However more horrifying was the fact that recent research carried out on secondary school students found that 20% were infected by HIV/AIDS of which 16% were girls and 4% boys. These alarming statistics showed that school children were not exempt from this pandemic as they were starting to have sex at earlier ages.

These startling facts were revealed by Mrs Dorsila Sande during the third and final day of an alcohol and other drug abuse awareness campaign organised for matatu drivers and touts by the Center for Adolecent and Geriatric Outreach Services (CAGOS) at the Marble Arch Hotel in Nairobi on the 29th. of November 2002.

AIDS which is known as ukimwi in Kiswahili was maily transmitted through having sex with an infected partner. Ukimwi was a good acronym for Ukosefu Wa Kinga Mwilini quipped Sande as she gave other methods of transmission as

• Mother to child
• Blood transfusion from infected blood
• Contaminated intruments e.g during circumcision

Mrs. sande was however emphatic that one could not contravt the disease by hugging shaking hands or mosquito bites. However on hugging she clarified in response to a question from a participant if one was naked and you were hugging for example in bed and one has a cut if somehow some infected blood from the partner got to this cut, one could get infected. This also applied to bleeding gums and using an toothbrush of an infected person. But mainly HIV/AIDS was aquired through sex.

At the same time the only way to tell if someone was suffering from HIV/AIDS was to do a blood test. Otherwise anybody can have this disease without you being aware. Some of the symtoms of HIV/AIDS were

• 10% weight loss in a month
• diorhea andd vomitting (when the disease was full blown)
• prolonged fever for over a month
  minor symptoms also included:
  
• skin infection all over the body, tongue (oral thrush)
• swollen lymph nodes

The best way to deal with this 100% fatal scourge was prevention and to this one had to go back to their A,B,C and D's of the alphabet. This she said smiling was the best protection one had before she went ahead to clarify her statement to the mystified participants.

A	Abstinance. We can do it and have to do it as once you get HIV/AIDS this means death. yet you will not die because you have not had sex. I have worked for 30 years in a hospital and I have never seen a birth certificate endorsed "died due to lack of sex!"
B	Be Faithful. Husbands be faithful to wives and vice-versa. Having multiple sexual partners was what was causing the disease to spread like wildfire as it was extremely easy to have sex with someone infected and become infected yourself and keep passing it on all in blissful igonrance.
C	This is how to do it! Sande shows how to put on a condom correctly. Condoms. Correctly. Constantly. Condoms have been here before the first diagnosed case of HIV/AIDS was found and were used for family planning. The problem with condoms is the incorrect use by people who are in a hurry or otherwise don't know how to place a condom correctly. People also say they prefer 'skin to skin' saying 'you can't shower properly with your clothes on' and all these beliefs are due to ignorance. Disposal also should not be thoughtless and is extremely important. After use tie the top of the condom and then either burn, throw into a latrine or dusbin. One condom should also be used once. There are too many cases of kids finding and blowing like baloons with all the diseases that sperm has. People who have taken alcohol or other drugs also are mostly affected as they try to use condoms when high or forget all together.
D	Death. If you cannot use A,B, or C people who are dying are the ones who are in the productive age and yet are the ones who are sexually active and who also form most of the labour force. The number of orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS are increasing while the disease affectes all sectors e.g. agriculture, banking, education even politics.

Once one contracted the disease there was no cure. The medicines which are available are only to prolong your life and they are very expensive. The best thing was not to get HIV/AIDS in the first place.

The other aspect of the pandemic was that usually if one was not infected you could be affected. So how do you care for one who is infected?

• Love
• Good diet
• Care (cleaning and comforting)
• Do not stigmatise or ostracise. Eat together and do other activities together as ostracising can shorten the patients life

Mrs Sande said "we are going to find we have relatives in this position, I have already seen this with mine" and the worst thing was to stigmatise them. A person with HIV/AIDS needed great love and care.