World Aids Day - Dec 1st 2007

Today I had the joy of returning to Waithaka, Compassion project KE 370 for World Aids Day ceremonies. Children and families from four surrounding child development centres joined the Waithaka project for a commemorative walk and a day full of song, dance, acrobatics and testimonies at the church. After my week in Kajiado, visiting Jipe Moyo one last time was like a family reunion. I saw all the staff again, as well as many of the Waithaka project students. I also was so excited to get to perform a poem recitation with six of the Compassion teenagers. We had been memorizing a poem called “CRUEL AIDS” for a week or two prior to this day, and it was great to recite it with them, with Kenyan accents and all! :)

A really sweet 19-year-old girl who is HIV+ shared a bit of her story in front of the whole church; this was a room packed with about four hundred people. She did a Q & A session with the teens. A mother of one of the Compassion students also shared her story, revealing to the public for the first time that she has AIDS. A lot of prayer and consideration went into deciding whether or not this woman should share, as she would be irreversibly exposing herself to the social stigma that openly HIV+ people face. In the end, this courageous woman decided to share, focusing on the long-term impact her testimony may have by eroding the stigma associated with AIDS and increasing people’s concern and compassion for those affected.

It was a rainy, muddy, wonderful day. I am going to miss my good friends here in Waithaka.