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THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS
Throughout her life, Princess Diana was
very active supporting many charities related
to homeless and deprived children, drug abuse,
and victims of HIV/AIDS. In 1987, she shocked
many people when she publicly shook the hand
of an AIDS patient.
On November 2, 2002, former South African
President Nelson Mandela announced that the
Nelson Mandela Children's Fund was planning
to join the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial
Fund to help South Africans with HIV/AIDS and
their families and to assist children orphaned by
the disease. "Caring for people who are dying
and helping the bereaved was something for
which Princess Diana had passion and commitment,
" Mandela said at a London press conference.
"When she stroked the limbs of someone with
leprosy, or sat on the bed of a man with HIV/AIDS
and held his hand, she transformed public attitudes
and improved the life chances of such people,
" Mandela said about the late Princess. "People
felt if a British princess can go to a ward with HIV
patients, then there's nothing to be superstitious about."
After the announcement, Mandela visited Diana's family
home and placed a wreath on her grave. Mandela and
Diana met when the princess visited South Africa in 1997.
