Report from Love Is All We Need with Annie Lennox

Love Is All We Need:

On the 7th May – World AIDS Orphans Day – Love Is All We Need held a Dinner & Auction to raise funds for the Children Building Nations Project.

This project is the building of a community centre in the Sweetwaters community, South Africa. The centre will provide food, healthcare, education and masses of love to over 5,000 orphans.

A group of 11 peeps from across Europe had booked seats and the organisers (a special thanks to Sally Caldwell!) ensured we were all on the same table. As we entered The Conservatory, we were greeted with a champagne reception, and a small band playing background music.

The room was decorated with Love Is All We Need balloons, and on various tables were items set aside for the silent auction.

A stage was in the middle of the room ensuring everyone would have a good view of the screen and the various speakers throughout the evening.

As the sun went down across London, The Conservatory’s ambient lighting lit the room ready for our meal, and as we finished our main course, after a lovely introduction, Annie appeared.

Annie was sporting her HIV Positive T-Shirt, and the first thing she said on stage was “Where are my Peeps?”. And then added after much cheering: “They travel with me wherever I go!”.

Annie then spoke with such eloquence about how she became the SING Campaign, the videos of Avelille were shown, and as always, no matter how many times you see this video, you cannot help but be moved. For most in the audience this was the first time they had seen them, and the impact that the Anti Retro Viral drugs has on Avelille less than a year later had the audience applauding.

She explained that both the SING Campaign and Love Is All We Need are on slightly different journeys, but they are on the same boat, and I guess for most people in the room one of the most shocking statistics were just how many children in South Africa are HIV orphaned, the figure quoted was 12 Million. Putting that into context, based on figures from the UK, that is the same as almost every child under the age of 16 in the UK not having parents. There would be public outcry if that situation were to be replicated in and developed country.

Annie finished her presentation and left The Conservatory after urging people to dig deep into their pockets for the auction later in the evening. Annie then went on to have some photos taken with the staff and volunteers from the charity.