“For nearly 30 years, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) have been shrouded in many myths and misconceptions. In some cases, these mistaken ideas have prompted the very behaviors that cause more people to become HIV-positive. Although unanswered questions about HIV remain, researchers have learned a great deal. Here are the top ten myths about HIV, along with the facts to dispute them.

1. I can get HIV by being around people who are HIV-positive.
2. I don’t need to worry about becoming HIV positive — new drugs will keep me well.
3. I can get HIV from mosquitoes.
4. I’m HIV-positive — my life is over.
5. AIDS is genocide.
6. I’m straight and don’t use IV drugs — I won’t become HIV-positive.
7. If I’m receiving treatment, I can’t spread the HIV virus.
8. My partner and I are both HIV positive — there’s no reason for us to practice safer sex.
9. I could tell if my partner was HIV-positive.
10. You can’t get HIV from oral sex.”

Debunk these myths are read the entire article from WebMD: http://ht.ly/1DBUR

We asked the ladies of Beaded Hope what “hope” means to them. They contemplated the question thoughtfully and came up with beautiful answers. Listen to their responses:

Recently author Cathy Liggett was asked by More to Life, the online magazine for women, to talk about her journey writing the Beaded Hope novel. Below is an excerpt from her story.

Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives
by Cathy Liggett

A few weeks ago, following some record snowstorms, I woke up one morning to hear a strange sound coming from our entryway. As I turned on the light I detected the origin of the noise right away: a mini waterfall was pouring into our dining room.

After cleaning the inside mess, my husband and I moved outside to try to fix our ice-blocked gutters. Naturally, one thing led to another. By the time we finished, I was really irritated by the inconvenience of it all. I had big plans for my morning off from work‚ and now all that time was gone!

I grumped and whined, but then‚ I felt a tug on my heart. That tug was the thought of some extraordinary women half a world away in Mamelodi, South Africa….read more

Cathy Liggett, author of Beaded Hope, and Jennifer Davis, founder of the Beaded Hope organization, recently had the opportunity to sit down with Debba Haupert of Girlfriendology to discuss Beaded Hope, South Africa and, of course, friendships. If you didn’t get a chance to listen to this interview live on Blog Talk Radio you can still catch the podcast on the Girlfriendology website.

Thanks to Debba for being our first interview after the release of the book!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Beaded Hope Mission Trip Volunteer Authors Inspirational Novel

CINCINNATI ‚ March 4, 2010 ‚ Beaded Hope, an African non-profit organization based in Cincinnati, inspired one of its mission trip volunteers, author Cathy Liggett, to write a novel also called Beaded Hope, to be released by Tyndale House Publishers in March 2010.

The non-profit group Beaded Hope’s mission is to further the ability of South African women living with HIV/AIDS to earn income by using their age-old African beadwork craft traditions. Of all the nations in the world, South Africa has been devastated the most by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, with approximately 18 percent of the nation infected. Out of South Africa’s population, women bear the brunt of this disease. Among those ages 25-29, women are twice as likely to be infected with HIV/AIDS as men.

In addition, South Africans must meet the daily challenges of poverty. More than 60 percent of black South Africans live in poverty and half are unemployed. Beaded Hope founder, Jennifer Davis, set out to create an organization that could help fight these challenges in a number of ways: assisting the artisans of South Africa to earn income for their families by selling their handmade beaded jewelry to a worldwide market, raising African AIDS awareness as well as HIV/AIDS awareness in general, and getting the word out‚ telling the powerful and inspiring stories of people living with HIV/AIDS.

“It’s hard to imagine the impact that poverty or unemployment or a pandemic has on a community,” said Jennifer Davis. “But when you combine all three and witness first-hand what it’s like for women to live in such difficult conditions, it’s clear that you have to get involved.”

One of the people to hear those inspiring stories was novelist Cathy Liggett. After participating in a mission trip to South Africa with Beaded Hope and working with some of the women living with HIV/AIDS who craft artisan beaded jewelry, Liggett’s life and work were changed. Meeting the women made me realize that, yes, their situation is a far cry from my own,‚ states the author. ‚But aside from that, they are no different than I am. They are women who want nourishment and a sense of well-being for their families, and mothers who want a more hopeful life and future for their children.

Beaded Hope the novel follows the stories of three women who travel to South Africa on a mission trip, and discover the truly transformative and empowering nature of hope.

Author Cathy Liggett will donate a portion of the proceeds from her novel to the non-profit organization Beaded Hope.

