Prince Harry is heading up the hashtag campaign #FeelNoShame today as part of the charity he jointly set up in memory of Princess Diana. The charity is called ‘Sentebale’ and was setup by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho. The name Sentebale means ‘forget me not’ which was Princess Diana’s favourite flower. The charity provides accommodation, food, access to medication and education for young children in Lesotho preventing the HIV virus from spreading and supporting them to tackle the stigma of HIV.
In an interview this morning Harry said that ‘Globally, HIV is the second highest cause of death amongst those aged between 10-19 years old, and it is the number one cause of death across Africa’ but too many people across the world are not receiving the treatment they need to stop the virus spreading and help them live with HIV because the stigma attached to the disease prevents them from coming forward and seeking treatment and support.
The #FeelNoShame campaign aims to change that. Their website states:
“In support of children in Lesotho who feel too ashamed to tell anyone they have HIV, this World AIDS Day is a day that no one feels any shame about their secrets.
Tweet your secret to #feelnoshame”
And lots of celebrities have been getting involved to support the campaign including Prince Harry who has a fear of public speaking and networking. Other celebrities who have contriubuted their secrets include Nicole Scherzinger, Ricky Hatton, Gemma Arterton, Ricky Tomlinson, Paloma Faith and Joss Stone. All of the celebrity videos are on the Feel No Shame website (feelnoshame.today) but there are plenty of tweets out there from regular social media users too. Some of the highlights include;
I shoplifted a monster truck Matchbox car from my local Post Office in 1984. #FeelNoShame #WorldAIDSDay
— John Allison (@jinka) December 1, 2014
I have to copy and paste #hashtags because I don't know how to do it on a keyboard. #FeelNoShame @chiandpartners @Sentebale
— Loty Ray (@Loty__Ray) December 1, 2014
my #FeelNoShame: at Starbucks, really tired, ordered latte & grabbed big green straw, barista gave me weird look. hot latte = no straw hole!
— Inspirational Things (@EllenAuchter) December 1, 2014
When I was at primary school I bought a Kylie & Jason single (vinyl) to impress a girl. Surprisingly it didn't work. #FeelNoShame
— Daniel Keat (@dankeat) December 1, 2014
Ive never understood Star Wars or any other SCI-FI movie that others love, nor do i ''get'' The Office #FeelNoShame
— Jasmine Dotiwala (@jasminedotiwala) December 1, 2014
To share your secret and raise awareness of HIV stigma tweet using the hashtag #FeelNoShame