World AIDS Day

by Thomas Bwire

Kibera was not left out in joining the entire world in celebrating the World AIDS Day.  In different parts of the community, one could easily see white mounted tents, that acted as temporary centers for voluntary counseling famously known as VCT.

In Kibera the main celebration, an event aimed at creating awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education, was held at the DC grounds. World AIDS Day is important for reminding people that HIV has not gone away and that there are many things still to be done.

At the Uweza Center, the youngsters too were not left behind as they dedicated this day in passing the message to their fellow age mates using a small drama that used “sheng” language which is a mixture of Kiswahili and English words combined.

Their story had a family set-up that involved a father, mother, their only son and a house help who assisted in house chores. Behind the scenes, the house help had slept with the father and the son on different occasions. After many months had passed, the father and the son became sick and the house help's secret was exposed when a neighbor she used to work for had come to pay a visit to the host family.  The neighbor exposed that the house help had the HIV virus when she used to work for her

Part of the skit went like this:

Neighbor: This house help is suffering from HIV, you guys didn’t know that she is positive?

Father/Son: (Looks surprised and astonished, as they both shake their heads sideways)

Son: Oooh my God I slept with her and I thought all was fine.

Father: What? You have slept with the house help??? Me too.

Househelp: I'm sorry, I feared to tell you for fear of rejection and being stigmatized.

Father/Son: We are all infected with the HIV viruses, God help us (they fall slowly to the ground as they weep).

At that point, a counselor walks into their home and tries to console the father and the son that having slept with their house help should not be the end of the world.  She advised them that they need to visit a VCT center to get more information and if they agree, to get tested to know their status.

Once at the VCT center, they agree to be tested after having been counseled and vow to change their bad ways.

It was a story that gave a significant group at the center the opportunity to pass a message to each other with a hope to change and help educate their peers.

Guest blog: Gilbert Nyakundi Bita

Gilbert has started working with us as a health education facilitator in Kibera. He has worked with our soccer teams and spoken to them about issues such as self esteem and HIV/AIDS. Today he has written a blog about what he would like to accomplish through his work with Uweza.
--------
According to the World Health Organization, Health is defined as: The general well being of an individual, physically, socially and mentally; not merely the absence of disease or infirmity! This in itself tells us that none of us is healthy! We all have areas that pins us down, and so is the community we live in!

Coming together as members of the global community, we can be able to achieve a healthy community. We at Uweza Aid Foundation are up to the goal of a healthy community, working with different departments but all under one goal “Healthy Community”

My name is Gilbert Nyakundi Bita; I am working as a volunteer facilitator in Uweza Aid Foundation. In the facilitation Department my aim is achieving the following goals:
* To enhance Behavior change and Behavior formation in regards to HIV/AIDS.
* To create awareness on HIV/AIDS.
* To enlighten the youth on how best they can use their free time.
* Help bring out the potentials within individuals
* Unite the youths and the community towards a healthy growth.

To achieve the above goals I have set up plans working with the youths starting with just few youths as follows:
* Recruit youths to peer educators
* Have regular seminars with the youths and some older members of the community.
* Recruit youth groups within the community
* Have the youths give regular reports regarding the peer education and the activities they are involved.
* Link the youths with other groups and organizations within and out of the community.

To have a healthy you and I, a healthy community is for sure. Through education, transformation to the community is achieved or carried out!

Involving the youth is helping the community use her potential at early stages. Remember “a well informed community is always for the positive incoming change and easily makes wise decisions” resources within the community are well used and managed through education by involvement of the youths too. I mean what can we say of security? Talk of manipulation, how about wasting a full potential in people? All these are taken care of by giving the right information to the subjects (Youths and community members). In brief Information followed by action is an achievement!!!(Gilbert 2010)

Most of the people are interested to know what propels this work especially what makes me like my job as a facilitator! Just to borrow some of Myles Munroe’s fact “Our minds are not empty vessels to be filled!.....”…..our minds just need a tapping reminder to be active!

I do facilitation first to bring out the you in you and help me get the me in me!

Another important thing is to give back/contribute to the community. It’s very fulfilling to see community members implement what they learn from me!

Gilbert N. Bita