HIV/AIDS Training

Wendy Arnold came to Tumaini school this week. She started a peer education program for AIDS in Los Angeles in 1982 and has been teaching ever since. She is amazing. She is 60 or so and the most energetic woman I have ever met in my whole life. She never stops and she is so full of vibrance and energy that she lights up the room. I love being around her and she gets me jazzed to do this kind of work in my life. She has already asked me if I would want to go around the world with her teaching. I am so happy that I got to be in Boko while she is here.

We had the training for the students for the last two days and today we started the teacher training. The teacher training is exciting because this means that teachers all around the Dar es Salaam area will be able to teach their students about HIV/AIDS and have the real facts instead of the myths. You would be amazed at some of the questions the kids ask. They all are very unsure about condoms and constantly worried that condoms don't really work. They think they have holes or that the US sends Africa ones that don't work. They feel hopeless about AIDS and so many kids said that even though they know about AIDS they know their friends aren't using protection.