When Spiders Unite, They Can Tie Down an Elephant
a reflection on the March 2010 HIV and AIDS Tour
by Nema Aluku, CRWRC HIV and AIDS Response Coordinator for East & Southern Africa
It was a night filled with much anticipation as we awaited the arrival of this year’s HIV and AIDS tour participants to arrive in Nairobi, Kenya. Phone calls, time checks, and an early night for the kids enabled me to dash out of the house on Saturday the13th to welcome the tour participants. The wait was finally over as the tour participants arrived safely and checked in at a guesthouse on the outskirts of Nairobi. The tour would cover Kenya and Uganda.
We had an intensive first two days out in the western province of Kenya, visiting communities under Western region Christian Community Services, a partner of CRWRC-Kenya. As one tour participant commented when we exited the compound of Peter, an HIV positive man, “This is up close, personal, and in your face.” The tour gave North Americans an opportunity to see and experience firsthand what communities in East Africa are doing in response to HIV and AIDS.
On March 15 the group met some remarkable individuals in Imanga Village, Bulwani western Province, Kenya. “I have been on various tours before,” commented a tour participant. “This is the first time that I am feeling personal fulfillment within the first three days of the tour.”
Franciscka, one of the elderly caregivers in Imanga village, could not hide her joy for the opportunity to meet and interact with “visitors from a faraway land” who came to learn and experience for themselves how she is coping as an elderly caregiver. At 68 years old, she stands tall and confident, beaming with hope that yet another day has passed that she is able to provide care and support to her five grandchildren. The tour participants could not help but cuddle up with Franciscka’s grandchild. To crown it all, everyone sat under trees and shared a meal of Ugali, rice, chicken, dried meat, and indigenous vegetables. You 
will have to hear firsthand from the tour participants how the Ugali tasted, how the fellowship under the trees was, how the community sang as we arrived into the day’s venue, how they shared poems they use to break the silence surrounding HIV and AIDS, how the community members showcased their treasured beehives that yield 30 kg of honey as a source of income to enable them continue providing care and support to members, how with zeal and delight they showcased their skills in weaving, displayed and demonstrated how it is all done—baskets, chairs—handmade with quality and care by a group of people living positively.
The tour members had an opportunity to meet face to face with a support group of people living positively. The Tushauriane Support group in Lugari Sub Location was our last visit that day. Eight remarkable and outstanding women shared their personal stories. No matter how hard I try to summarize the journey of the eight women, I am left without words; not simply “writer’s block”—I am overwhelmed with the passion and hope exemplified by these women—each one of them with a unique journey and a new phase of life living openly and positively with HIV and AIDS in a community still struggling with HIV and AIDS related stigma and discrimination. One by one the women, age 25 to 63, shared the turning points in their lives: when they discovered they had the virus that causes AIDS, how they reacted, and how they are supporting one another as people living with and personally affected by HIV and AIDS; how one of the them, an evangelist, continues to provide spiritual guidance not only to the support group, but also to the larger congregation, which is a welcoming church to all regardless of their HIV status.
When spiders unite, they can tie down an elephant (an Ethiopian proverb) was role-played by youth as they highlighted the importance of strong community safety nets in the prevention and control of HIV and AIDS in any given society. They shared that HIV can affect anyone, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, or social status.
You too can be a part of this life-changing experience.
I invite you to come, see, and experience for yourself what God is doing in our midst . Take the first step and contact CRWRC Service Learning (mdykstra@crwrc.org), or write to me, Nema Aluku, at naluku@crwrc.org for more details regarding what the tour entails and how the communities benefit.
The next tour will be in March 2012. However, if you, my supporting churches, are willing to send a group this year, we can arrange another tour in November 2010. We need 6 or more people to be part of spinning the web that will tie down HIV and AIDS and spread the stories of transformation to many more in North America. Come and experience the strength of a woman!
Click here for the second installment of Nema's reflection on this tour