Tomorrow, December 1st, is World AIDS Day. "It is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died." (www.worldaidsday.org).
Tomorrow, we will remember our friends we have met who are living with HIV. Four children we know well who live down the road at a small house, surrounded by Aunties.
We love these children. We love holding them, we love hearing them laugh, we love seeing them smile. I have to be honest though, every once in a while, as they are playing with my face or trying to get their fingers in my mouth (ahh, the joy of making kids laugh with a fish face...), I get worried. What if one of them has an open sore on their hand, what if I have a cut on my face or my mouth...what could happen?
After a short moment, this fear melts away. I know they are positive, but their status is not what defines them, nor should it be. My love for these children is not conditional. I will never love them less because they have HIV. They had no choice in their status. It was inherited, passed on to them mostly likely from a lack of knowledge of HIV and how the disease is spread.
So, tomorrow, as we observe World AIDS day, let's not think about orientations, place blame, pass judgements. Let us, instead, consider how we can remember, how we can educate ourselves and others, and how we can be a part of the fight against HIV so that children like J, A, R, and D can grow and live full lives.
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