HIV-positive Muppet chosen as UNICEF's champion for children

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2003

GENEVA (AFP) — UNICEF appointed Kami, an HIV-positive Muppet who appears in a South African version of the world-famous television show Sesame Street, to promote the rights of children affected by AIDS.

The yellow, bear-like Muppet will start her new role as a "Champion for Children" in Geneva on Wednesday by launching a major report by the UN children's fund about African youngsters who have been orphaned by AIDS -- a subject close to her furry heart.

In Takalani Street -- the South African show co-produced by Sesame Workshop, which makes Sesame Street, local educational authorities and other partners -- Kami is a lively five-year-old orphan, whose parents died from AIDS.

"The appeal of the partnership is that through characters like Kami, we can highlight...