The challenge of HIV/AIDS education is pretty daunting, in sub-Saharan Africa. This is an area of the world where people have few true pleasures, though they find happiness in doing most anything. One of the mainstays of fun, however, is sex.
When you look at African history, it's easy to see that Europeans controlled and debilitated the region up to about 30 years ago. Civil wars, some of which are still raging, spring up where there was a power vacuum. People around here know suffering all too well, and are wont to hold onto everything good and free, like sex.
And now comes HIV/AIDS. Many believe that the virus originated in the same general area that the colonizers came from. So then these same people, who have disrespected the land and possibly brought this virus over in the first place, are saying to radically change sexual habits in order to avoid the disease? I would be skeptical in their situation, but it's amazing how much objectivity and optimism truly exists here. However, this is still in the back of peoples' minds.
I had my students get plants with the roots still attached for class today. One of my students got a fairly mature tomato plant. She didn't seem to care that she'd killed several tomatoes.
I've been very busy today. I like this.
Peace
John
