Miss
Universe Heads Campaigns Against AIDS From El Diario By
Jose Acosta The Miss Universe 2003, Amelia Vega, participated yesterday in Washington
Heights on the panel named AIDS in the Dominican Community, as part
of her campaign to educate on this terrible illness. When presenting the most
beautiful woman in the world, the congressman Charles Rangel said that while Vega
could choose among a diverse group of topics to talk about, she chose the topic
of AIDS, which he deemed very sensible. What can you do to
protect yourself and your community? will be one of the topics Vega will
speak on, according to the congressman. For her part, Miss Universe, Amelia
Vega greeted the Dominican community and said that she felt very proud to be able
to use her voice for something positive like the AIDS prevention campaign she
will carry out in 25 countries. During the event, the Councilman Miguel Martinez
gave Vega a proclamation on the part of the Municipal Council: for your
beauty, your courage, and for representing all Latinos. Amelia Vega
has had the courage to choose a topic as difficult as AIDS. She will work not
only in prevention but also in order that everyone becomes aware of the illness,
said Martinez. For his part, the Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat said that Miss
Universe was in the community like an ambassador of the world, touching
a topic that she has emphasized as important to her, like AIDS. Because
AIDS has grave consequences in the world, but particularly in the Dominican Republic,
I believe that this is a very important topic that she can develop in order to
try to get help in order to resolve the problem in the Dominican Republic and
other countries in the world, said Espaillat. Other participants in the
event included Moisés Pérez, the Executive Director of the Dominican
Alliance and Rosita Romero, the Director of the Center for Development for Dominican
Women. According to the event speakers, 3 out of every 100 Dominicans on the
island lives with AIDS. The illness claimed the lives of 7,800 Dominicans this
past year, leaving 33 thousand infected orphans. Translated from Spanish
by Charlotte Triggs. Back
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