Once upon a time, far-far away, there lived a brave little orphan girl . . . . both her parents died from a terrible disease, and upon realizing that she will face the rest of her life without the people she came to know as “mom” and “dad” she courageously faces the fact that she too has this disease.

Unfortunately this isn’t a script out of a storybook, if that were the case, then I could easily write the “happily ever after” at the end and all would be well— no this story is true. The time is now, the place is Kenya, and the girl . . . well she represents one of an estimated 2.2 million Kenyans who are currently living with HIV infection.

I am currently participating in the GBC (Global Business Coalition) initiative called: Healthy Women, Healthy Economies in Nairobi, Kenya. We spent the morning walking through the Kiambiyu Slum. We visited the Kenya Network of Women with AIDS (KENWA) and listened to moving testimonies of women who were HIV positive. Often times they are deserted by their husbands, forsaken by their families, and shunned by the community.

The next stop was the Nairobi Women’s Hospital, which specialized in Gender Violence. It is said that 50% of women will be raped. There is an old wives tale that states that if a man who is HIV positive sleeps with a virgin, he will be cured—this contributes to the high number of rape victims. This hospital is truly unique in that it provides health care as well as counseling for these victims.

This leads to my last stop of the day, where I was given a public HIV test. It was a quick blood test from a finger prick. I was o.k. with the test, and was confidently proclaiming my status as HIV negative. Then the counselor asked me if I was certain that I was reading the test results correctly—for a second my heart stopped and my mind started playing the “what if” game. Different scenarios were racing through my head, as my mind replayed the images of the men, women, and children I had seen throughout the day. The counselor ended up telling me that I was correct, that I was negative. After an internal sigh of relief, I still couldn’t help but ponder on how my life would change. . . . .

What I found is that a lot of people refuse to get tested, even though the procedure is free to public. To them it is like the “beginning of the end” but as I talked with various HIV positive patients, I would argue that it is the “end” and also the “beginning”. It definitely ends life how you knew it to some degree, but if you speak to those who got tested and are now living healthier lives through the medicines they were given—you see that they have a “new beginning.” I have much more to tell . . . but I must sign off for now . . tomorrow is going to be another emotional day!!