Unlike last year when I wrote about World AIDS Orphans Day just the day before the occasion, this year I'm reminding everyone a full month ahead of the date in hopes that some will choose to get involved in one or more of the activities that lend support.

Please look at last year's post for suggestions on ways every family can contribute.

It would be a comforting and satisfying thought that in the time between this World AIDS Orphans Day and the last something ... the rate of infection, the numbers of dead, the head count of new orphans ... had slowed. This, however, is far from the case.

Using the formula the World AIDS Orphans Day (WAOD) organization posts on their website that says that, "Every fifteen seconds, a child loses one parent to AIDS", since the last World AIDS Orphans Day, 2,102,400 more parents will have died by 7 May 2007 ... that's 5,760 per day.

Like some sort of monster that gains strength through the suffering of its victims, the HIV-AIDS pandemic grows daily, taking some children, but leaving many in its wake scrambling and scratching for a way to stay alive, to get ahead, to last long enough to make a place for themselves in the world.

And we KNOW these kids. These are the children we didn't adopt, the ones we played with and hugged and fed, then left when we came home.

Is there an international adoptive parent who doesn't see the stats on infection, the stories of orphanages stretched so far beyond their capabilities by an unstoppable inflow, of street kids, of brothels, and occasionally think of their child, 'There, but for the grace of God"?

The unthinkable is just beyond our fingertips, and we should never forget that our amazing good fortune at becoming parents to our astonishing children carries more of a responsibility than that to our child. Who better to lead communities in education and awareness-raising on issues of the world's children, if not the mother or father of a child whose roots mingle with those that suffer?

Take a look at the FXB organization, May 7 Coalition and Plan USA for additional information on how you can contribute for the positive this 7th of May.

Also, the Transracial Adoption Blog has a wealth of information on adopting an HIV+ child and AIDS and AIDS in Africa in general.