we all associate with HIV/AIDS. We must OPEN THE EYES of elected and appointed leadership, foundations, religious leaders, celebrities, governmental agencies, media and civic leaders so they will truly be our partners in addressing this health crisis. We must speak out in our churches, community groups, neighborhoods, legislatures, city councils, community forums and everywhere else that presents a platform on the hard issues of sexuality and drug use and the related concerns of immigration and access to meaningful prevention and health care.

October 15 is the one day we set aside to renew our commitment to ending the spread of HIV and ensuring quality of life to those with HIV regardless of their Spanish speaking country of origin or immigration status. We do so whether we are Latino, African American, Asian, White or Native American.

ABRE LOS OJOS: EL VIH NO TIENE FRONTERAS