VCT Event

For those of you who don't know VCT stands for Voluntary Counselling and Testing so that one can know his or her HIV status. I just found out from one of my bosses from Peace Corps that only about 20% of the Zambian population actually knows their status, which is really scary considering there is such a high HIV prevalence rate here. In Misengo village we have people that are trained to test someone whenever they want, but not many villagers take this opportunity because of many fears. They fear the lack of confidentiality shown by clinic staff, who will more than likely tell anyone who will listen what so and so's HIV status was (there is no HIPPA here that's for sure!). Secondly they fear even the stigma they will face just going to ask to be tested. To ask that is not commended by their peers as a smart choice so that they can be healthy, instead it is seen as a way to show that you have sex...lots and lots of sex. With a lot of different people. In my time in Misengo I have worked to dispel this myth of getting tested = promiscuous, but I wanted to do it on a bigger scale so I decided a VCT day would be best. I planned it for the end May because the rains have stopped and also we have a influx of people due to traders coming to stay in my village to by and sell beans, and this calls for education because a lot of times these beans are traded for sex because the women have no other way of paying for them. I also wanted it to be on a Sunday because that is when the most people from surrounding villages come to Misengo to go to church, buy veg from the market, and watch football. So in March I began the long process of writing a grant which was probably the hardest part of the whole event. I teamed up with ZANIS, part of the Ministry of Communication, who came out on Saturday 26th May around 1400 and drove around advertising the weekends events. That night starting at about 1830, they set up a projector at the football pitch and played movies in Bemba talking about topics like HIV stigma, getting tested, early marriages, as well as just entertaining movies to a crowd of about 500 until 2300. And some of those Zambians are strong...I went to bed at 2100 because I was cold by those in just a t shirt and shorts lasted until the end! The following morning after they set up a sound system and began the main VCT event. I arranged testers to come from the District AIDS Task Force of Kasama to come and do the testing to decrease peoples fears of confidentiality. They arrived at 1100 and began testing. Each person that was tested got a ribbon to wear and their name entered into a raffle for a prize. As people were getting tested music played, drama sketches were performed, speeches were made and a lot of HIV questions were answered. Later in the afternoon we had the final games of netball and football of the tournament that started the beginning of May. The winning teams received a ball and whistle and second place got a case of drinks. I found the games the most trying part of the day because several members of one of the football (aka soccer) teams refused to play because they thought that drinks were not enough for second place and wanted me to give them money instead. I explained that I would not be giving money because I knew that they would just spend it on beer, which I refused to support. But other than that everything else that day went smoother than I imagined. I myself got tested to show that I not only talk the talk, but walk the walk as well. I hate having my finger pricked so I was not looking forward to it, but in the end I am glad that I did it so that I can proudly say I know my status! Overall it was a really successful day! We had 128 people tested which is really something to be happy about!!