Cathy Liggett and Jennifer Davis crossed paths quite accidentally in 2005. Eventually they became friends, bonded by a common love of Africa and a desire to make an impact on the world. In March of 2008 they traveled to South Africa together, and from that trip came Beaded Hope, the novel.

You can hear the rest of their inspiring story live on Blog Talk Radio this Friday, March 5th at 2:00pm when they are interviewed by Debba Haupert of Girlfriendology. You don’t want to miss it!

Then check back to Girlfriendology to read our guest blog post. Thanks to Debba for being a great girlfriend and showing us such great support!

Today’s Daily Inspiration on Girlfriendology.com is entitled Thoughtfully Committed and features Beaded Hope. Be sure to check out the full blog entry and Girlfriendology.

What if Beaded Hope earned a donation every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charity you designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch your donations add up!

GoodShop.com is an online shopping mall which donates up to 30 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Apple and iTunes have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting Beaded Hope. (click here for a complete list of online stores.)

To give you a sense of how the money can add up, the ASPCA has already earned more than $30,000!

And if you download the GoodSearch – Beaded Hope toolbar, we will earn money every time you shop and search online – even if you forget to go to GoodShop or GoodSearch first! So, be sure to add the Beaded Hope toolbar http://www.GoodSearch.com/toolbar/Beaded-Hope.

Want to help even more? Then email your friends and tell them how they can raise money for Beaded Hope simply by adding the GoodSearch toolbar today.

It’s official! Beaded Hope, the novel is available for purchase on March 1st. Inspired by the real stories of the real women of Beaded Hope, this novel was written by author Cathy Liggett after traveling to South Africa in March of 2008.

Cathy has done an amazing job of capturing the heart and the spirit of the women of Mamelodi as she tells the story of 3 women whose lives are changed when they travel to South Africa on a mission trip.

In addition, Cathy is generously donating 20% of the proceeds from the book back to the Beaded Hope organization so that we can continue impacting the lives of the women who inspired the novel.

Read more about the novel here.

People who work closely in raising HIV awareness in Africa and other countries, or those who are deeply familiar with the inspiring stories of people living with HIV, need to wake up to a new, unforeseen condition of HIV/AIDS: a dangerous increase in ignorance and complacency regarding all aspects of this worldwide epidemic.

If you’ve gone on a mission trip anywhere on the globe to help repair the devastation wrought by HIV/AIDS, or if you are up-to-date on current information and therefore all too familiar with the heartbreaking statistics‚ that the percentages of women, young people, and African Americans with AIDS keep increasing at a scary rate, and in fact are at an all-time high; and that more than 25 million people have died from AIDS related diseases and currently more than 33 million people are living with the HIV virus‚you may be shocked to discover that many other people are not only unaware of the devastating scope of this epidemic, but also lack awareness of the basic facts about HIV/AIDS.

I recently spoke to an American woman who had been moved by stories of women living with HIV/AIDS and wanted to volunteer at mission organizations such as Beaded Hope. Speaking of Beaded Hope in particular, she suggested that its focus should be shifted from selling jewelry to selling items never to be worn by the customer. She thought jewelry or any other item worn next to the body carried a risk of contracting HIV if it had been made by someone with the virus.
I was stunned that at this point in time, after all the massive efforts to raise HIV/AIDS awareness, a well-meaning, concerned volunteer could be so poorly informed. It is impossible to transmit the HIV virus on an inanimate object‚ the only way to contract it is through infected body fluids.

This woman’s disturbing suggestion confirmed a growing fear of mine: that in spite of a glut of readily available information regarding HIV/AIDS, complacency about and ignorance of the facts are on the rise.

It is crucial that those of us who work to raise HIV awareness in Africa and elsewhere maintain our efforts to educate everyone about those facts. Such as:

HIV can only be transmitted in three ways, through unprotected sex with someone who has the virus, by sharing needles and by an infected mother to her child during delivery or breastfeeding.

HIV/AIDS is a pandemic. In 2008, 33 million people in the world were living with HIV/AIDS. An estimated two million people died from AIDS related causes that year.

The number of people living with HIV has risen every year since the discovery of the virus and continues to grow.

Regarding women and HIV, even though far too many people think this is a man’s disease, fully half of those living with HIV/AIDS are women.

AIDS is the second most common cause of death among 20-24 year olds.

Now more than ever, anyone who has ever been touched by inspiring stories of people living with HIV, or who has seen AIDS awareness falling while widely available knowledge of other diseases such as cancer permeates public discussion, has an important obligation to get the word out. Don’t let complacency and ignorance add to the devastation caused by HIV/AIDS.