VOA标准英语2010年-HIV Counseling in Kenya Often Stressfu

A little more than a year after the Kenyan and U.S. governments launched a nationwide HIV home testing program in Kenya, some counselors² in the program say they are feeling overwhelmed. They cite harsh conditions in the field, conflicts in the homes of people being tested and the stress of delivering bad news on a daily basis as contributing factors.

Cathy Majtenyi | Nairobi 20 July 2010

In Kenya door-to-door counselors undergo special training on how to test couples and families for HIV

HIV counselor¹ Maryanne Wangui and her colleagues had to trudge³ through ankle-deep mud and streams mixed with raw sewage to get to a settlement outside of Nairobi to test a single mother for HIV.

Wangui says she loves her job with Liverpool Volunteer Counseling and Testing, but in a place like the Kawangware settlement, it can be overwhelming.

"There are some households, you go, there are no seats, there is nothing to sit on," she says. "They [the clients] will also start giving you so many stories. Maybe some have not eaten for days. Some have got problems, although we really try to focus on HIV/AIDS."

 The Kenyan and U.S. governments, along with the Global Business Coalition⁴, launched the two-year HIV Home Testing Program in April 2009.

The initiative targets two million people in households across Kenya.

It supports the Kenyan government's goal of informing 80 percent of Kenyans about their HIV status by the end of this year. Kenya's HIV infection rate stands at around seven percent. The highest new infection rate occurs among men and women in committed relationships.

And people in those relationships stand to gain the most from home testing, says Dr. Nicholas Muraguri, head of Kenya's National AIDS/STD Control Program.

"One of the problems we are having is disclosure," he says. "A lot of people come and test HIV positive and they do not inform their sexual partners at all. That limits the opportunity to actually be able to prevent HIV and also access treatment."
Finding out that a family member is HIV positive can be devastating⁵. Maryanne Wangui says she and other counselors at times feel like home wreckers when they deliver the bad news.

"I have a colleague who experienced that the lady turned out to be HIV positive and the man turned out to be HIV negative. They said they would not have any commotion⁶, they would go for couple counseling, they would go to Kenyatta [National Hospital]," she said. "But later, the next day, the lady called the counselor and said that she was battered⁷ by the man and she was sent out of the house."

Dr. Muraguri says door-to-door counselors undergo special training on how to test couples and families.

But he says there are not enough resources to provide longer-term counseling or even to test everyone who wants to be tested at home. He says the initiative is short 30 percent of trained counselors.

Counselor David Kihiu says the work is stressful.

VOA - C. Majtenyi
David Kihiu
"I tested a family of four who were all HIV positive," he says. "Then, when I moved to the next family, three of them were HIV positive. The third family was also HIV positive. So, [I experienced] a lot of burn-out - I was just wondering, what would these families do with themselves, and I was wondering whether I have actually given the right information. I was just saying, if I test all these families, are they going to be the same? What possible will be there? I was stressed."

Kihiu, Wangui and others turn to their peers and supervisors⁸ for support.  Liverpool Volunteer Counseling and Testing holds weekly group sessions and have counselors available to work with staff members who are experiencing anxiety or burnout.

Counselors interviewed by VOA say that, despite the challenges, their work gives them satisfaction. They say they reach many people who normally would not seek out testing in clinics.
 

1 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

2 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

3 trudge   

v.步履艰难地走；n.跋涉，费力艰难的步行

参考例句：

• It was a hard trudge up the hill.这趟上山是一次艰难的跋涉。
• The trudge through the forest will be tiresome.长途跋涉穿越森林会令人疲惫不堪。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

6 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

7 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

8 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句