By Cherisse Sutton
Reporter- SKNVibes.com
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| Anthony Ible the face behind the HIV?AIDS ads and posters. |
(Basseterre; St. Kitts) Perhaps you've seen some HIV/AIDS advertisement in newspapers, heard them on the radio or have even seen awareness commercials on ZIZ television and you may take heed to the messages. But nowadays, we're seeing a new type of awareness that sends a clear message.
In downtown Basseterre, and to be more specific the Independence Square there's a unique way of spreading the message which grabs one's attention.
There are structures in the square with strong HIV/AIDS awareness messages.
"Take a look at the face of HIV/AIDS, A reflection of you and I," says one of the many structures in the square which has a mirror and showcasing the back of a male while some showcase the back of a female.
The message asks for everyone to get tested and to know their status.
Do you think that's a unique idea of getting the message across and wonder whose idea it was?
SKNVibes.com had the pleasure of speaking to that person.~~adz:Right~~
Anthony Ible is the owner and operator of the Oasis Studio for the past nine years and has been into advertising and designs for ten years.
In an interview with SKNVibes.com Ible elucidated his keen interest in the epidemic HIV/AIDS and why he so religiously produces advertisement annually sensitizing everyone.
He agrees that the disease is hardly ever what most people want to talk about but feels strongly that the consequence of not doing anything about it can be devastating.
"The behavior of sex is not going to change," he said. "Sex is a natural behavior and at some point in life you either have sex with yourself, with someone or with something."
Witnessing persons who have gone through this deadly disease and knowing persons living with it, he understands the impact it can have on a family and an individual and this drives him to become strongly involved in spreading the message.
"It is not a good disease, I wouldn't wish it upon anyone and if we don't educate the communities we will have to face the consequences later," he said.
His unique way of educating the community and creating awareness can be viewed throughout St. Kitts usually on billboards, television commercials, songs and also in newspapers as ads.
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| Picture of an HVI Poster to educate the people and remind everyone to get tested. | |
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| Picture of an HVI Poster to educate the people and remind everyone to get tested. | |
He said that the pandemic should be everyone's interest and that we should use our abilities to find ways to communicate to people. And that is why he thinks outside the "box" and not just do the traditional advertising but comes up with ways to grasp a person's attention.
He also uses locals and local models in his adverts which appear very professional. He also created a song titled "I Care" a few years ago which was sung by Lynshel "Shakal" Peetes and Tabia Powell.
The chorus in the song sang, "I care, I care, about you, I care, I care do you, I care, I care, I care, do you" which encourages people to not turn their backs on people with the disease but to show them love.
He would advise anyone living with the disease to get help as soon as possible because as time goes by it only makes things worse. Having HIV/AIDS, he said, is not the end of a persons life and said that it was almost like another illness which needs the proper treatment.
"When we talk about AIDS we talk about sex and we don't really like to talk about sex in the open, our culture is changing and we are being bombarded with images, we're becoming more fashionable and we have this reminder of sex on a daily basis. So it's obvious that we need to do something to protect ourselves, to love and care for oneself is basically what we need," Ible said.
He continued: "HIV/AIDS is one of the most preventable diseases in the world today - all we need to do is practice safe sex, practice abstinence or use condoms."
