HIV/AIDS Week

(I wrote this blog last week but had no Internet access to post it until now but it is really about 18. Nov- 24. Nov)

The week’s theme: HIV/AIDS.

National World AIDS Day: 1^st. December.

The Math/Science Trainees who we hadn’t seen since the first week of training when we spent 4 days with them came down to Machakos for all of last week so we could learn about HIV/AIDS together. We are all educators but we also are all ‘Behavior Change Communicators’. That basically means we are going to try and help our school communities and communities as a whole with some of their behaviors that could change for the better. We aren’t going to change any villages in big ways but we learned how we could help in little ways to educate others and do what we can. We learned a lot about HIV & AIDS and thought I’d share some of knowledge with you.

Fast Facts on the Global Overview of HIV/AIDS Pandemic from ’09:

- # of people living with HIV (not AIDS in ’09): 33.3 Million

- # of kids (age 15 and younger) living with HIV (not AIDS in ’09): 2.5 Million

- # of deaths due to AIDS (in ‘09): 1.8 Million

- # of orphans due to AIDS (in ’09): 16.6 Million

- #of new infections of HIV/day (in ’09): 7,000

- # of newly infected individuals in 2009: 2.6 Million

Fast Facts on HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Kenya (2009):

- # of people with HIV aged between 15 and 49: 1.5 Million

- 22% of Kenyans are aware of their partner’s HIV status

- ½ of those surveyed reported having unprotected sex with people whose status was unknown to them or with partners who were of a discordant status

- The prevalence rate for people between the ages of 15-49: 6.3%

- # of orphans due to AIDS (aged 0-17): 1.2 Million

The law: Section 24 of the HIV & AIDS Prevention and Control Act criminalizes the willful or reckless infection of others with HIV. People who know they have the virus are required to divulge that information to their sexual partners. Those found guilty of knowingly putting others at risk of infection are liable to a jail term of up to 7 years or a 500,000 shilling fine,

Kenya as a country is doing better than many other countries in Africa but there is still a lot of work to be done. The first reported case of HIV in Kenya was in ‘84/’85. Kenya is hoping that by 2015 they will prevent the majority of babies from becoming HIV+ from their mothers. They are trying to prevent mother to child transmission by promoting C-sections if the mother is positive. They are also trying to encourage people to get tested in the first place so they can accept their results and get the help they need.

We had a big session on stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS and became more informed on the topic so we could assist others. People stigmatize out of ignorance, fear, stereotypes and other reasons. Self-stigmatization is the worst kind and people have self-blame, avoid company, hide their illness, have a negative attitude and often avoid HIV services. As NEPHAK says, (an organization helping people living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya) “Let us replace shame with solidarity and fear with hope”!

The last big session of the week was about real people living in Kenya who are trying to help others with situations like their own. We watched a movie called ‘Courage and Hope: Teachers Living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa’. It was initially a book and now they made it into a movie as well-its pretty good!! The book looks into 12 teachers live and the movie looks closely into a handful of the people mentioned in the book. It is about 40 min long and very encouraging! The best part of the session though was after watching the movie. We learned that two of the ladies in the movie had agreed to come in and talk to us some more. Jemimiah and Beldina are both teachers whose lives have been changed by HIV but have decided to advocate for people like them and go around talking at schools and in communities to educate others.

Jemimiah is a teacher by profession but now works in the Teacher Service Commission (TSC). She specifically works on the workplace policy for people living with HIV/AIDS. There are an estimated 18,000 teachers living with HIV in Kenya though only 3,500 teachers have been tested positive. The estimation was based off of the # of adults affected and the number of adults that are teachers so the estimation is rough but they know that either way, many teachers are affected but have not been tested. There are policies in place that help teachers but only if they have been tested and can prove that they are positive. The policies include: getting provisions to attend clinics for check ups/picking up refills; extra sick days if needed; fair labor practices ; if headmaster stigmatizes teacher then they get reprimanded and there are others but it comes down to the fact that these only help the teachers who have gotten tested. The biggest thing they say right now is promoting everyone to get tested! Also, Kenya as a whole does have an increased number of people on ARVs (Anti-retroviral medication) and more people have access to getting the drugs they need but there is still a lot of help needed in that situation.

Beldina says that we can fight stigma with following 4 steps:

1. Know your HIV status
2. Accept your results
3. Disclosure (relieves you of the burden of secrecy)
4. Have a NEW START in life! (NEW START being an acronym for: nutrition, exercise, water, sun light, temperament, acceptance, rest and treatment)

If you follow these steps than stigma won’t stand a chance! Kabam!

So besides learning all about HIV/AIDS we got to celebrate Thanksgiving together! My friend Jocelyn and I decided to start our mornings off by running a ‘Turkey Trot’ since it is tradition with our families. Not exactly the same but still solid. We then had regular sessions before our feast! Some members of our group talked to the hotel where we had sessions and came up with a plan. They very kindly agreed to cook us up a Kenyan Thanksgiving dinner with a list that we gave them, We had turkey-which I’m guessing was free range and local since we’re in Kenya-mashed potatoes, veggies and cranberry sauce which looked like gravy. It was better than I had imagined it! A solid transition from an American Thanksgiving into a Kenyan version….especially since I can’t see eating that good next year when I’m at my site. The food and company made it a little easier not having a Lindenhof turkey, pumpkin/apple pie and canned cranberry sauce. It was also great to be surrounded by American friends even though I missed the chaos of a beautiful Linde Thanksgiving full of ‘Merican football & soccer, lots of eating, talk of relationships and who will be the next to wed and tons and tons of laughter. It’ll make me that much more excited in 2 years when I can experience it again at home J

Also, lastly, I wanted to say CONGRATS CONGRATS to my sister Bek Bek on a wonderful performance at Miss Solanco which was the Saturday after Thanksgiving….You’re the best and I’m sad I missed it but I can’t wait to see pictures/videos!!!!!….she is the new Miss Solanco and I’m related to her! Way to represent! Win!! ;)