Shocking
analysis from the Kenya National Aids Report, 2012 and also the end term review
of the fourth Kenya National Aids Strategic Plan, 2013....
Married
couples and those in stable relationships account for the highest % of new
HIV/AIDS infections in Kenya (about 90,000).
According
to NACC, these two type of relationships account for 44% of new annual
infections while short term liaisons (20%),
gay men (15%), commercial sex workers (14%) and mistakes at health facilities (4%) and
injections by drug abusers (4%).
Something does not add up! More than half of new infections are of
comprised of people you would think would “think twice” or know better. It almost implies that you are safer off not
getting married! No more guarantees that
the boundaries of a secure and loving relationship will be enough to ward off
temptation and death!
Clearly, those being infected
engaging in relationships outside marriage engaged in wishful thinking that the
fact that they were married would protect them. Magical thinking runs
rife!
More importantly, given that our
country is comprised of 80% professed Christians, this statistic implies a
certain level of skin deep adherence to the faith. I assume that most of the 90,000 newly
infected would tick the “Christian” box when applying for a new passport...!
Perhaps it is just that, skin
deep, that is. It looks like as the
triple threats of the complexities of C21, coupled with rapid change and
shifting sands of identify, gender and institutional authority converge and confront
the institution of marriage, many crumble….
Point to ponder…where am I? I know many couples who are in strong and
robust relationships but just as many who are not……..
It is a national scandal. What a blow to the institution! If the family is weak, then so goes the
nation! When I read the story in the
Daily Nation, I felt like I had been hit in the solar plexus.
No facts to support this but as
I read the story about the young men who fought for free booze along the Nyeri
Road from an overturned truck, I think there is a correlation between what is
playing out in homes in Kenya and the lack of manners displayed by those young
men….
Hand wringing and cries of woe
aside.
God reminds that in every age,
there is scandal and scandalous behaviour. A
read through the NT and OT reveal that there is nothing new under the sun
especially when it comes to sexual relationships. Remember, Rome?
He reminds us to look to him to
guard our hearts and minds in Him as we navigate this world that we are called
to “in” but not “of”. Our hope lies in
Him to buttress our pursuit of a holy life that endures no matter what social
drama plays out around us!
