WAD INTRODUCTION
The
World Aids Day happened last Saturday (1st December 2012) at Kitengela,
Nairobi KENYA. For some, it was probably a day to rest, run errands, catch up
with friends... it was a Saturday anyway! For me however, it was a
different WAD experience. How u ask? Well, this particular one turned out to be
a day that would bring forth a lot of meditation and self-evaluation.
Personally it was my very first WAD to celebrate.
Honestly,
over the past years, i have never REALLY put much thought into the
day and what it stands for, what it means- not just to me, but also to others. I
am probably not the only one. Truth be
told, only when you do something for World Aids Day, no matter how small it is,
is when you will truly understand the importance of this day.
Well,
MCDF celebrated this year’s WAD at Kitengela, and for those who were not there,
allow me to give you a photographic preview of what went down, and how the hard
work that MCDF team put into making the day a success bore fruits!
STEP BY STEP DETAILS
We
left for Kitengela at 8am. The entire MCDF team and the volunteers were really
excited and looking forward to the events of the day. A lot of work and effort
had been made into making this day a success hence the anticipation.
After
nice team breakfast, we set to work, starting with a brief roadshow to mobilize
the community. The truck was beautifully branded with all the stake holder’s
banners.
After
the brief roadshow, a good crowd had gathered, and the District officer 1
graced us with his presence to flag us off.
The chief flagging us off
It
is amazing how such small children went through the whole procession with so
much zeal and enthusiasm. We can learn a thing or two from them!
Children
leading the procession
After
the procession, we all gathered for the speeches, where speeches were given by
the District Officer 1, Constituency AIDS Control Council Chairman, the
Constituency AIDS Control Council coordinator, District AIDS Officer, and MCDF
Founder and President Ms. Karechio represented other stakeholders such us the
APHIA Plus, HOPE World Wide among others.
The
district officer 1 giving his speech at the Kitengela market
The
MCDF president Ms. Emily Karechio giving a speech on behalf of the stakeholders
LESSONS LEARNT
The
first step to Getting to Zero is “Know
Thy Status.” By knowing ones status, you can be able to live a positive
life by using various ways to sustain immunity or, protect yourself in order to
stay negative. On that note, MCDF had set up a tent to educate the community on
the use the female condom (FC2). I personally had an encounter with a group of
young men who had never seen a female condom before. They had mixed feelings
about it at first, arguing that it is not a man’s business to know how to use
the female condom. The question I ask today is this: Is the female condom a “female’s
only business?”
Contrary
to people’s beliefs, it is very easy to use the female condom.
CONCLUSION
The
day was a success, a one of a kind for me. It is encouraging to see different
people from all walks of life and all ages come together and work towards a
good cause. To all who did something special for WAD, even if it was a small
gesture like putting on a red ribbon… Bravo!
