Vincent Awuonda: HIV / AIDS Advice to the Kenyan Youths

ADVICE TO THE YOUTHS

As we mark the World AIDS Day and a long Holiday their after with many Teenagers having done their final Exams in different Education levels, I think it’s the best time to talk about HIV/AIDS.

Even though so many things have been said and reams written about HIV/AIDS but as a Poet, Story Teller and Actor which I use their power as a tool to educate and sensitize the Society about the happenings and to highlight the  life of the less fortunate members of the Society, I will not tire of warning everyone out there that HIV/AIDS is real and its wiping out many of us each and every blessed day. 

I appreciate the Nation’s Governors for their effort to fight and prevent HIV/AIDS and to help people gain knowledge of it. 

Knowledge is truly strength and if you know how it comes, how it spreads and how it can be prevented then you can make a good decision about your own lifestyle and you can avoid certain dangers and risks.

If the Health Professionals wish to make more impact on the STD and HIV pandemic which is sweeping the World then they should aim Teenagers because they are much at risk for these Diseases, though they cannot prescribe how they should live or behave but they can empower teens by hinting at the pitfalls they may encounter and by signposting a safe and healthy pathway through the road to adulthood because this is the time they are developing their personality, their dreams, their personal view of the world and their answer to the riddle of the meaning of life.

HIV/AIDS is sweeping the world with a sadistic dash and there will be no tomorrow unless we do something about it. Although we ought to abstain but many of us find it nearly impossible, I repeat what others have said “young people who are not married should abstain or protect themselves during the sexual intercourse if they must do it and those who are married should be faithful and that way the World will be a better place to live in.

As you take one day at a time enjoying December holiday always remember that HIV/AIDS is real and be careful with the steps you make.

I further wish you a Marry Christmas and Happy New Year.