AIDS-HIV

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES:
ITS NATURE, CAUSES, AND EFFECTS

Director: Robert Dean

Casts:

Lisa – she was infected by virus, but was continuously taking her medicines for the treatment.
David Howard – husband of Lisa.
Lonnie – he is educating the inmates about HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).
Antionette – she is an ex-convict who are helping the inmates to re-enter the society by giving them faith and hope.
Coleman – one of the inmates.
Steve – he is one of the few persons who are not infected by virus. He has immunity for virus like HIV.
Anita – she remained virus free.
Tom – he is a vaccine volunteer.
Jowhara, Ryan, Travis, Brandon, Elizabeth – they are educated by the possible effects of HIV, and so they help other peers be informed about HIV.
Jerry Guild


SYNOPSIS:

Many people are now inflicted by a virus which is known as HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In Africa, almost 900,000 of them have HIV. This is cause by a disease which is commonly found in primates. And some theorized that this disease is transmitted to humans by means of physical contact, or by eating a primate which is infected by that disease.
Only few people have immunity for this disease, just like Steve. He had actually volunteered himself so that scientists could study why he not infected by this virus. And then the scientists found out that the virus just bounce back, and cannot enter his body.
Here in the Philippines, many are also dying because of HIV. But this disease is more prevalent in Africa. In jails, most inmates have HIV. Maybe, it’s the reason why jails are regarded as the breeding ground for virus. There are some who are educating the inmates about HIV, one of them is Lonnie. He is teaching them the possible ill-effects of HIV, so that the inmates could prevent it, by means of having a sexual intercourse safely. There are some safely measures like condom.
Inmates are more protected to HIV than those people who are in bars and sexually active, because they are regularly taking medicines, and have a routine check-up. We all know that inmates have a bad image in our society. Some even think that inmates will always do something bad. But it’s good that there are still persons who are helping these inmates to re-enter the society. One of them is Antionette. She is an ex-convict, and she helps inmates by giving them faith and hope.
Also, some are educating the youth to some information about HIV. And some of these youth are Jowhara, Ryan, Travis, Brandon, and Elizabeth. They are well-informed of its causes and effects, and then they help other youth to be also aware of the HIV, and also how to prevent it. They called this “peer helping.”
One of the people who are infected by HIV is Lisa. She is regularly taking her medicines, which helps her prevent the spreading of virus in her body.
But for us, to prevent this virus, scientists and doctors suggest that we must stay clean in and out.

COMMENTARIES:

I am not against those persons who are sexually active. But for me, we must avoid having sex while we are studying or while we are not really committed to someone since we are still young, and we have to be responsible enough to take a good care of ourselves. If someone wants to have a sexual intercourse with another person, it is his/her responsibility to prevent himself/herself from being infected by a virus if ever his/her partner is infected or he/she is not confident that his/her partner is virus-free.
I am aware that many people are dying because of HIV, and it’s a really critical disease that needs to be given immediate cure. But to take medicines is not just enough. We must prevent it from infecting us before it occurs. As they said, prevention is the best treatment.
I am greatly amazed of those persons who are volunteering to educate other people about HIV, because it’s really a great help to our society, especially to those inmates. They are inmates but it doesn’t mean that they should not be given an opportunity to live; especially many of the inmates are infected by HIV.
Also, the peer helping could help a lot in their country because they teach the youth to be more careful if ever they would have a sexual intercourse with someone. Actually, our society nowadays doesn’t really care if we would have sex, but we would now care if this will infect many people, including our neighbors and relatives, and eventually it can also affect us.
Nowadays, youth are sexually active, so it’s better if they will have a broad understanding of the possible effects if they will not use safety measures to prevent themselves from being infected by a virus.
HIV now is a very dreadful disease. And thousands of people are dying and experiencing this disease. So I suggest that we must be careful. And as what I have read in College Sociology book, we must stick to only one partner, and have a regular check-up to prevent ourselves from being infected by AIDS.