World AIDS Day

Today is December 1- World AIDS Day
Living in North America, the view of HIV/AIDS is very different than it is in Sub-Saharan Africa.
I have been a nurse for more than 29 years and to the best of my knowledge, I have cared for only three people that were HIV positive. Since February this year, I am sure I encounter ten times that number of HIV positive people on a daily basis.
In North America many people will never actually know someone who is HIV positive. In Uganda, I have yet to meet a family that has not been affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Unfortunately, most of us in North America are also not very knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS and I can tell you, from a first hand perspective, that includes health care workers. Due to our own lack of knowledge and the fact that HIV is often transmitted through IV drug use in NA, we imagine HIV positive people to look and behave in a certain way. Many of us imagine HIV positive people as down and out drug addicted people who live on the street and work as prostitutes. As soon as we hear “HIV positive”, our antennae go up and we start to make all kinds of assessments and judgments.
I would like to tell you about the HIV positive people I have met and what they actually do look like. They are beautiful, happy babies who love to cuddle, giggle and play. They look like healthy, mischievous toddlers who run, climb and test the limits. They are children who sit in school all day, dreaming of being outside playing with their friends. They look like beautiful, kind, friendly women who sew, do bead work, cook, clean and raise their children.
Doesn’t it sound like I am describing “normal” babies, toddlers, children and women? That’s because I AM! These dear friends that I have described to you are regular people who have an illness that can fortunately be controlled with medication. I have had the privilege of cuddling, chasing, hugging, working alongside and crying with these people during our time here. I am so grateful that I have had this tremendous privilege. I have grown as a person and have had the opportunity to confront some of my own biases. I am so thankful for that.
I do want to clarify one thing- I have spoken about women and children that I have had the privilege of knowing during my time here. I don’t want anyone to think that there are no HIV positive men here. That is certainly not the case. I have been working with women and children during my time here so I know many of them very well. I know that I have encountered HIV positive males during my time here, but I have not gotten to know them well enough to discuss their HIV status with them. I just wanted to clarify so that no one made the assumption that there were no HIV positive males here.
If you sponsor a child in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is almost certain that the child’s life has been affected in some way by the HIV/AIDS crisis. On this World AIDS Day, please pray for the African continent and for HIV positive people around the world.