On Friday July 9th my community held a commemoration for world VCT day. We invited all the local leaders, schools, and community members. The purpose of the event was to educate the villagers about truths and myths regarding HIV/AIDS and its spread, and to allow them to be tested for HIV. HIV is highly stigmatized in Zambia, especially in the rural areas. Most people don't make the effort to go to the clinic for testing, because they are afraid of how different their lives would become if they were found to be positive.
The video is my school's cultural club dancing according to Bemba tradition. Yes, I uploaded a video!! The Peace Corps house in Kasama now has internet! Now I have no excuses for lack of photos and updates.
The VCT day was an overall huge success. We tested over 150 people for HIV, and were entertained by 10 schools and cultural groups with dancing, poems, and dramas. It felt great to finish and not have a million people asking me for a million things (mostly money). This has been my most rewarding work thus far in my service, so I'm hoping to continue working in the area of HIV education.
As for now, work is on the back burner as I'm gearing up for Mom and Pop Martel's arrival in just about 1 week! They'll be here for my quarter-century birthday, and we're planning a small village bash with my two families.
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