March 2023
In our communities, talking about sex is a social taboo. When Pabitra discussed HIV/Aids we were not comfortable. We looked at each other’s faces but Pabitra continued and asked us if we were feeling uncomfortable discussing these issues. HIV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). It can also be spread by contact with infected blood and from injecting illicit drugs or sharing needles. It can also be spread from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. There’s no cure for HIV/AIDS, but medications can control the infection and therefore prevent spreading.
I enjoyed very much the game we played. Pabitra asked us to volunteer 6 members from the group and she gave the names below:
- T helper cells
- T cell
- B cell
- Macrophage
- Retrovirus
- HIV affected
She posted those titles on our back and called an HIV-affected person to stand in the middle of the circle. My friend went to stand in the middle of the circle. The rest of us stood in the circle. Firstly, T helper cells said that she was the main protector of the body. She will not allow anybody to enter and if someone tries to enter, the T helper cell will fight with them. If the T heldper cells do not succeed then she will call the supporters: T Cell, B cell, Macrophage – they are also cells which protect the body. Whenever T helper cells inform us, we are ready to fight with anybody trying to enter into our bodies.
Retrovirus: Will enter your body and stay there. She will eat all macrophage, and the body will be weak . Once it enters your body, it will never let go. Then the retrovirus fight with all the cells the HIV-affected patient will fall down, and the game was complete.
After that, the HIV affected person stood up and said that she had sex with many people without any precautions, and therefore got this infection. And transmitted it to the wife as well.
The room was silent as everyone was listening carefully. After the game, we discussed how to protect ourselves from HIV/Aids and what are our roles if we saw HIV-affected people in our community. Our heads were full of thoughts, and I was very surprised by all cells, which I had no idea about it. After the discussion, I committed myself to disseminate that information in my communities. If there are HIV-affected people, then I will request that they are treated nicely.