We love this from Chasing Zero - an amazing opportunity, an exciting possibility...could this be you?

I hate wet socks. You know that feeling of dread…when you walk into the bathroom and stomp right through a puddle your housemate kindly left just for you! We all have little things that wind us up, but is getting angry necessarily a bad thing? 

I wonder what people thought of Jesus when he went nuts in the temple, driving out the market traders…none of us would have wanted to get in his way that day. Which poses an interesting question - what does Jesus get mad at? And what issues should we, as the church, care about so much that it angers us?  Is there something that God laid on your heart? Other than wet socks, what injustices do you see that you can’t turn away from?  Do you want to see this change? Even just a little bit? Do you think that needs to wait until after uni?

Don’t wait! There are loads of ways you can help tackle some of the big issues whilst at university. Chasing Zero is one charity working with students to play an important role on the world stage. We want students to be the driving force behind ending AIDS…forever.

Over the past 30 years AIDS has caused over 30 million deaths worldwide, amongst young and old. Today, it’s the leading cause of death amongst young women globally. AIDS rips families apart, leaving children orphaned and fending for themselves at a young age. It also takes the lives of babies born with HIV through no fault of their own. In some communities, fear of AIDS can prompt family members to abandon each other when one person tests positive, leaving a lone, sick parent to struggle on alone with an equally sick child. This is not God’s vision for the world, and it breaks his heart and ours. 

There is, however, some really exciting news…

For the first time in history, AIDS can be overcome. Last July, experts from around the world declared that we could see the end of AIDS by 2030. But we need a big final push to meet that goal. Students are brilliantly placed to help make this happen. You can raise awareness of the global situation among the decision-makers of the future and play a vital role in ending AIDS in the UK through educating young people. While HIV rates have been falling in places like Africa and Asia, they’ve doubled in the UK in the last 10 years, with 25% of people living with HIV in the UK not knowing their status! 

Each year, Chasing Zero and MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation train a cohort of passionate students to become Student Ambassadors. These Student Ambassadors are the driving force of our work in the UK and run all sorts of creative and fun activities to engage their peers with the story of HIV and how it affects them. The aim is to reach 25,000 students by 2017.

It’s up to our generation to make this final push and help overcome the devastating AIDS epidemic – if we’re passionate enough to make this reality. If you’d like to play a part in that historic moment, apply to become a Chasing Zero Student Ambassador – the application deadline is 28th February, so get cracking! All the details are here.

Mel Carlisle, Chasing Zero

Find out more about HIV and the end of AIDS at wearechasingzero.org