HIV/ AIDS have had a devastating effect on Africa especially on Sub-Saharan Africa."Everyone is either infected or affected." (Chanda’s Secrets. 192). HIV/AIDS is a sickness that causes harm to everyone. It can cause biological damage to the person who has it. It also causes emotional damage and financial problem to the same person and to everyone around the sick person. The disease infects the sick person's body. The stigma of the disease affects everyone.
In Chanda's Secret, people are afraid of HIV/AIDS. They were so scared, even the word is forbidden word. They say "that other thing" instead of AIDS. Everyone around her started to die suddenly because they were infected by AIDS. Her step-father Jonah, best friend Esther’s parents, Mrs. Tafa’s son and Chanda’s youngest sister Sara, she was very affected by her younger sister’s death as they were very poor so they couldn’t afford money for the coffin of Sara. When Esther’s parent died, Esther and her younger siblings were affected by the death of their parents as they were very poor. So Esther and her sibling had to separate away from each other. And the only way Esther could made money was to become a prostitute. Mrs. Tafa says that her son Emmanuel died from a hunting accident but at the end she admitted that her son died from stigma as his test come out positive. So he could not handle it so he had to shot himself. Mrs. Tafa lied about her son ; death to hide from the shame and disrespect to her family.
The stigma of the disease keeps everyone silent. "Taking the test is scary. But living with the disease is worse." (145). People were afraid of knowing the truth. They prefer to live in fear than to know the truth. The stigma has taken all the courage from the people. People such as Esther and Lillian do not want to ask for help. They have several reasons to keep their sickness in secret. First of all, they were afraid that when people know they talk about them. “She has the disease, God's curse.". People think getting HIV is a punishment from God of having too much sex. Their family, neighbors and friend look down on them. They think that person is sleeping with anyone. They think they are dirty or impure. Second, their family thinks that person dishonors their family and ancestor. They think the person is a shame for the family. The family won't recognize the person as a member of the family. And the last one, they think telling the truth, people around them won't love him/her anymore. They leave the person alone. All these factors make them live in the shadow and with stigma.
Every day technology improves and new inventions are discovered. Maybe in the future they might find a cure to fight against AIDS. So that people can live without stigma and fear and get hope that they can be cure from AIDS.
Elvin Renghen
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Human Immune-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) remains incurable and devastates many communities and nations. Since the first reported case in the United State in 1981, it has spread unremittingly to virtually every country in the world. The number of people living with HIV virus has risen from about 10 million in 1991 to 33 million in 2007. In the same year, there were 2.7 million infections and 2 million HIV related death. Globally, about 45% of new infections occur among young people (The Guardian, 2009).…
- 7619 Words
- 31 Pages
Powerful Essays -
To have hope, in the face of fear, to allow your light to burn, and march on in hopes of finding a better place, requires perseverance. To persevere one must be brave enough to push away the demons and have the courage to face them as well, this journey is one Chanda has experienced well. The book Chanda’s Secrets, by Allan Stratton, takes place in the city of Bonang, located in Africa. Within the city lives the Kabelo family who have suffered many unfortunate diseases, such as the taboo of AIDS. However, no matter their scenario, one family member, in particular, always finds a way to stride on, this survivor is Chanda. Even though their family is poor and plagued, Chanda is constantly determined to find the light, to hope, with perseverance…
- 1715 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
Martin Luther King Jr once said, “We must accept finite disappointments but never lose infinite hope.” Chanda’s Secrets created by Allan Stratton is a fictional novel. In Chanda’s Secrets only one person, that being Chanda shows an immeasurable amount of hope even though she faced a numerous amount of devastation and disappointments. Mama displays through various occasions that she is more accepting of having faith in her pride when confronted with challenges. This novel is about how it is in human nature to hope for what is desired but also contradicts that by showing that many lose hope after being defeated by an obstacle.…
- 1318 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
HIV and AIDS are having a devastating impact in Sun-Saharan Africa. For example in 1999 it was estimated that two thirds of the people suffering from HIV were found in sub-Saharan Africa. Also in 2008 a UNAIDS report showed this area accounted for 75% of the global death toll from AIDS. This just demonstrates the damage it is doing. Management strategies are being put in place, however some there success depends on many factors.…
- 647 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that affects the human immune system and leads to a stat makes the patient unable to fight against diseases and so opportunistic diseases such Tuberculosis and others affect the individual (Worthington et al., 2010). HIV/AIDS was first realized in 1981 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and is believed to have originated from West-Central Africa. HIV/AIDS has been termed as one of the greatest causes of death in the global society (Gibbs, 2010). The virus is spread when body fluids of a victim gets into contact with the body fluids of another person. Due to the nature of the disease, even unsuspecting individuals such as patients undergoing blood transfusion, unborn babies and others can become victims. HIV is primarily spread through sexual intercourse without any form of protection (Ford et al., 2007; Gardezi et al., 2008).…
- 2063 Words
- 9 Pages
Best Essays -
