Feet stomp tiny clouds of gray dirt into the air, hands fly across the canvass of drum heads, a wave of laughter moves through the crowd—this is HIV testing day at the UAACC in Imbeseni, Arusha, but it is also a celebration. It is a celebration of 10 young men and women who could barely stay on the wooden benches of their small classroom when they had a question about the lesson—the biology of HIV, condom use, HIV testing and treatment—that members of AIDSTanzania were presenting to them, and were now prepared to go into Secondary school and give nearly identical presentations to their peers. It is a celebration of the 99 individuals who would be tested that day, the 99 who were tested two days earlier, the 40 who were tested the week before, and perhaps another 50-100 individuals who will be tested this spring. It is a celebration of the young women who were so open and receptive to our discussions with them on sex and condom use; the young men we watched tease a friend who said he used a condom during our first day in class, but were grabbing condoms by the handful by the final testing day; and the ten young boys and girls who cut in front of their older brothers and sisters in the testing line. Are all of these positive movements directly related to the work of our organization? Of course not—but if our programs and projects continue to ask the right questions of our audience (namely, “What can I do to help stop the spread of HIV?”), we see cause for celebration.






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