Mystery Can Mean Misunderstanding

By Edmund Okiboko, Managing Director

UVP intern Augustine engages with community members at an
HIV outreach in Kamira.

When a woman suddenly died, the mystery sent the community abuzz. The consensus was that she was infected with HIV. Ngobi, the husband she left behind, was distraught and confused, and began to believe their speculations and assumed he was also HIV positive.

Months later, during UVP’s biannual HIV outreach in the village, Nurse Nalwogo learned of this man’s situation and, as a long-time partner with UVP, new she needed to attempt to speak to him. She walked the short distance to his home, less than a 3 minute walk, and said, “kodi” (knock, knock, anyone home?). Ngobi welcomed Nurse Nalwoga hesitantly. After traditional greetings and inquiries of the health of family members and livestock, Nurse Nalwoga gently directed the conversation to the event, visible from Ngobi’s house. With a little more encouragement, Ngobi agreed to go with Nurse Nalwoga to take an HIV test.

To Ngobi’s surprise, he tested negative for HIV. He was not convinced of his status by this one test, so he pursued another one the following week at his local health center. It, too, was negative! Ngobi was so happy that he visited Nurse Nalwoga at her regular health center in Namungalwe to share the news. The two rejoiced.

Fast forward six months: UVP is conducting the second HIV outreach in the village for the year. Ngobi arrives to the event and immediately seeks out Nurse Nalwoga; her brief visit and encouragement to test has changed his life. The extra 10 minutes she spent seeking him out, patiently explaining the benefits of confirming his status, and educating him on ways to prevent new infections of HIV is how UVP strives to be different. Health is a journey and there are many influences in each person’s story.

“When UVP started working closely with our health center, we have also been able to reach out to villages and interact with the people we serve,” Nurse Nalwoga reflects. By building relationships with nurses at nearby health centers, UVP breaks down obstacles keeping rural communities from accessing health services.

Nurse Nalwoga appreciates UVP’s partnership approach noting that “Uganda Village Project effectively engages VHTs in all its programming and empowers them to refer patients to the health center from an informed point of view.”

She adds, “This has also greatly improved on the knowledge base of community members because they now know where to get health care services hence, making a difference.”

Ngobi’s story has been used with his permission, though his name has been changed to protect his privacy.