HIV SEMINAR FROM 23RD TO 28TH JUNE

FINALLY MY TRAINING AS JOCV STARTED!!
FOR A WEEK, MANY HIV EXPERTS GAVE THE LECTURE TO US AND THROUGH GROUP WORK, WE STUDIED THE CURRENT SITUATION AND HOW TO COPE WITH HIV/AIDS.

THERE WERE 17 PARTICIPATS. SURPRISINGLY 11 ARE ASSIGNED IN MALAWI. AND SEVERAL OF THEM IN MY DISTRICT, MZIMBA!! I WONDER WHY JICA FOCUS ON MALAWI WITH HIV/AIDS SO ASKED ONE OF THE STAFFS. ACCORDING TO HER, MALAWIAN GOVERNMENT AND JICA DISCUSSED THE MAIN THEMES TO SOLVE AND AT THIS MOMENT HIV/AIDS ARE ONE OF THEM. DUE TO THE REQUEST OF MY DEPARTMENT JICA INVITED US TO THE SEMINAR. I AM GOING THERE FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND THEY ASSUME I HAVE A LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK WITH HIV POSITIVE PEOPLE. THAT IS WHY I ATTENDED.

I AM QUITE HAPPY THAT I MET MANY PEOPLE WHO COULD SHARE THE SAME FEELING FOR GOING ABROAD FOR TWO YEARS. I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO FEELS ANXIOUS (OF COURSE WITH EXCITEMENT! HAHA)!
THEY WERE QUITE NICE, KIND AND LOVELY PEOPLE AND I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING THEM AGAIN IN MALAWI!!



IN ONE WEEK SEMINAR, I WAS SHOCKED TO KNOW HOW THE VULNERABLE PEOPLE HAVE SUFFERED WITH 'STIGMA.'

SOCIALLY VULNERABLE PEOPLE; SEX WORKERS, WOMEN, MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN, CHILDREN, ETC. THROUGH THEM HIV/AIDS WERE SPREAD.AS THEY ARE MINORITY IN SOCIETY OR CANNOT RESIST THE DEMANDED SEX, THEIR PROTEST CANNOT REACH TO THE PUBLIC AND BASICALLY IT TAKES LONGER TIME FOR THE COUNTERMEASURE POLICY TO START.

STIGMA;IN JAPANESE, 烙印。THOSE VULNERALE PEOPLE ARE TEND TO BE SEEN AS DANGEROUS OR SEXUALLY UNFAITHFUL WITH BAD IMPRESSION. SO THEY REALLY CANNOT TELL FAMILY AND NEIGHBORS THAT THEY ARE HIV/POSITIVE AND THEY EVEN CANNOT TAKE THE HIV TEST AS THOSE PEOPLE ARE AFRAID THE CASE THEIR FAMILY REJECT THEM...

SO FAR, I HAD A OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT HIV POSITIVE PEOPLE'S COMMUNITY IN CAMEROON. AS I WAS SO INMMATURE AS NOT TO CONSIDER HOW THEIR SITUATION IS, I THINK I ASKED THEM SILLY AND INCONSIDERATE QUESTIONS...
WHEN I GO TO MALAWI, I HOPE I CAN BE MORE MATURE NOT TO DO IT AGAIN, UTILIZE WHAT I LEARNED DURING THIS ONE WEEK.




IN GROUP WORK, I COULD PUT MY EXPEIRENCE WITH PCM SEMINAR WHICH WAS HELD AT THE END OF MAY TO USE. THE THEME WAS HOW TO INCREASE THE INCOME OF HIV POSITIVE PEOPLE. AS WITH THREE PARTICIPANTS I MENTIONED ALL THE FACTORS WHO RELATE TO THE THEM AND CAME TO CONCLUSION, I GUESS I COULD DISCUSS IT SMOOTHLY AS I HAD ALREADY LEARNED THE WHOLE PROCEDURE TO PLAN THE PROJECT THROUGH THIS KIND OF DISCUSSION.I WAS HAPPY THAT I COULD MAKE USE OF WHAT I LEARNED IN MAY!