Hi everyone! It has been an exciting few days on the road, meeting lots of people, school groups, and seeing some amazing countryside. We are all struck by the beauty of the country, the people, and also struggle with the poverty that we see. It is difficult to know how to respond sometimes. This morning a young man, maybe 15 or 16 years old, approached me in Eldoret, no shoes, pretty tattered clothing, and looked at me and said, "I need money. I need shoes." And then waited. Watched me. And I apologized, gave him nothing. And now I sit in the van, laptop out, typing an update, and struggle with what my response should have been. I understand that the scope and complexity of poverty, hunger, all the issues that impact people's daily lives, are much broader than me trying to help one young man. But still, he is one, and he is worth my attention. There are no easy answers. The guilt sits a bit heavy, and that is good. I pray that it teaches me to pay attention, to respond, to feel things.
Joseph Kiranto is cycling with us, as well as his brother Sam. They are two remarkable young men. Sam is running for public office in the Kajiado District, representing youth and young adults. Joseph continues his work with HIV/AIDS through the Presbyterian Outreach Mission Church. People have been asking us about why we are connecting peace and AIDS on this trip. Joseph had a good response. Whenever there is conflict, the result is a rise in the incidence of HIV/AIDS. Certainly sexual assault, rape, as a weapon of conflict and war is a very real and awful reality. But there are other reasons as well. The example he gave was of the post election violence in 2007 in Kenya. Thousands of people were on the run from the violence, most of them having to leave everything behind. For those that were HIV+ and on ARVs the medication was lost, burned, and they found themselves not only homeless and facing a very uncertain future, but also knowing that no longer having access to the drugs they were taking, puts their lives at risk. Four years later, many people still live in Internally Displaced People camps, and are afraid to go home, but are trying to find some sense of normal, and are remarrying, hoping to create new and hopeful futures for themselves and their children. This also creates problems. Many do not know their status, and so unknowingly spread the virus to spouses and children.
If there is no functional harmony in a community, then nothing else works.
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