Facing stigmatisation
At a workshop held by City Harvest Church in the Mukuru slums in Nairobi, Kenya, over eighty HIV-positive people shared their concerns together … life is hard enough in the slums whatever your status and stigmatisation makes life even more difficult for those affected by HIV …
Many said they were stigmatised and their children were not allowed to play with other children. They could not even hang their clothes on the same washing line as the rest of the residents. No one would purchase from their small businesses – in fact, the only product they could sell was paraffin. No foodstuffs!
Some people had come along to the workshop to spy on them so they could return and tell the community to shun them! A number said they could not stop prostitution, as they have no alternative source of livelihood. Some complained that men were not keen on protected sex and demanded it even with knowledge of exposure to HIV and AIDS.
> City Harvest Church – training and mobilising churches in Nairobi slums to help those affected by HIV and AIDS.