Monday, February 19, 2007

Valentine's in Kahuho





Kahuho Village, an administrative sub location in Kikuyu District, is one of many rural villages in Kenya. From the hilltop of Kahuho there is a beautiful view of Nairobi, which lies some 25 km to the east. Kahuho is so close, but yet so far. An hour walk from the matatu (public transportation) stage and matatu only runs up the hill on market days (Monday & Thursday). This makes sceduling your healthcare needs much more important. The most recent village census reports an estimated population of 6,500 (split almost equally between women and men). The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2003 suggest that 6.7% of Kenyan adults, age 15-49, are infected with HIV. It is believed some 60,000 men and women over the age of 50 are HIV positive. This means over 1.1 million adults are infected. The overall rate of women who are infected is nearly double that of men who are infected (1.9:1 – Female to Male). By these numbers it is estimated that Kahuho sublocation has more than 529 men and 544 women who are living with HIV/AIDS. But HIV/AIDS is more than prevalence rates and a set of statistics. There are human faces behind all the numbers. Real people were reached by the Valentine’s 2006 Mobile VCT sponsored by Bohshep and Kahuho Restoration Youth Project (Karesyop) with the help of the Liverpool Voluntary Counseling and Testing Centre (VCT). The village came alive with the activities of mobilization on Friday, February 16th. A large Land Rover driving over the narrow and bumpy dirt roads in the village brought everyone out of their homes to see the cause of this rare commotion. A giant puppet hanging off the back of the automobile had the children running behind shouting and cheering. Speakers mounted on the top of the vehicle blasted music and alerted everyone to a day of free HIV testing services the next day. The schools in the village were visited and over a thousand students were educated on HIV/AIDS Awareness. Methods of transmission and prevention were taught. The need to provide “Hope, Support, and Love” to our family and neighbor was talked about. Everyone was told to remind their families that mobile VCT would be in the village the next day offering free testing and counseling.














Very early on Saturday morning the tents were set up and the counseling and education began. The fear of stigma attached to testing was absent among the community members. Liverpool Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT), Bohshep and Karesyop worked hard to meet demand for testing. Nine VCT counselors perform individual and confidential HIV tests, along with pre and post counseling. Village members knew their status within 30 minutes.

The sun began to set and the crowd began growing in size. The number of people waiting to be tested exceeded sixty. Pleas and shouts from the waiting group couldn’t be ignored. The counselors, Bohshep and Karesyop got together and agreed that the seventy four people tested were not enough. Something had to be done for the sixty people still waiting in line. Everyone agreed to return again on Sunday for another full day. This was an incredibly kind act, for all the tents had to be packed up and reset early in the morning.

In total, over 120 people learned their status as a result. Over 600 people received information on Nutrition Home Based Care, and Antiretroviral Therapy. Some came with specific questions on the caring for their infected loved ones at home. Information on access to free ARV drugs and treatment were given out. Open forums for questions and discussion were put into service. Support service and follow-up referrals to Bohshep and Karesyop were made by VCT counselors to those in need.

It is always the case in the village that the children turn up in masses. TI used the opportunity to hold “Girl Empowerment” meetings for about 40 girls, between 12 and 15 years of age. Discussion of life goals and ambitions were shared. Everyone wants to come to America. I told stories of how I always wanted to come to Africa when I was their age. The kids are always amazed to hear that someone would want to leave America.
An open forum discussions was held and questions about HIV/AIDS were answered. The group discussed ways Drugs and Sex interferes with a persons aspirations in life.

Stigma against those infected and their loved ones was discussed. In a country where over 76% of the people report knowing someone who has died of AIDS, all of the girls raised their hand when asked if they knew anyone who had died of AIDS. My wonderful brother Roger, who past away from AIDS 14 years ago always comes up in these discussions. I hope he looks down and smiles at the stories I share.

The small children couldn’t be ignored. A separate meeting was held for them to discuss “Personal Hygiene.” Nearly 30 small children expressed reasons for washing your hands and brushing teeth. Shouts of laughter and screams of disgust followed my silly presentation of not washing your hands after using the toilet. I hope I got the message across.