Beauty Queen Erica Alcover, 23, writes notes encouraging AIDS caregivers at the Global Vigil that led up to World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.
© 2007 Laura Reinhardt/World Vision

Erica is both Miss Christian Puerto Rico and Miss Christian International. She was among those who turned up for a historic Global Vigil for AIDS orphans, organized by World Vision as a precursor to World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. It began in Toronto on the morning of Nov. 29, continued through cities around the world, and ended 24 hours later at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City.

Having lost both her father and an aunt to the disease, AIDS is an issue that affects Erica deeply.

A life lived in gratitude

"I was supposed to be born with AIDS, and miraculously, God didn't allow that to happen," she said. "I look at that, and I am compelled to live life as a 'thank you.'"

During the vigil, Erica helped assemble 300 World Vision Caregiver Kits, which contain basic medical supplies and practical items like flashlights to assist volunteers attending to the sick and dying in AIDS-devastated communities.

She placed handwritten notes in kits she completed to encourage the volunteers.

"As I was writing the notes, all I kept saying was, 'thank you, thank you, thank you,' because your efforts are not in vain. It doesn't go unnoticed," she said.

"I felt honored not only to be able to help somebody, but to help somebody help somebody else."

'A response of enormous scale'

In each city where the Global Vigil took place, hundreds of names of children orphaned by AIDS were read aloud. During the 24-hour period, a total of 6,000 names were read — representing the 6,000 children orphaned by AIDS each day.

Richard Stearns, World Vision's president in the United States, said it was the first time the organization had put together such an event.

"This crisis is like nothing we've ever addressed before," he said. "A crisis like AIDS demands a response of enormous scale, both in our programs for those affected by the virus, and in our call to effect change."

World Vision has been combating the effects of AIDS in developing countries for more than a decade. The organization assisted almost 2 million people with HIV prevention education and care for sufferers last year.

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