Outreach Upclose and Personal

Sitting in a car with Vera, her two sons, and Hawa, I saw the obstacles that they are up against in doing their outreach. The driver, a 28-year old male friend of Vera’s, confessed that he had extra-martial affairs and “took the risk,” meaning that he has unprotected sex. He said so unabashedly, straightforwardly, without guilt. We began to plead with him, to remind him of his wife who would have to pay for his transgressions. With Hawa beside me, it was only too clear how an innocent wife could suffer. Yes, he knew AIDs was real, but he still seemed to think he was invincible. She began: would you believe if I said I had HIV? Do you think you can tell if someone has it, that you’re safe because you’d know? That’s when she told him she was an HIV patient; he grew quieter at the news.

I had to get out of the car at this point, but was left thinking about his cavalier attitude and dangerous behavior. I asked Hawa about it today and she said that shortly after I left them, he called his wife and told her to meet him so that they could go be tested together that very day. It seems he took Hawa’s message to heart and, hopefully, will proceed with more care in the future.