Why I employ persons living with HIV

[Guest guest]

Members

Even though this article was culled from a Nigerian article-I would

like our Kenyan counterparts to read and learn from this example.

Enjoy it...

Why I employ persons living with HIV

By EMMANUEL MAYAH

Saturday, March 18, 2006

In a society where confessed HIV carriers are hounded out of schools

or have their appointments tacitly terminated, a young employer is

going out of his way to give jobs to HIV victims.

Though Steve Aborisade has thrown in many years to HIV campaign, his

organization, Prajekt Hope is barely one year old.

Today however, it is a sanctuary of sort to a growing number of

Nigerians who hitherto had been driven to their wits end on account of

making public their HIV status.

Anyone who has been to the Omotayo-Ojo-Street office of the NGO in

Ikeja must have come away with the fact that over 90 percent of the

staff are HIV carriers. They don't look it though; not with their

luxuriant looks and positive approach to life. Among them are Miss

Aminat Alli and Monisola Ajiboye both of whom you would find being

cuddled by Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka in a group photograph.

Another is Fred Adeboye, the student who made headlines two years ago

when he was kicked out of the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ),

Ogba after he had innocently confided in his Rector about his HIV status.

For Aborisade, providing employment for this category of Nigerians is

firstly a bold attempt at confronting a monster called stigma, which

has turned out to be even more cold-blooded than the HIV virus itself.

It is also a new and pragmatic approach in building victims'

self-condidence; a strategy to signpost careers who are what he called

" positive models " and to use them to tell the story of new

possibilities, which is that there is still normal life after HIV.

Indeed, it is all in a day's work for an organization that has clearly

braced up to rise above rhetorics in the HIV-AIDS campaign. Speaking

further on his guiding principle, Aborisade said: " When you are

talking politics, you have to involve politicians; when you are

talking about the economy, you have to involve economists. When you

are talking about HIV/AIDS you just must involve infected individuals.

He who feels it knows it. What affect our staff affect other people

and we see these things. Adegboyega of NIJ is presently with us on

attachment; he's going to continue afterwards as a member of our

staff. Last Christmas, I spent two days at Ibadan with a family that

is HIV positive. We share in their pains. If you don't get close you

can't know. The only way to know is to involve them. Mojisola and

Adegboyega are report for us " .

HIV, not a killer disease

Speaking to Satuday Sun, Aborisade pointed out that the thrust of the

campaign of Projekt Hope is to shatter the myth that HIV is a killer

disease. The myth, he said, has endured as a result of prolonged

misinformation in the media over the years. Infact, the mission of his

NGO is " combating HIV in Nigeria with accurate information. "

Contrary to the belief that HIV is a death sentence, the activist who

is the Editor-in-Chief of the on-line magazine, NigeriaHIVinfo.com

said; " It is a dangerous misinformation. That is why people believe

that once you test positive, the only thing is to hide in your room

and die quietly.

But no! The gap between HIV and AIDS is so wide to the extent that if

you are positive and you find out early enough and you do the right

things, you will never develop full-blown AIDS. It will interest you

to know that there are people who have lived with the virus for 17

years and they never developed AIDS. It is all about early testing.

In fact, there are people who tested positive over ten years ago and

they are not even on Anti-Retroviral Drugs (ARD). The point is this:

if you go for test and you are negative, then you guide your status

jealously by maintaining a risk-free lifestyle. But if it turns out

positive, you can quickly seek those avenues that are now abundant to

take care of yourself. If you embrace treatment and care early enough,

be sure you can live a normal and healthy life for the rest of your

life. Most people on ARD are those who have been positive for three or

four years and their immune systems have been compromised before they

went for test.

