Aid for AIDS celebrates Xmas

PANAMA. Volunteers turned out in droves at the Miraflores Locks on Friday, to bring Christmas cheer and excitement to over 300 children and their families, who are part of the Aid for AIDS program operated from the Hospital del Niño in Panama city.

Sponsors including the Kirby Simon Trust Foundation, operating via the American Embassy, made sure the kids, many with HIV or aids, had plenty to eat, games, live music, two giant piñatas and the ongoing support and love of the volunteers who included Minori Misawa, wife of the Japanese Ambassador and members of JICA (the Japan International Corporation Agency) which has volunteers on assignment from their home country, working in locations across the country, including the Children’s hospital and the Gorgas Institute.

Aid for Aids International is a non-profit organization committed to improving the quality of life of people living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquiredimmondeficiency syndrome. The head of the Panama chapter, working out of the Children’s Hospital is Maria Aguais Zambrano, who will shortly be losing one of her enthusiastic workers, Mika Momma, who will be returning to Japan, and her job as a high school teacher at the end of her tour of duty in January.