According to the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, one third of Grade 11 students in Canada don’t know AIDS is incurable. Toronto’s United Youth Initiative (UYI) seeks to change that on Dec 1 — World AIDS Day — by mobilizing hundreds of young people as peer educators in a project called One Million Red Ribbons.
"We’re committed to working with our own hands to effect change and raise awareness about pressing social issues in our own communities," says Justin Lee, one of UYI’s members. In addition to organizing larger projects, UYI holds regular "mousetrap meetings" — named after an icebreaking activity at one of their early meetings — at which members volunteer all across the GTA.
One Million Red Ribbons is the brainchild of 18-year-old Ryan Tremblay, UYI’s founder, who has been working on HIV/AIDS issues since he was in high school. "I did a survey at my school and I found out only two percent of students knew the difference between HIV and AIDS," says Tremblay. "That really shocked me and the more I looked into it the more I realized how many people believe incorrect information. That was a call to action."