But with early testing, the advantage is that you can be placed on

regimented diet and you won't even need drugs and your immunity would

be boosted. The experience in Nigeria is that most people will not go

for test until they are dying. It is only when they are terribly sick

and they go for thyphoid test and nothing is working and they are not

responding to treatment, that's when they will say; let's try HIV test. "

To underscore the point, Aborisade added that he once did an overview

of a Lagos-based organization that runs free HIV test in Lagos and

Ogun states. To his horror, he found out that in both states with

population over 15 million, the organization was only able to test

about 1,000 people in one year, simply because Nigerians are afraid to

go for test.

My mission

Speaking on what obviously for him is a huge passion, Aborisade stated

that Projekt Hope is a media response conceived to combat the social

reaction of stigmatization and discrimination facing people who are

HIV positive, otherwise known as People Living With HIV (PLWH). The

mission is to counter the misinformation and to present in a new light

the realities about HIV/AIDS. " We are poised to present a positive and

accurate image of PLWHAs and their ability to cope and continue to

live normal lives. Through our programs, we hope to trigger responses

of understanding, compassion, solidarity and support for HIV positive

persons in Nigeria. "

The major program of his on-line magazine is to give voice and

visibility to healthy individuals who actually have continued to live

productive lives despite their diagnosis. The Editor-in-Chief

quarreled with the penchant of mainstream media to feed on societal

fear and prejudice by constantly displaying only ghastly images and

stereotypes and nothing to show the other side of the coin- HIV

carriers who are healthy and productive and have remained so for many

years.

Speaking further on the motivation for the project, Aborisade said he

was disturbed by the fact that the war in Iraq was more important to

Nigerian newspapers than HIV/AIDS. " Our papers devote pages after

pages to movie stars yet they can't find time to write about what is

killing us. They don't have time to research, to follow up on stories.

These are problems that have to be addressed if there's going to be

any change at all. "

Having been involved for many years in training of journalists on how

to report HIV/AIDS and not getting the desired result, Aborisade has

picked up the gauntlet to " do it the way it should be done.

We have decided to report HIV/AIDS ourselves. When they see it, it

will inform and guide them. We will give them the information they

lack. Most often, what you see in the media are pictures of AIDS

patients looking like ghosts. People conclude that anyone with HIV

will inevitably come to such ghastly end. But that is not true. We are

here to provide contents to the media. If you want to talk to HIV/AIDS

victims and you can't find them, give us a call and we'll arrange the

interview. If you want pictures and materials on people living

positively we'll supply them to you. "

HIV/AIDS magazine in local languages

Reacting to fears on the reach of his on-line magazine, given the

prevailing IT infrastructure in Nigeria, Aborisade reassured that 70

percent of Nigerians have access to the internet. " The internet is so

popular very few people resort to letter writing these days. Even if

you have never heard of our site, very soon you'll get a mail from us,

which is probably one of the contents of our site, you may decide to

toward it to 100 people or more. "

In addition to his on-line magazine, Aborisade plans to target the

rural populace with a hard copy magazine called Positive Living. He

said Positively Living will be a quarterly magazine comprising key

contents of his site in the past three months. " Packaged together in a

magazine format, it will be circulated far and wide. So for people in

the rural areas without access to the internet, positive living will

be there for them. And by the grace of God, if we have the funding we

plan to do the English edition, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa editions. What

it basically means is translation. It will be a summary of the site

and contains stories that touch the heart. "

Runs in the family

Presenting his profile to Saturday Sun, Steve Aborisade revealed that

activism actually runs in his family. His elder brother, Femi

Aborisade, is one of Nigeria's early Marxists. " It is a kind of

passion that we have. We all do what we believe in. I'm from Oyo State

but grew up in Ondo State, Akure, I'm a graduate of Philosophy, have

post-graduate diploma in Journalism. "

Aborisade said he owes his success so far to Dapo Olorunyomi, Country

Director of Freedom House. " Without him this dream would just have

died away, because I've had this dream for a long time. What Dapo has

given me is more than money. He gave me the encouragement before he

gave me a fully-equipped office with computers for use for one year.

He is paying the rent. And before he returned to the US, when my

friends who are positive come around, he always identified with them. "

--- End forwarded message ---

[Guest guest]

Chifu,

ENCOURAGING!

