Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 5 March 2004
Anthony Mwangi and Andrei Neacsu
Where in the mid-1990s, representatives of various religious faiths in Kenya were openly against even mentioning the question of HIV/AIDS, today more and more clerics, including in the Muslim community, have become increasingly vocal and have started using places of worship as a platform for delivering anti-stigma campaigns platforms.
There is now a conscious and unprecedented approach in terms of policies aimed at supporting communities.
The coastal city of Mombasa is predominantly Muslim. It is also a busy industrial and tourist centre, with thousands of people coming and going, on business or holiday. Like many urban agglomerations in Africa, the shadow of HIV/AIDS hangs over a population long oblivious to the threats of the disease.
Bridge with community
"The Kenyan population is 30 million, and 14 per cent of them are infected. In some pockets, HIV prevalence reaches up to 50 per cent. In this context, the Mombasa branch project constitutes that little drop that turns a ripple into a preventative tidal wave", says Patrick Couteau, the Federation's regional health and care co-coordinator.
It all started in the autumn of 2001 - with hesitant steps - in the small Majengo Island community. A bridge between Red Cross volunteers and members of the community was steadily created.
Religious leaders attended Red Cross workshops demystifying HIV/AIDS and suggesting ways to fight stigma and discrimination. People living with the virus agreed to come forward and publicly declare their status. Families who initially rejected their affected relatives, recognized their mistakes and asked for pardon.
HIV-positive people were no longer victims. They became Red Cross volunteers, examples of moral strength to their communities. Teaching and talking about HIV and AIDS in the Mombasa mosques is almost a daily routine. Local authorities and other organizations joined the project and helped to make it a success.
Suddenly, the story of two years of hard work appears so simple. And that is why the Kenya Red Cross and the Federation decided to share this best practice with other sister national societies and organizations involved in similar activities.
Red Cross saved my life
"If it was not for the Red Cross people who found me, talked to me, encouraged me and took me out of my despair I would probably be dead now". With simple direct words, Zulekha Abdalla tells of how she overcame mountains of fear and shame to become one of the most respected Red Cross volunteers in her community.
Her sad story is confirmed with modesty by Hassan Mussa, who co-ordinates the Majengo project for the Red Cross. "When we got there, we found aunt Zuu confined in a narrow dark room, like a prison cell. There was no window, no sunlight on her, no one to give her a cup of tea. A family member just said: there is your client," he recalls.
Zulekha's 'Testimony of Hope' is now a video documentary, produced by the Kenya Red Cross with support from the Federation's regional information unit. "It is a straight-forward message to people of the Muslim faith, a message that truly goes beyond religious borders to reach the hearts of all people fighting the virus, giving them strength to stand up with pride wherever they are", comments Mary Kuria, KRCS Secretary General.
"I noted with satisfaction how the family health and home-based care programme has enhanced the credibility of the Red Cross among the Majengo community," says Britta Minker, a programme co-coordinator for the German Red Cross, which supported the initiative.
Civil Society
If the Red Cross was known for its interventions during disasters, it is now recognized as an active part of civil society with true concerns for the welfare of its members.
It proved this by involving the community from the initial stage of the programme design through a Participatory Urban Appraisal approach. A Community Implementation Committee, allied to the involvement of local leaders, increased the feeling of ownership and facilitated exchanges with community health workers during home visits and referral of clients to specialized health units.
The Best Practice document also notes "one of the most important achievements is the involvement of community members in providing home-based care themselves ... a contribution to a substantial decrease of HIV/AIDS related stigma".
The publication and the video documentary met with the approval of a regional Red Cross/Red Crescent Health and Care working group. Representatives from Sudan, Seychelles, Uganda and Rwanda and the Federation strongly recommended it being shared with all Eastern African national societies.
"It is now how best we can show the rest of the world how this video can impact on lives that need hope. We would like to see this video used worldwide as a reflection of an effort to fight the dreaded disease under difficult circumstances," said Mary Kuria.
Kenya Red Cross sees this production as "a hope to break the silence among the Muslim community and encourage more voluntary counselling and testing and fighting stigma and discrimination within the context of the Islamic faith".
The video has already been presented in Senegal at the 6th International Conference on Home and Community Care for People living with HIV and AIDS. Recently, excerpts of Auntie Zuu's testimony of hope were also included in a multimedia production, presented at the opening of the Movement's International , Conference in Geneva.
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