World AIDS Day event

For pics, see:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14582322@N06/

I was invited to attend the World Aids Day event in Outjo. It was such an interesting experience. There were around 100 people in attendance (far less than there should’ve been) in a tiny tin shack in the middle of the location (the location is outside the town and where the blacks were forced to live during apartheid, and where most of them still live). I ended up being one of the guest speakers. It is funny how whenever I am invited to any event here, they end up asking me to speak in front of everyone. It is partly because I am a foreigner, and partly because I am a healthcare professional (a scarcity here). I just gave some information about HIV/AIDS, and the medication used, how the HIV-medication program works, etc. The sense I got was that people WANT to know about AIDS. They want to understand what is happening around them. Why people, even themselves, are getting sick and why people are dying. There is a hunger for understanding this epidemic. I received a lot of questions, all of them good. There is also a lot of fear. Fear about who to have sex with, who to trust, fear of people with HIV/AIDS, fear of stigma, etc.

They also performed skits, to describe to the people what happens when you agree to be tested for HIV, what counselling you get, etc. They used the example of 2 pregnant HIV-positive women. One goes for testing and treatment and has a healthy baby, the other refuses testing and delivers a stuffed rat! Lol. The organizers did a really great job. Even the condom demonstrations were done seriously (well, mostly!), and everyone listened closely, because they all want to KNOW how to use one, because it is the only protection they have. Monogamy is not so common here. And even knowledge of how to use a condom is not enough, ideas and thoughts have to change as well, since most men refuse to let the women they sleep with use condoms.

The most poignant part of the day was when everyone was invited to bring rocks from outside, with each rock to represent a person they had known who had died from AIDS. There were less than 100 people there, but more than 170 rocks. We then had a moment of silence. I was embarrassed and ashamed that I was the only person who did not have a rock to contribute (and everyone knew that I did not add one!). It was a sobering experience on how fortunate and blessed we are in Canada. No disease in Canada compares to the 20% risk of HIV/AIDS and the resulting death (usually in 5-7 years here) in Namibia.

To not end this on a negative note, I did get a free t-shirt out of this!