Wams

In a message dated 3/19/2006 10:38:43 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, chifu2222@... writes:

MembersEven though this article was culled from a Nigerian article-I wouldlike our Kenyan counterparts to read and learn from this example.Enjoy it...Why I employ persons living with HIVBy EMMANUEL MAYAHSaturday, March 18, 2006In a society where confessed HIV carriers are hounded out of schoolsor have their appointments tacitly terminated, a young employer isgoing out of his way to give jobs to HIV victims.Though Steve Aborisade has thrown in many years to HIV campaign, hisorganization, Prajekt Hope is barely one year old.Today however, it is a sanctuary of sort to a growing number ofNigerians who hitherto had been driven to their wits end on account ofmaking public their HIV status.Anyone who has been to the Omotayo-Ojo-Street office of the NGO inIkeja must have come away with the fact that over 90 percent of thestaff are HIV carriers. They don't look it though; not with theirluxuriant looks and positive approach to life. Among them are MissAminat Alli and Monisola Ajiboye both of whom you would find beingcuddled by Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka in a group photograph.Another is Fred Adeboye, the student who made headlines two years agowhen he was kicked out of the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ),Ogba after he had innocently confided in his Rector about his HIV status.For Aborisade, providing employment for this category of Nigerians isfirstly a bold attempt at confronting a monster called stigma, whichhas turned out to be even more cold-blooded than the HIV virus itself.It is also a new and pragmatic approach in building victims'self-condidence; a strategy to signpost careers who are what he called"positive models" and to use them to tell the story of newpossibilities, which is that there is still normal life after HIV.Indeed, it is all in a day's work for an organization that has clearlybraced up to rise above rhetorics in the HIV-AIDS campaign. Speakingfurther on his guiding principle, Aborisade said: "When you aretalking politics, you have to involve politicians; when you aretalking about the economy, you have to involve economists. When youare talking about HIV/AIDS you just must involve infected individuals.He who feels it knows it. What affect our staff affect other peopleand we see these things. Adegboyega of NIJ is presently with us onattachment; he's going to continue afterwards as a member of ourstaff. Last Christmas, I spent two days at Ibadan with a family thatis HIV positive. We share in their pains. If you don't get close youcan't know. The only way to know is to involve them. Mojisola andAdegboyega are report for us".HIV, not a killer diseaseSpeaking to Satuday Sun, Aborisade pointed out that the thrust of thecampaign of Projekt Hope is to shatter the myth that HIV is a killerdisease. The myth, he said, has endured as a result of prolongedmisinformation in the media over the years. Infact, the mission of hisNGO is "combating HIV in Nigeria with accurate information."Contrary to the belief that HIV is a death sentence, the activist whois the Editor-in-Chief of the on-line magazine, NigeriaHIVinfo.comsaid; "It is a dangerous misinformation. That is why people believethat once you test positive, the only thing is to hide in your roomand die quietly.But no! The gap between HIV and AIDS is so wide to the extent that ifyou are positive and you find out early enough and you do the rightthings, you will never develop full-blown AIDS. It will interest youto know that there are people who have lived with the virus for 17years and they never developed AIDS. It is all about early testing.In fact, there are people who tested positive over ten years ago andthey are not even on Anti-Retroviral Drugs (ARD). The point is this:if you go for test and you are negative, then you guide your statusjealously by maintaining a risk-free lifestyle. But if it turns outpositive, you can quickly seek those avenues that are now abundant totake care of yourself. If you embrace treatment and care early enough,be sure you can live a normal and healthy life for the rest of yourlife. Most people on ARD are those who have been positive for three orfour years and their immune systems have been compromised before theywent for test.But with early testing, the advantage is that you can be placed onregimented diet and you won't even need drugs and your immunity wouldbe boosted. The experience in Nigeria is that most people will not gofor test until they are dying. It is only when they are terribly sickand they go for thyphoid test and nothing is working and they are notresponding to treatment, that's when