Counselors and Pastors
The Empower International HIV/AIDS Prevention Specialists are daily challenged by the questions asked by children in primary and secondary schools and the Vessels of Honor Clubs in a culture where sexuality is a taboo topic. The Empower International staff has succeeded in creating an environment in the schools and clubs that encourages the children to ask questions about sexual development, relationships and sexual behavior, especially in a culture where this topic is taboo. As the children have developed trust in the staff, they have begun asking difficult and revealing questions about relationships and sexual behavior. The following are sample questions Empower International staff members have received from primary and secondary students in Vessels of Honor Clubs:
1. What is adolescence?
2. What is puberty?
3. Why do girls have periods and boys don't?
4. Can you become pregnant the first time you have sex?
5. How can you know if someone loves you?
6. How can you control sexual feelings when alone at home or with opposite sex?
7. Is it wise for pregnant women to serve foods to the crowds?
8. I have sexual feelings and I fear it will lead me to raping a girl.
9. Differentiate between rape and sex.
10. If you don't have the courage to buy condoms, can you use nylon papers?
11. A teacher wants me and has a wife and children. What do I do?
12. Why can a girl get HIV and not get pregnant?
13. I have a relative who wants to have sex but I follow the rules of Leviticus and know it is wrong. What should I do?
14. I am a boy and I like having sex with cows. What do I do to avoid it?
15. What is abortion?
16. How can you tell when you are pregnant?
17. If a girl smokes or drinks beer during pregnancy, what will be the effect?
18. How can you know that a boy/girl is a virgin?
19. Is it bad to have sex with somebody without aids?
20. Can sexual starvation affect your mental order?
21. How is it that a HIV+ girl gives birth to an HIV+ child?
22. I have sex very much. Because I have sex with an older girl. This made me feel so guilty and I come to hate girls. Am not even sure if I will marry.Empower International staff who are also trained as counselors and/or pastors additionally provide counseling to children when needed and appropriate. Some of the children they work with have been raped, victims of incest, or participants in sodomy, pornography and sexual addiction. Those children who are HIV+, sexually active or victims of sexual abuse are referred to one of two medical clinics in Thika District who provide free HIV/AIDS testing and medical services to these children through a partnership established with Empower International.