Eleven-year-old Darrell, who was born with HIV and was only expected to live for five years, told Boston University students last night that “it is okay to be friends with people with AIDS.”

The youngest of four speakers, Darrell, from Owatonna, Minn., shared his experiences at Camp Heartland, a summer program in Minnesota for children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, with 35 BU students at the George Sherman Union Conference Auditorium.

“Our hope is that an event like this will help teach BU students about a painful reality outside our campus,” said BU Students for Camp Heartland President Leslie Reis, a College of Communication senior. “We also know that many students support HIV prevention, and we feel an event like this gives them a chance to put a face on the lives they are trying to help.”

The Camp Heartland speakers are part of the nationwide program Journey of Hope: Students for Camp Heartland, in which students speak about their experiences at high schools and universities to raise money for the nonprofit organization.

Fighting back tears, 16-year-old Leanna, of Rochester, N.Y., who was born HIV-positive, said she has tried to make the best of her life.

“It’s hard to believe, but I am actually glad that I have my disease,” she said. “When my mother learned she had given me the disease, it was the end of her life on the streets. She is my best friend in the whole world, and I believe the reason I got my disease was to save her life.”

Camp Heartland was founded by Neil Willenson in 1993 when he heard of a child with HIV in his hometown who was discriminated against, as shown in a short film screened last night. The film explained that when the child tried to enroll in a public school, he had problems because of his community’s ignorance about HIV-positive people.

Every summer, Camp Heartland offers nearly 800 children between 7 and 15 a free opportunity to enjoy an 80-acre camp in the wilderness with other kids who are either HIV-positive or have family members with the disease.

Campers participate in canoeing, hiking and fishing, said Camp Heartland community fundraising organizer Sarah Mollet.

“At camp, they are free to be who they are,” she said. “A real tragedy is that roughly 50 percent of the children who come to Camp Heartland hide their disease from the people in their community.”

College of Arts and Sciences junior Adam Romines said he admired the speakers’ positive attitudes.

“I was incredibly moved by Darrell and his story tonight,” Romines said. “It is very painful to imagine that he has had people exclude him because of his disease.”