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CWA "Has Done Wonders," Grateful AIDS Worker Says
As her tears flowed, Florence Ngobeni said that standing before the convention hall full of CWA members, whose locals have given generously to pediatric aids research, “was a dream come true.”
“As a counselor, as a mother, as a worker, I’m proud to share with you today that your work has done wonders in our lives,” said Ngobeni, an HIV-positive woman who lost her baby to AIDS and now offers tireless care and counseling for the staggering numbers of HIV-AIDS patients in Soweto, South Africa.
Ngobeni spoke as the convention honored locals that have raised the most money for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation, CWA’s charity of choice.
The Ariel Glaser Award, named for the late Elizabeth Glaser’s daughter who died of AIDS, was presented for the second straight year to Local 9400, which raised more than $65,000 for the foundation.
The Hope Award, for the local that achieved the highest percentage of their quota for contributions, went to Local 9505, which met the quota 15 times over.
CWA is working to raise even more money. CWA President Morton Bahr, along with AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, recently met with the president of the World Bank to talk about funding to combat AIDS and the issue will be on the agenda when 60 global labor leaders meet with bank officials in Washington this fall.
“Between now and then, thousands more children will be infected and thousands more will die,” Bahr said. “This is a race against the clock.”
At 29 and with access to drugs that few in Africa are able to take — a fact that also makes her cry — Ngobeni looks healthy in spite of the HIV. But she struggles with her own health and the enormous suffering of the people around her.
“What is hard is that children are involved, children that are my children and your children,” she said. “Working in the hospital I have learned to love, to forgive and to embrace life. This union has helped us embrace life, has helped us bring hope to those who are hopeless and I’m proud to be standing here today to say ‘thank you’ for all your efforts.”
“As a counselor, as a mother, as a worker, I’m proud to share with you today that your work has done wonders in our lives,” said Ngobeni, an HIV-positive woman who lost her baby to AIDS and now offers tireless care and counseling for the staggering numbers of HIV-AIDS patients in Soweto, South Africa.
Ngobeni spoke as the convention honored locals that have raised the most money for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation, CWA’s charity of choice.
The Ariel Glaser Award, named for the late Elizabeth Glaser’s daughter who died of AIDS, was presented for the second straight year to Local 9400, which raised more than $65,000 for the foundation.
The Hope Award, for the local that achieved the highest percentage of their quota for contributions, went to Local 9505, which met the quota 15 times over.
CWA is working to raise even more money. CWA President Morton Bahr, along with AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, recently met with the president of the World Bank to talk about funding to combat AIDS and the issue will be on the agenda when 60 global labor leaders meet with bank officials in Washington this fall.
“Between now and then, thousands more children will be infected and thousands more will die,” Bahr said. “This is a race against the clock.”
At 29 and with access to drugs that few in Africa are able to take — a fact that also makes her cry — Ngobeni looks healthy in spite of the HIV. But she struggles with her own health and the enormous suffering of the people around her.
“What is hard is that children are involved, children that are my children and your children,” she said. “Working in the hospital I have learned to love, to forgive and to embrace life. This union has helped us embrace life, has helped us bring hope to those who are hopeless and I’m proud to be standing here today to say ‘thank you’ for all your efforts.”