The HIV infected women in Simra sang and danced to the tunes of inspirational songs and exchanged teej gifts with the non-infected women promising to celebrate the next one together. [break]They also gave the locals food to eat as ´dar´. The infected women for once looked happy during the program organized by the National HIV and AIDS Federation.
“We felt as if are not infected with the disease during the program,” Maina Chhetri said after a rigorous dancing session. “My husband died of this disease six years ago. But I want to live the rest of my life happily,” said Chhetri who has also been infected for six years.
“Those who wait for death with gloomy faces danced with gusto,” program coordinator Manita Lama said. “This has boosted their sagging self-confidence,” Lama added. The program included infected women from Bara and Parsa districts who were joined by enthusiastic locals. “We felt glad to be part of their celebration. They even gave us gifts,” a local woman said.
Chhetri said society has become more tolerable now. “Non-infected people would not even talk to us. But the situation has greatly improved now,” she said. The organizers claimed there are 139 known cases of HIV infection in Bara district. The infected include children and men.
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