SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Two schools in Yellowknife are educating students about the AIDS/HIV virus with the Have a Heart campaign. Sir John Franklin High School and Weledeh Catholic School students are among more than a million students across the country participating in the campaign.

Lyndon Duong, left, a Grade 12 student and president of the student council, Jenson Hu, the Grade 11 representative and Vshal Da Graca Costa, the Grade 11 communications representative for student council at Sir John Franklin high school, hold up a poster for the 'Have a Heart' campaign. - Adrian Lysenko/NNSL photo

Organized by the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, the campaign raises money for research and aims to educate students.

The students send each other Heart O'Grams for Valentine's Day containing an information pamphlet on AIDS, an optional condom, a pack of gum and a red ribbon.

"Our purpose was to educate the kids on safe sex and the devastating effects of AIDS across the globe," said Robyn Stewart, a teacher at Sir John Franklin High School.

"We want to make the students better global citizens."

Stewart said the school didn't include condoms in the Heart O'Grams to avoid controversy.

The program was initiated by the student council.

"We all know the havoc that this terrible disease can cause," said Lyndon Duong, a Grade 12 student and president of the student council at Sir John Franklin.

"We wanted to contribute something that was fun and going to a good cause."

The school has been involved in the program for six years and this year sold all 150 Heart O'Grams that it ordered.

Another school involved in the program is Weledeh Catholic School. Instead of distributing the Heart O'Grams on Valentine's Day, Trent Hamm, science and health teacher for Grades 7 and 8 is waiting near the end of the course so that maturity is at its peak for the students.

Hamm said he hopes to educate and bring awareness to students about AIDS/HIV.

"The more they know the better when they come to a difficult problem," said Hamm.

"Without funding the AIDS virus is going to continue to kill people."

He said there are certain areas of sexual education that he cannot discuss because of the Catholic church's view on premarital sex.

"When discussing contraception I can show them what a condom looks like but I can't show them how to put it on," said Hamm.

"For that they'll need to go to other sources."