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by James Dikir and Pauline Karani
Edited by Evelyn Beck
The Community Health Information Center (CHIC) staff is penetrating the church with HIV/AIDS information, a task not easy to achieve. Getting one member of a congregation to come to a centre has led to a ripple effect and has brought in 10 other members who have now visit the centre every week.
The CHIC staff from Kajiado district in Kenya visited a church and explained to the congregation what the WiRED CHIC was all about. Soon after, a 50-year-old man from the church paid a visit to the centre. He accessed information on HIV/AIDS and STDs. Since he had engaged in risky behavior, he decided to go for HIV testing, convincing his three wives to do likewise. Luckily, they were all HIV negative.
Resolving to stay negative, the man has now taken it upon himself to bring others to the center to get informed. So far he has mobilized his church members and continues to be a great supporter of the CHIC and the staff. The outcome has been positive with at least 10 of the church members visiting the centre each week.
Meanwhile, in Mombasa, a coastal city in Kenya, James Kariuki, a thirteen-year-old student, is now confident in talking to his peers about HIV thanks to the information he had accessed at the CHIC. He came to know about the centre after a visit by the CHIC staff to their church. James went to access information on HIV/AIDS and malaria to learn about the transmission and prevention of the illnesses.
James is very grateful that there is a centre where, with just a touch of a button, he is able to get detailed information on any health issue or concern. He is bringing in many of his friends from the school and church to the centre to get informed.
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