I met HIV positive widows looking after fatherless children, elderly widows who had lost of all their adult children to the disease, HIV positive mothers who had lost their babies and children who had lost both of their parents. Another house, another story - each one bearing the pain, hopelessness and destruction of broken families.
So many questions arise when we think about such a reality:
Why is it so prominent here?
Why here and not at home?
Why this part of Kenya in particular?
Why, although we have known for so long about the virus, do people still contract it due to ignorance?
Although I cannot answer all of these questions I was given some insight during my trip. The biggest factor for the spread of the virus here is the behaviour - often due to tribal traditions. In many parts of Kenya sexual promiscuity is seen as natural and men requiring sexual fulfilment where and when they please is socially accepted. My experience is that even though people do not glamourise this sort of behaviour, it is tolerated as the norm. I think that this is not only due to a moral void in many communities but also due to the lack of commitment given to building a loving, lasting and flourishing marriage.
In many situations, a husband will stay away from home for three months or so at a time to work. Getting a job is so difficult here that if you are able to find one, you take it - no matter how far you may have to travel. It is common for husbands and wives to see each other only four or five times a year. As you can imagine, there are many relational and family consequences to this practice, including the difficulties with raising children and the creation of sexual tension. We must not forget however that poverty affects decisions hugely. People here need to be working and employment is a lifeline to families - but the realities of living life apart can cause destruction to families before devastation such as HIV enters the picture.The adhering to old tribal traditions only increases the spread of HIV. Polygamy, for example, is widely accepted in Kenya. Inheriting widows is a practice that is built upon the desire to care for and not abandon widows and children after the death of a husband and father - so a brother will inherit the responsibility and take the widow as another of his wives. But inheriting a wife after an HIV/AIDS-related death obviously has a terrible impact, continuing the spread of the disease. Yet this custom remains a part of many tribal institutions, especially in rural areas like Mutwala.
Behavioural changes are needed, but education is the only way to bring them about. The stigma of HIV/AIDS still holds back such communities as Mutwala, with people being very unwilling to admit to being infected. Fear of being branded an outcast is still a rational one to hold, but the failure to speak up and be honest continues to cause further harm and devastation to the community.
During my visit I met one woman who had lost a six month old baby only a few months earlier. It was only following her child's death that she and husband decided to go and get tested, to find out that they too were HIV positive. Upon discovering this, the mother decided to take a stand and she has begun to talk, to speak up and speak out. She is being heard and noticed and hopes that out of such pain she can become a voice for truth, honesty and change. She is an inspiration.
Another sign of hope and change came from a group of youths who were using the town meeting place to hold a week-long seminar. They were learning all about HIV and its consequences, and were being trained to share this knowledge with contacts in the village. I was privileged to spend some time with them and encouraged to see young people who are determined not to be held captive by the disease.Paul and Erin, about whom I have shared before, are another story of hope, and their work in the village goes much further. With the input of Paul's father, who is a local pastor, they are setting up a project using goats. I was even able to assist them by going to buy a male goat in a neighbouring town and transporting it back to them using the Mission Care International vehicle. This project can have a huge impact in the daily battle to prevent infection and care for HIV sufferers.
Firstly, a child born to an HIV positive mother must not be breast-fed as this increases the risk of contracting the virus. The recommended formula milk is an unrealistic option for most families as it is just too expensive. Goats' milk however provides a nutritious alternative. This can help to break the cycle of infection and help to put the babies out of risk. The milk can also help to improve the health of an HIV sufferer, providing nutrients that families living in poverty struggle to find in their diet on a daily basis. Secondly, the goats also have an economic value. The milk can be sold and offspring can be sold to support the family. This is a powerful tool to support families when the main breadwinner is becoming weaker and weaker due to the effects of HIV.To look after the goats properly so that they are able to fulfil this dual function, they have to kept differently to how goats are usually kept in Kenya. They require particular housing and must be 100% non-grazing. They must also only be bred with certain other breeds. Education around their care has therefore been essential. With extra funds raised, the Mutwala project also identifies needy recipients to provide training and assistance to build housing. Although the project has only just begun, it is a fanstastic way of bringing change and hope to a place that could have so easily succumbed to the darkness and pain of such enormous loss.
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