Today Nicholyn Chang and I decided to go and learn some of the ins and outs of a typical day at Bishop Asili. Mondays are HIV/AIDS clinic days at Bishop Asili hospital. This day is dedicated to all of the patients who come for HIV testing, ARV distribution, CD4 count, testimonies through dance and song as well as adult education. We were given the privilege of sitting in on a pre HIV testing counseling session with a very young girl and boy who were being forced by their parents to marry one another. The soon to be young couple were placed together because their families are both wealthy cattle keepers. It was in both families best interest that the two be married. We learned a great deal about how Ugandans counsel in such situations and all of the things that must be culturally considered. We also met up with Salongo, who assists with the adult education program and HIV/AIDS support club here at Bishop Asili Hospital and the surrounding community. In this picture Salongo is wearing one of the income generating crafts that are made by the HIV positive women's group that he supports and provides education for.
Nicholyn and I also spent some time with a club made up of HIV positive people who use song and dance to spread the world about the virus and how it's contracted. Here they are singing a rather catchy and amusing song in local language about how their heads, hearts and bodies are always causing them pain as a result of the virus. They want to convince other people that those who contract HIV suffer greatly. They use this form of entertainment to educate others and provide themselves with a form of testimonial therapy. All of these club members are open about their HIV status. We were really pleased to see a male member in their club because the population of HIV positive males who expose their status and try to live with the virus in a healthy way is very low and therefore problematic. The second woman in on the left is the mother of Kiberu William who is one of Just Like My Child's scholarship recipients. I'm also happy to see her coping with the virus in a positive way.
http://www.justlikemychild.com/
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