A staff trainer recently visited a city where they held seminars for both health trainers and those who are HIV-positive. During sessions with the health trainers, he focused on the stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV and helped the trainers develop a more hopeful perspective so they would urge HIV-positive people not to give up, but to have hope. The trainers pointed him to a group of HIV-positive people who wanted to form support groups but didn’t know how.

The Operation Mercy trainer met with three small groups (about ten people each). He enabled the people to express their feelings. He learned that many feel their lives are over. They feel hopeless because they’re afraid their families will shun them and say, “Go away! Live in the mountains!” To these people, the trainer gave examples of others living with HIV who have families, jobs and a reason to live. He also encouraged them to get medical treatment and how to go about obtaining the treatment. After his seminar, the group decided to continue meeting as three support groups. 

The Operation Mercy trainer remarked, “You are there to listen and to give good advice. Overall the trip was a good one.”