Shamin Mohamed marks World AIDS Day by continuing the work he started as a 15-year-old
By Dave Weatherall
University of Ottawa health sciences student Shamin Mohamed Jr. saw both encouraging and discouraging news in the latest AIDS statistics released two weeks ago.
“For the first time, rates of infection actually were actually stabilizing or decreasing in the most severely affected countries,” says Shamin. “But when you look at Canada and North America, the rates went up, so what does that say? It says that in a country that has one of the top GDPs in the world, with some of the easiest access to education in the world, about 50% of Grade 9 and Grade 10 students believe there’s a cure for HIV/AIDS.”
As a 15-year-old attending Toronto’s Runnymede Collegiate High School, Shamin saw a lot of risky sexual behaviour around him.
“Lots of my friends were getting pregnant and there were a lot of STIs floating around,” he says. “That’s why I decided to found LetsStopAIDS, to inspire youth to take action in local communities with a mandate focused on education and prevention.”
Intense media coverage followed the launch of LetsStopAIDS, whose message to empower youth to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS struck the right chord: the 15-24 age group has the highest rate of infection according to the latest UN statistics.
“Our first year was amazing. Bill Clinton and Bill Gates started talking about our organization during the XVI International AIDS conference in Toronto, and it really gave us the exposure we need to grow across Canada,” says Shamin.
Seven years later, the small organization he started as a teenager has grown into a considerable force for social change, both in Canada and abroad. Armed with 400 volunteers that work in chapters from coast to coast in Canada, Shamin oversees LetsStopAIDS’ daily operations–such as the eco-friendly Spread Trees Not AIDS in South Africa and the 24 Hour Wake here in Canada–while studying full time at uOttawa and competing for the Gee-Gees’s track team.
Now in the fourth year of his uOttawa program and, at the same time, completing both a project management program at U of T and a fundraising management program at Algonquin College, Shamin is reflecting on life after graduation.
“I feel like I can do a lot more in the HIV field. We need to educate today’s youth and university students about prevention; we’re in that 15-24 age group, and that’s where the majority of undergraduate students are,” says Shamin.
Comments (1)
Shamim Mohamed is an inspiration to all. Thank you for doing what you are doing. You are a great leader. Much salaams. From Muslims for Progressive Values Ottawa. http://www.mpvottawa.com
By Shahla Khan Salter on 2010 12 01