Posts tagged with aids.

Trying to help in ways that actually help

Helen Hsu, August 4, 2009 at 10:44 AM

"It's a bit ridiculous that people assume just because we come from countries that have managed the issue of HIV relatively well, that we know how to manage the issue."

 

"Exactly, it is because our countries have managed the issues well, that I don't know anything about it!"

 

This was a conversation I had with an intern from the United Kingdom working for another non-governmental organization. He has been semi-coerced into giving a workshop on HIV/AIDS, but he has not received training on the issue, and felt extremely uncomfortable with the situation.

 

When I left Montreal to pursue my internship in Kenya, I did not expect much. I only knew that I wanted to make a positive impact on the community; and that after volunteering with HIV-positive children in Montreal, I wanted to work with the issue of HIV/AIDS through awareness and thus prevention.


However, after I attended community outreaches with my work, and ran a few sessions myself, I started to see a different picture.

 

While the sessions for primary schools appear to be somewhat worthwhile for the students, it is another situation for the youth. For instance, in a group session I attended, there was no need to explain what HIV/AIDS stood for, how the virus attacks the immune system, the incubation period, the window for testing, or the routes of HIV transmission. The participants knew all the answers. So how can the sessions be run in a manner that is not a waste of time for them?

 

There are many public and private institutions that strive to inform the public about HIV/AIDS, and by this point, Kenyans are very knowledgeable about the virus, and how to protect themselves. Instead of lecturing about the hard facts of the virus, now it is perhaps more effective to focus discussion on the stigma of AIDS, and why contraceptives are still not used, even when people understand the risks. Faced with such a knowledgeable crowd, the trainer becomes a facilitator and a question-and-answer format appears to be much more effective and enjoyable for the participants than a plain lecture style on information that has already been disseminated.

 

What I said to my friend at the beginning of the post was actually a paraphrase from a book called The White Man's Burden by William Easterly, which examines the ineffectiveness of foreign aid. He raises the concern of Western donors wanting to create one-size-fits-all, comprehensive, umbrella solutions without being sensitive to different cultures and realities in the field, which leads to poor implementation and aid that does not reach those who need it.

 

I find that my internship has been a humbling experience that makes me strongly aware of how difficult the process of "helping" can be. Without an understanding of the reality on the ground, it is almost impossible to propose any solutions that can be successfully implemented. One can have the best intentions and the greatest ideas, but if there is no need for the great idea, or if it is not feasible in the local reality due to cultural, religious, or financial limitations, then it is not useful.

 

For those who would like to work abroad in development work, I strongly urge you to spend time with the locals from the area, immerse and understand the culture, and then discover how you can make your own unique contribution in that community to maximize your impact.  

Tagged with kenya, education, ngo, hiv, aids, hsu, helen | Comments (2) |

Is safer sex a public or private responsibility?

Helen Hsu, June 18, 2009 at 11:43 AM

What would you do if your HIV test came back positive?

What would you do if it were negative?

Everyone who has been tested knows that period of waiting for the results can be utterly nerve-wrecking, and yet knowing one's status is a process of empowerment that makes the stress worthwhile.

My co-worker, Gitaka, a counselor at the VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) centre, came to me slightly distressed today. Now I must say that Gitaka only has two moods - happy and exuberantly happy. He is one of those amazing individuals who had enough lemons thrown at him to grow an acre of land filled with lemon trees, but made a conscious decision to always remain positive.

So Gitaka with furrowed brows is a rare sight. He had just been in a session where the client was not at all concerned with the possibility of being HIV positive. The man had unprotected sex with three partners in the last 12 months, knowing one of them was HIV positive. Never used a condom.

"I can just take some medications!"

He seemed to view ARVs (anti-retroviral drugs) as a "loophole" in this whole "protect yourself against HIV by using a condom" business. The prospect of contracting the virus neither distressed nor concerned him, as evident in his engagement of risky sexual behaviour.

His test result was negative.

Gitaka tried to advise him on the adverse side effects of the medication, and the required lifestyle changes. Also, contraceptives protect against other sexually transmitted illnesses and unwanted pregnancies. Hopefully, he understood the message.

I analyzed the data for all VCT clients at the centre for the month of May. I was astounded at the number of people who confessed to never using a condom in the past 12 months when they engaged in sexual activities. One man had 7 heterosexual partners and never used a condom.

Gitaka said this can be due to the sentiment that sex is not as pleasurable with a condom. There is a great poster in our VCT clinic that reads "Don't let 2 minutes* of ecstasy ruin the rest of your life."

So what about condom usage back home? I have no doubt that we are all informed about STIs and unwanted pregnancies, and the effectiveness of contraceptives (kudos to secondary school sex-ed). But how many of us actually strictly use protection 100% of the time, or do we sometimes ignore our conscience in the throes of passion?

While ARVs reduce the stigma around HIV/AIDS, and allow those who are HIV positive to live longer and more fulfilling lives, are they also becoming an excuse for those who wish to engage in sexually risky behaviour back home?

Are there fewer concerns about contracting STIs due to the availability of treatment, and about unwanted pregnancies because they can be aborted?

Is protection a matter of personal choice (and that of the partners involved)? Or is it a matter of public social responsibility (for instance, a Ugandan man was tried for purposefully infecting women with HIV)?

*actual time may vary

 

P.S. Canadians: Take advantage of the free testing and treatment services: one of the great privileges of being Canadian.

 Editor: If interested in reading about other sex-ed issues: A girl can get pregnant the first time? and Sex is not like having your foot run over

Tagged with sex, protection, condoms, testing, anti-retrovirals, std, hiv, pregnancies, safe, unwanted, aids, hsu, helen | Comments (2) |