"Community Strengthening Against Stigma"

This past Sunday held a momentous occasion for the CARE for AIDS center at Banana Hill Baptist Church, of which I was blessed to be an observer. Over the last seven months, all of the clients at the CFA center have been learning about HIV/AIDS and growing into a place of better physical health, fuller spiritual understanding, and greater ability to provide for themselves and their families. One part of this process is fighting the damaging effects of stigma, or discrimination and false assumptions towards people living with HIV/AIDS.

Stigma is a huge problem in Kenya, and many people simply don't understand the reality of the disease or what it means for a person to be HIV-positive. Ironically, people will greet and hug a person with Tuberculosis (a very infectious airborne disease) but will refuse to go near a person with HIV, which cannot be transmitted by touch or close proximity. The government of Kenya has supported a campaign over the last decade based on the slogan "AIDS kills," which has helped to create a mindset in which it is assumed that someone with AIDS has only a short time to live. Because of this ignorance, and many other factors, most of our clients lost their jobs, were abandoned by their families, and were forsaken by most of their acquaintances after finding out their status. One of the goals of CFA is to use the avenue of the church to fight this misunderstanding and create a community of believers that will welcome and support people living with HIV/AIDS, thus fighting the damaging effects of stigma from the pulpit and through the congregation.

Banana Hill Baptist held a special service on Sunday, in which our center workers Joseph and Margaret talked to the congregation about HIV/AIDS, stigma, and especially the progress and growth they have seen in the CFA clients at the center. After their talk, about 25 clients came to the front of the church and publicly disclosed their status, locking arms and asserting that, while they were all HIV-positive, they were committed to living a productive, healthy life that is glorifying to God. It was amazing to see the reaction of the church, as all of the members of the congregation stood and clapped for the clients and joined them in singing a song and holding hands together. An HIV awareness group had provided red t-shirts for all of the clients that read "Interacting & Integrating - Community Strengthening Against Stigma," and I really felt that everyone at the service on Sunday believed that they could play a small part in fighting stigma in Kenya.

It was so encouraging to see this major step for so many of our clients. We are all incredibly proud of the boldness and the faith that they displayed, and we aplaud their courage in the face of so much past persecution and hardship. Please pray with me that all of these clients would grow even more in their faith and in their ability to live a satisfying life, and pray that so many others who are painfully hiding would one day grow to take a step like this one.