Tuesday, September 4, 2007

HIV/AIDS positive couples weddings in Kenya

Of late there have been many HIV/Aids couples in Kenya coming out in the open to wed in full view of the media. This is a brave and encouraging move.

This is a positive way to fight the stigma; it has also got to do with Church strict rules that couples have to declare their health status before the Pastors officiate marriages

However some couples avoid going for counseling because of this issue, they go ahead with their wedding preparations as usual only to be stopped by a strict Pastor for not having completed their counseling.

There are many cases of weddings that have been stopped by Pastors when couples did not follow this new Church requirement. The Pastor is obligated to stop the wedding even on the wedding day when everything is set and guests are already in Church.

This would be a big loss to the couples after going through the nitty-gritty of organizing a wedding, which involves, the bridal gown, the man’s suit, invitation cards, hiring or fueling of vehicles, catering services, brides maids, flower girls, page boys clothes, taking care of parents and relatives if they depend on the couple. Video coverage and photography etc.

Nearly in all Churches couples have to go through counseling by a Pastor, 3 announcements have to be done according to the law. It is during the counseling that the pastor will insist that the couple go for test to know their HIV/AIDS status.

The couple may later decide to go ahead with the wedding after completing the counseling and accepting their status.

I support the fact that all things should be sorted out prior to marriages. This is a positive move to save all those innocent young ladies or young men who would enter into a relationship blindly assuming their partner is well.

Though there are some Pastors who are compromised and perform weddings before counseling or advising couples. It is because the purge of corruption is also in our Churches. Churches gain from such functions from the charges and collections, so a greedy Pastor would rather ignore such obstacles. In extreme circumstances, they are practically bribed by the beneficiaries of such weddings.

We all need to appreciate the advantages to pre-marital counseling and status testing. It brings enhanced meaning in marriage because the marrying parties would have full knowledge of each other’s status.

5 comments:

The Black Mamba said...

People should not refuse to get tested. It is for their own good. Waiting until you have the full blown symptoms makes it hard to treat AIDS.

It's about time people became accountable.

Anonymous said...

The current issue of East African DRUM features the founder of an AIDS activist who is a proud parent of an HIV negative toddler although she is herself a 20 year plus carrier of the HIV virus.

This disease should not stop people living their lives. It should only make them live it responsibly..

Jamii said...

Certainly people should get tested. Knowing ones status early helps and has helped improve people's lives.

A survey was done in Kenya recently, which showed that HIV/AIDS cases have come down. This shows people are changing.

Yes Drum has a feature on Asunta Wagura, her photo and her cute baby is on the cover. This is a true testimony that people can live positively for years.

The Black Mamba said...

I heard from credible sources that Asunta is not HIV+.

Jamii said...

Ssembonge I have heard that one too, in fact a colleague was wondering why she is the only one being given a lot of publicity.

There used to be another man, I can't remember his name, the last time he was in the papers he had lived with it for 19 years. All of a sudden he disappeared when people started questioning. I never heard of any funeral. It can be very sad if such rumors are true.

There could still be a possibility of people living that long, especially women compared to men.