Today is the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, “the day when individuals and organizations from around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic.”  In case you haven’t yet seen it, I wanted to share with you this video of young activists at Shepherds Junior speaking out about the disease:

Pius is just one of the children at our partner school in Tanzania whose life is impacted by HIV/AIDS.  Thankfully, he hasn’t contracted the virus, but he’s lost his father to the disease, and his mother, Anna, is HIV+.  Despite these circumstances, Pius’ teacher Selena says he’s consistently the top student in her kindergarten class.  To his mom, who thinks Pius just might be president someday, Pius represents hope.

Invest in hope, and in Pius’ potential, by purchasing gifts he helped to design this Cyber Monday at the Epic Change Gift Shop.  His tiny handprints were used to create our giraffe stationery and holiday cards, and his photo and story appear on the Hope candle, which was hand-poured at the exclusive Timothy Jay studio in West Hollywood.

Learn more about Pius and his brave mother, Anna, in this short video interview: