I work part time at my uncle's tax office where we help people file their taxes. Today as I went up stairs to eat my lunch i could not but notice this young girl who sat by herself. Usually people come into this restaurant in pairs or groups and I asked to share same table with her as there wasn't any free one and she gladly obliged. As soon as we got talking she was full of smiles and some kind of joy that I could not explain. I had to ask why, and she said she was used to people running away from her, when asked why she said she had HIV, i was moved with so much compassion that i reached out and just held her hands. Her smile turned to tears and i said, don't cry, u don't have to cry at this point i was almost in tears. She said "my tears are those of joy, I am used to people rejecting me and instead of doing same you reached out to touch me". I smiled because I understood what she meant, and i said but thats not how people contact the disease. I began to talk to her about a lecture i received one time regarding the way to treat people with HIV. I was a member of a non governmental organization called project 360 and one of our duties was to educate people on how to cohabit with friends and family living with the disease and how to treat others generally.
I gave her a ride home that day and she introduced me to her siblings who were all looking at me in a strange way, wondering if i knew their sister's status or if I have similar status. We got talking and i had the opportunity to educate them. I spoke from my experience of working with people living with the disease, showing them how they can live with others infected by the disease without being scared of contacting it. I also spoke to them about prevention methods as all of them were sexually active. It was quite a great experience, I went home feeling really fulfilled.
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