AIDS is the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome where the immunity is severely damaged and lowers the bodies ability to resistance infection. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. Fluid from an infected person much encounter a mucous membrane, the bloodstream, or a cut or injured area of another person to transmit the virus ((Davis). Early symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and a sore throat within two to four weeks of being infected. There are three phases to the disease. Thee first stage includes the acute infection and many people do not experience any symptoms. The second stage is known as clinical latency and means that the virus is dormant and reproduces much slower rate than in the acute phase. The second stage can last for one decade although it sometimes progresses faster. The third stage is AIDS. Individuals have low T-cell counts and compromised immune system that make them easily susceptible to infections and cancer (Davis). Social and economic consequence of HIV include loss of job and income, decreased family income, increased expenses for seeking care, and greater economic consequence, shown by selling assets. Those with AIDS deal with the social measures of being discriminated against along with their physical, mental, and social wellbeing. The disease can lead to a weakened family support…
- 1437 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome referred to as AIDS (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2010). Left untreated, HIV can damage the immune system that can lead to AIDS. When the initial diagnosis becomes established the patient has many adjustments to overcome. Feelings of shame, guilt, denial, depression, fear, anger and shock are the beginning of the ramifications one must face with HIV and AIDS. Other ramifications include social, legal, and ethical issues. Whereas a diagnosis of HIV does not mean that the patient has AIDS, a diagnosis does mean that the patient will be thrust into an overwhelming state of emotion and…
- 1696 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
HIV/AIDS is a worldwide phenomenon that has affected many people and killed millions of others over time because of it. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS over a period of time, HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus and AIDS stands for Auto immune deficiency syndrome. A sexually transmitted disease that has affected many people and altered many lives and a disease that I hope one day can have a cure to help those many people still living today that live with either of these diseases. More people need to be aware of this and continue on using protection when involved with sexual partners. Over time we have learned much more about it now and it is not like before that many people were afraid to be in contact with someone that had this disease we know now more about it and over time this will only grow and we will keep on informing ourselves about all these disease that have affected humanity.…
- 1010 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Therefore, when police officers came to arrest her and put her in quarantine without trial, she really did not know what was happening to her and why. They told her that she was a healthy carrier and had made people sick, but why would she believe this? It was a really novel…
- 856 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Villagers were wary of coming forward because of the stigma attached to the disease. The sick…
- 1552 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
“HIV is the virus that causes AIDS” (2010). The virus weakens the body’s defense system, this makes it hard on the body to fight off other health problems and as time goes by the body becomes less able to fight off diseases. In the United States there was one in four new cases, which women account for and two in three are African American women who got HIV from unprotected sex with a man.…
- 401 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
HIV/AIDS is one of the deadliest diseases in the world. Although millions of people are afflicted with the disease throughout the world, this pandemic affects the continent of Africa the most by far. In Africa, the disease is increasing at an alarming rate. Even though increased effort is put in around the world to prevent AIDS, this widespread disease has increased significantly in the past decade. The toxic ailment continues to spread with a disturbing force and it has taken a long time to finally slow it down. In the late 2000’s, approximately 40 million people around the world were living with AIDS or the HIV infection, a significant rise from the 35 million diagnosed with AIDS in 2001 (Bertozzi). Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region most impacted by the HIV virus; however, the disease is now growing and spreading into different continents such as Asia and countries in Eastern Europe as well as other parts of Africa.…
- 1099 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
why he gets AIDS. Until the disease is evidently shown on his body, “He’s a skeleton. The flesh has been sucked out from under his skin. The skin’s dried so tight to his skull that the bridge of his nose has ripped through.” (106) he is outcast and his sister- Ruth is the first one to detect his symptoms of disease. She…
- 1518 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
Stigma causes this population to feel ashamed and embarrassed to the point of hiding their illness and not helping themselves.…
- 278 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
It is unknown exactly where it originated but has been speculated that it started as a virus among apes where it spread through humans during consumption of contaminated meat. The AIDs epidemic increased rapidly through Africa as early colonizers, looking for wealth and opportunity, were able to spread this virus sexually and sometimes through cross-blood contamination. As most people know, this is a terminal disease because of its ability to completely shutdown the immune system. This is a double edged sword in Africa because those who have AIDs are instantly more susceptible to diseases; if the individual is also in famine and has no access to clean water or medical care at all, then they are highly likely to acquire a disease such as Cholera, Malaria, or any sickness which could be fatal. When thinking about the AIDs crisis in Africa, viewers must understand the cultural divide that the virus causes on families and communities. AIDs is arguably the most stigmatized disease in Africa, surpassing Ebola as those infected with Ebola were pitied and cared for at home often. Daniel Jordan Smith quoted a Nigerian migrant on the view of people with AIDs who said, “it is the worst thing that can effect a migrant” and that if you leave for a better future and return with AIDs you are immediately seen as a failure with no hope. It is a much less loving of a scenario than we are accustomed to…
- 1144 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays