AIDS: Death, Danger, & Destruction: both Physical & Social
It seems as though an average American assumes that Africa and AIDS are synonyms, but the reality is—to have AIDS or be infected by HIV is not only a physical death, but a social death within the villages here in and around Kisumu. Just ask the children. They know— by having a deceased mother or through a science textbook. They know. That is why if a bloody nose or skinned knees occur during recess, a teacher or school administrator is quickly summoned.
AIDS is common here. I have held the hand of a widow whose husband died of AIDS. Danced with children who are infected. Preached to high school students who live with it. Held an infant who has it without even knowing it. It is common and it is despised. It not only changes the way that these children of God view themselves, but the ways that their communities view and value them as individuals.
I saw this first-hand as Joseph, one of my favorite elementary school children, erupted in tears after getting a bloody nose last week. Around 50 children and I were joyfully playing during recess last week when he accidently was kicked in the nose. As I rushed toward him with water and tissues, careful to care for him, his peers initially and instinctively stepped away. I distinctly remember their quivering statures and strained faces, their joy vanished and replaced by fear. It was not until I was on my hands and knees, holding his nose with a tissue and washing his hands that the children inched closer to us. I hope—pray—that these little ones will begin to see and love others without the fear and stigma that is associated with AIDS. I hope—pray—that it will not end there. That when blood and AIDS and HIV are talked about at home or in school, that this young generation of Kenyan will be different, loving, and accepting of their peers, despite the death, danger, and destruction that this horrid disease dictates.
