Today at Umoja all the staff and students participated in a seminar about HIV-AIDS. It was given by a Danish medical student who is working at St Elizabeth's Hospital in Arusha. She made her presentation in English and it was translated by Philbert, IT teacher at Umoja, into swahili. This was not an easy task with phrases like 'clinically asymptomatic stage' to contend with.
It is sad that there is so much mis-information around about HIV-AIDS. Much is deliberately spread by some of the more conservative religious organisations. The harm that is done by the spread of false 'facts' is incalculable. It puts vulnerable lives at risk.
Tanzania has excellent programs to combat HIV-AIDS - free testing, free ARV therapy, free treatment for HIV positive expectant mothers to prevent transmission to their babes. It was good for the students to hear all this and be able to ask the questions they did in an atmosphere that was welcoming and accepting. I'm sure they will now spread the "good stuff" they learned today, and it will be reinforced in their Life Skills classes over the following weeks.
