We are together in this

I met Maulid for the first time few weeks ago on the main road between Kibisi and Tukuyu. It was a late afternoon and I was on my way home from the market with my bag full of mangoes and avocados. I was caught up by the beautiful sight of the green mountains, when a guy on a bike suddenly came right at me. He sent me a huge smile and jumped of the bike. I wondered if I had seen this guy before. By this time I had already met so many people and I still couldn’t distinguish all of them. After the usual Tanzanian handshaking and greetings, he introduced himself as Maulid and said: “Dada (sister) Katherine, Bongodox is my dream. It will change people’s way of thinking. We are together in this, the fight against HIV/AIDS”. From that very moment I knew that Bongodox was going to make a difference, a difference which is deeply needed in this area. People feel the consequences of HIV/AIDS everyday; family, friends, colleagues, the disease is everywhere and funerals seem to be part of the daily life. It is the killer that everyone knows, but no one wants to talk about. Fortunately the last couple of weeks have convinced me that there is a will to change this. Maulid is just one out of many, who wants to take action and make a difference.