South African team support work of UN's fight against HIV/AIDS in India

Members of the South African cricket team took time away from their busy training schedule as they prepare for next Tuesday's must-win ICC Champions Trophy match against Sri Lanka to lend their support to some young fans who are living with HIV and AIDS.

Players Graeme Smith, Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall and AB de Villiers, as well as fielding coach Jonty Rhodes, visited the children in Ahmedabad, a city of around five million people in western India, as part of UNICEF's 'Unite for children, united against AIDS' campaign in association with UNAIDS. Most of the children are AIDS orphans and some are HIV positive themselves.

"We are very lucky as cricketers in that we get to travel the world living our dreams so it gives us pleasure to be able to make a dream of these children come true as well," said Pollock, who is also one of ICC's Spirit of Cricket ambassadors for the tournament.

"The epidemic is big in our country too so this is something that means a lot to us. These children are suffering through no fault of their own and we must do everything we can to support UNICEF and UNAIDS in their fight against the virus," he said.

The players spent their time signing autographs for the awe-struck children and answering questions about life as world-famous sports stars. The children tied suraksha bandhan on the wrists of the players, who in turn promised to take up the issues of the children and be their voice.

"The most common question the players were asked was what it was like to beat Australia in the greatest one-day game in history," said Rhodes. "It was amazing for us to see the amount of knowledge and passion these kids have for the game. They seem to be au fait with everything going on in cricket all around the world. The common vehicle we have is cricket - we share a passion and love of the game with people from all over and it was a pleasure to get to talk and spend a bit of time with these children," said Rhodes.

Commenting on the significance of the cricketers' association with the campaign, Anand Tiwari from UNAIDS said: "More than 13 million people with HIV/AIDS are living in cricket-playing nations and about 10 million are in India and South Africa alone. Considering these statistics and the way cricketers are regarded in both the countries, this association between ICC, UNICEF and UNAIDS will go a long way in arresting the deadly disease."

In September 2003 the ICC became the first global sporting body to enter into a partnership with UNAIDS to help raise awareness and reduce stigma about HIV and AIDS. Over the following three years many of the sport's top players - including the captains of the 10 countries taking part in the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 - have been active supporters of this cause with special activities taking place throughout the cricket world on a regular basis.

For further details of the 'Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS' campaign visit https://www.unicef.org/india/hiv_aids.html