Testing, Testing

Finding out whether I have HIV or not is the first step in my treatment for HIV/AIDS.

The WHO estimates that over 80% of people who have HIV in the so-called developing world do not know they have the disease.

As a country we have just come to the stage where the average income is now Rs. 100 per day (US$ 2.2).

Unsurprisingly most people who find out that they are HIV positive find out only when they are quite sick. By then a lot of time has gone by - and many precious opportunities to help our immune cells to fight HIV effectively have passed.

Many people die before they know they have HIV. We have enough TB around, enough malaria, enough dysentry that people can die of 'common diseases' without realising that HIV has pulled out the rug from under their feet.

This is why testing for HIV is so vital.

To be able to do anything positive for a person who has HIV - we have to know the truth. When I know my HIV status I can move forward. The HIV test puts this foundation of knowing into place.

At Jeevan Sahara Kendra we have wanted to get our testing and counselling going for some time now. Thanks to help from Geneva Global, we were given a grant to start such a programme last year. In the process, we our centre and even had a dedication program where John Forbes cut the ribbon for our 'new' premises.

But we have had months go by where we were not able to actually start counselling and testing our contacts. We still sent people to the government testing centre at the civil hospital, because we did not have the personel in the saddle for us to be fully operational.

Today that changed.

After a long time, we are able to say that we are beginning to start our testing and counselling programme at JSK.

As of today we are 'open for business' to anyone who needs to be tested for HIV.

Thanks to Vinod, who has come on board as a temporary lab technician, we now have the capacity to counsel and test people for HIV at the Jeevan Sahara Kendra centre.

The idea is to provide testing for people who think that they may have HIV in a way that honours and affirms them - while also linking them in to a continuum of care should they test HIV positive.

Not only do we want people to be helped through JSK's staff and contacts with local churches - we also want as much as possible for people with HIV to access govt. resources - especially for getting treated with Anti-Retrovirals when they need them. Our hope is that the JSK Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre will be able to sync in with the other government ICTCs. We in no want want to 'compete' - rather we want to complement and cooperate. There are plenty of people with HIV who have not been tested yet!

Lets take a look at things from another perspective:

We have staff at JSK who are positive themselves, and know the challenges of the testing and treatment process. We also have counsellors with real life experience in caring for people with HIV in their homes. We have a place where people can come and tell their stories - knowing that we will keep things confidential.

And we also have one more element. The element of hope. In a time when so many consider suicide - we know that God loves each person - with or without HIV. Though we do not have easy solutions - and certainly no formulas to life and happiness at the drop of a hat - we do know that our friends who come to us receive love, touch and care. And prayer.

For those about to get the big news of whether they do have HIV or not - that means so much.

And for those who are told that HIV has been found in their blood - it can make all the difference in the world.

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Please join us in praying and supporting this vital work. We feel very weak in starting this up - but know that God is helping us at every step.