01/12/2025
KIPEWA (people living with HIV in Kenya) is a local NGO engaging the community in response to HIV. This year's World AIDS Day theme is ' "Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response." The theme emphasises the need for sustained global cooperation and human-rights-centred approaches to end AIDS by 2030.
As we consider the journey over the years, we appreciate every effort by governments, communities and funding agencies that have contributed towards mitigating the effects therein.
At Kipewa, we take the opportunity to thank our partners over the years that have made us make our contribution in turning the tide of HIV in our local communities. We make a special shout out to our long standing partners, funders in Canada, the Stephen Lewis Foundation who have been with us for the last 17 years, listening to us as we charted the murky waters of HIV stigma, funding our programs according to our identified gaps, building our capacity to enable people living with HIV have a sense of belonging and reclaiming their lives back. You held our hands when we said 'I am not my diagnosis' and supported the beauty pageant idea, one that was not clearly understood by others. We have had many partners come and go but SLF stayed, as our main anchor allowing us to keep building what we started decades ago. The OVC program has enabled hundreds of children to go to school and achieved a minimum of secondary school education, giving them a better chance of navigating through life. This us an opportunity to celebrate when the OVC faithfully attended school and bagged a certificate of secondary school education, something that would not have been attained without this intervention. Is this the highest we envision for them? Definitely not but what we celebrate is that they are in a better position than would have been. They are able to think and identify their passion while in secondary school and can therefore pursue tertiary institutes based on their strength. The children who have been beneficiaries of our school fees program are those who could have stayed home because of their grades, or because of the fees challenge or other factors. We have had great moments of joy when some of the kids went on to join university!
We celebrate today because we have real stories of people who overcame stigma and are now engaged as community health volunteers in their communities, carrying a badge of honour as overcomers who now lift others up because they understand the darkness of HIV stigma, the loneliness of the journey and the strength of a community with similar goals.
Our community health volunteers for home based care have been trained, and are PLHIV themselves and therefore understand where the shoes hurt. We have featured most of them on this page. Today, we want to understand what their views are in the light of this year's theme in connection to their reality on the ground. Indeed, the disruption is real. There has been a theory that HIV is just like a normal cold because one only needs to take the medication! This is true that following the doctor's orders has a great effect in HIV management. Clinical management however must go hand in hand with the social, spiritual, physical and economic status of the PLHIV. What about the social aspect of this? If it is just a cold, why do people fear being identified as PLHIV? I have heard responses to salutations like, 'niko poa ni kahoma tu kanasumbua but nakunywa dawa'...loosely translated this means..I am fine but I have a small cold which I am treating with medication'. I said loosely translated☺️. If HIV is just like a cold, then it follows we should hear responses to salutations in like manner, no? I am fine, only 'small' HIV disturbing me but I am on medication! Catch my drift? The truth of the matter is that HIV is still an issue needing the seriousness it deserves. We cannot work so hard, for so many years only to have gaps reappear because we loosened our grip on what matters.
Having said that, we are glad that the disruptions have been noticed and thoughts around how to arrest the disruptions waving even into addressing the reduced funding are welcome.
We had our own form of celebrating World Aids Day and we are going to feature statements made by some of our community health volunteers down below.
Today, we celebrate every PLHIV who continues to stay strong, live positively and give life to others as they share their journeys.
Hats off to KIPEWA community health volunteers for home based care!
We celebrate our Ambassadors of Hope, always available to people who need their help.
Hats off to KIPEWA staff. God sees.
Hats off to our funding agencies.
Flowers 🌺 to Stephen Lewis Foundation.... God increases you more.
Happy World AIDS Day!