they will say; let's try HIV test."To underscore the point, Aborisade added that he once did an overviewof a Lagos-based organization that runs free HIV test in Lagos andOgun states. To his horror, he found out that in both states withpopulation over 15 million, the organization was only able to testabout 1,000 people in one year, simply because Nigerians are afraid togo for test.My missionSpeaking on what obviously for him is a huge passion, Aborisade statedthat Projekt Hope is a media response conceived to combat the socialreaction of stigmatization and discrimination facing people who areHIV positive, otherwise known as People Living With HIV (PLWH). Themission is to counter the misinformation and to present in a new lightthe realities about HIV/AIDS. "We are poised to present a positive andaccurate image of PLWHAs and their ability to cope and continue tolive normal lives. Through our programs, we hope to trigger responsesof understanding, compassion, solidarity and support for HIV positivepersons in Nigeria."The major program of his on-line magazine is to give voice andvisibility to healthy individuals who actually have continued to liveproductive lives despite their diagnosis. The Editor-in-Chiefquarreled with the penchant of mainstream media to feed on societalfear and prejudice by constantly displaying only ghastly images andstereotypes and nothing to show the other side of the coin- HIVcarriers who are healthy and productive and have remained so for manyyears.Speaking further on the motivation for the project, Aborisade said hewas disturbed by the fact that the war in Iraq was more important toNigerian newspapers than HIV/AIDS. "Our papers devote pages afterpages to movie stars yet they can't find time to write about what iskilling us. They don't have time to research, to follow up on stories.These are problems that have to be addressed if there's going to beany change at all."Having been involved for many years in training of journalists on howto report HIV/AIDS and not getting the desired result, Aborisade haspicked up the gauntlet to "do it the way it should be done.We have decided to report HIV/AIDS ourselves. When they see it, itwill inform and guide them. We will give them the information theylack. Most often, what you see in the media are pictures of AIDSpatients looking like ghosts. People conclude that anyone with HIVwill inevitably come to such ghastly end. But that is not true. We arehere to provide contents to the media. If you want to talk to HIV/AIDSvictims and you can't find them, give us a call and we'll arrange theinterview. If you want pictures and materials on people livingpositively we'll supply them to you."HIV/AIDS magazine in local languagesReacting to fears on the reach of his on-line magazine, given theprevailing IT infrastructure in Nigeria, Aborisade reassured that 70percent of Nigerians have access to the internet. "The internet is sopopular very few people resort to letter writing these days. Even ifyou have never heard of our site, very soon you'll get a mail from us,which is probably one of the contents of our site, you may decide totoward it to 100 people or more."In addition to his on-line magazine, Aborisade plans to target therural populace with a hard copy magazine called Positive Living. Hesaid Positively Living will be a quarterly magazine comprising keycontents of his site in the past three months. "Packaged together in amagazine format, it will be circulated far and wide. So for people inthe rural areas without access to the internet, positive living willbe there for them. And by the grace of God, if we have the funding weplan to do the English edition, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa editions. Whatit basically means is translation. It will be a summary of the siteand contains stories that touch the heart."Runs in the familyPresenting his profile to Saturday Sun, Steve Aborisade revealed thatactivism actually runs in his family. His elder brother, FemiAborisade, is one of Nigeria's early Marxists. "It is a kind ofpassion that we have. We all do what we believe in. I'm from Oyo Statebut grew up in Ondo State, Akure, I'm a graduate of Philosophy, havepost-graduate diploma in Journalism."Aborisade said he owes his success so far to Dapo Olorunyomi, CountryDirector of Freedom House. "Without him this dream would just havedied away, because I've had this dream for a long time. What Dapo hasgiven me is more than money. He gave me the encouragement before hegave me a fully-equipped office with computers for use for one year.He is paying the rent. And before he returned to the US, when myfriends who are positive come around, he always identified with them."--- End forwarded message ---