An exhibit at the West campus is aiming to educate attendees about the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa by sharing the stories of four children.
World Vision, a Christian humanitarian group working to help families in poverty, sponsors the exhibit — The World Vision Experience: AIDS. The traveling interactive exhibit illustrates the struggles African children have with the disease, said Ange St. Hilaire, tour communications manager.
“The experience is a walkthrough exhibit where visitors come in, get an audio headset and can step into the life of a child who is affected by HIV or AIDS living in sub-Saharan Africa,” St. Hilaire said.
Through the audio recording, attendees learn the daily battles children with AIDS experience, she said, while being surrounded by photographs from the children’s homes and neighborhoods.
“[World Vision] wants to put people into the children’s shoes to understand what they’re going through,” St. Hilaire said.
The exhibit travels everywhere from college campuses to churches and county fairs, St. Hilaire said. World Vision hopes to spread AIDS awareness and get people involved in an effort against the disease through the exhibit, she said.
“HIV and AIDS are far removed from us — it’s not in our face so much,” St. Hilaire said. “World Vision hopes the exhibit will motivate [people] to not only understand the disease, but take action.”
Event coordinator from the West campus student engagement office, Katie Fischer, said she hopes attendees will leave the exhibit wanting to help either locally or internationally.
“We want people to get involved and see some of the issues that are going on across the world,” Fischer said. “[The West campus hopes] visitors will walk away wanting to help impact the community in some way, whether it be in Arizona or Africa.”
Kelly Pringle, a psychology junior, said she will be among the attendees and is bringing along members of Young Life, a Christian student organization of which she is a member.
Pringle, vice president of Young Life on ASU’s West campus, said the group also is tabling throughout this week to promote AIDS awareness.
“[Young Life is] giving out pictures of kids from Africa who have AIDS or have died from AIDS,” Pringle said. The pictures will be on necklaces, she said, to spread awareness across the West campus and the community.
Pringle said she thinks it’s important that students attend the exhibit to be more aware — “not just about things that are happening in Arizona, but around the world.”
The exhibit is free and open to the public in the La Sala ballroom at the West campus’s University Center Building from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. until March 22, with some restrictions for private parties and events. Tickets can be reserved by calling the West campus student engagement office.
Reach the reporter at abigail.gilmore@asu.edu.
