The HIV Question

Though on the decline, HIV has been a rampant problem in many African countries, including Kenya. The government provides free testing kits, but there isn’t enough manpower to administer these tests, and not enough HIV/Aids education going around to lift the stigma attached to get tested in the first place.

A “muzungu” (a non-derogatory term for “foreigner”) will inevitably cause a stir when walking around at the market in the Kawangware district. It’s a congested area. Lots of vendors and stands. Garbage everywhere of course. The other day, a team of four of us walked around there. I was sort of just visiting for the day. It was very much a walking clinic on foot: HIV testing, handing out vitamins, de-worming meds, and condoms. All supplies packed into backpacks. Every once in a while, we encountered some mentally ill people as well. One guy in particular, kept insisting that we shake his really dirty hands. I was very glad to have brought hand sanitizer with me. I’m fairly certain, I’ll be finishing my big refill bottle by the time I return home.

There was a group of young men, around 20 of them, who were congregating around a matatu (busses and mini-busses) stop. None of them wanted to get tested. Instead, all of them gave out marriage proposals. My friend alone must have gotten like 7 of them. I got a lot of “China” and martial arts references. At some point, I just got used to saying that I was already married, but to some it didn’t matter. “Only when you have a child, are you in a real marriage.” I admit, I kind of felt like my personal space was being intruded on, but it was all worth it when suddenly an older gentleman decided to get tested. “Do it out here, right on the street, so everyone can see. Everyone should do this.” So then he sat down, had his blood drawn for everyone to see, and before you knew it, the entire crowd of guys asked for their HIV test.

That day, 30 people got tested: 27 men, 3 women.

Of these 30, two tested positive. One man and one woman. The woman, had already known she was positive, but wanted to confirm. For the guy however, it was first time news.

I think for a good ten minutes, I had a knot in my stomach. I kept my face as neutral as possible, but internally I just wanted to cry at the sight of a young man realizing how his reckless or thoughtless behavīor has affected his health. He was perhaps 25. He has two wives. And a girlfriend. (Yes, polygamy is allowed here, but homosexuality is not.) And three young children. All of whom are now urged to come in for testing. And hopefully, he will follow up, because nowadays HIV is no longer a death sentence. With the right kind of medication, it becomes a chronic condition. But people need to be treated. And people need to practice safe sex to keep it from spreading.

But…

Unfortunately, it isn’t all that easy even if you do get anti-retro viral medication. I went back to Kibera slums today and made some home visits with some folks from the United for Parity program. There is a young lovely 31 year old woman, who is a widow and mother of three beautiful girls. Her name is Nancie and she is completely delightful to be with. Nancie is HIV positive and also suffers from TB. Her older girls, Bridget and Stacy, are healthy. But Nancie’s one year old girl recently tested positive for HIV as well. That little girl’s name is “Faith”. Never ever has that name made more sense to me than today. Faith doesn’t take too well to the HIV meds, so she gets sick very frequently. Nancie too has been too ill to work, so she is bedridden most of the time. Even after having met Nancie in her surroundings, I can’t even begin to fathom how a single mother of three does this. I plan on hanging out with all of them some more. It’s so hard to truly assess the situation after only meeting them for such a short amount of time, so I look forward to getting to know this family on a more personal level. She seemed keen to make new friends.

And here is something really corny that crossed my mind today. My name “Nadine” means “Hope”. I like to think that Hope and Faith can go hand in hand. That baby is just so darn adorable, and I pray that she has as long and as happy of a life as possible.

Here is Nancie praying next to two of her three daughters: