Before I got pregnant,
I knew I was HIV positive and I enrolled for ARVs. Having gotten pregnant, I
was conscious and very mindful about my unborn child because I never wanted her
to acquire the virus. So I kept going for antenatal care till the time when I
was ready to give birth. But before that, receiving medication was a tag of war
because the persons responsible for giving medication were very rude and
uncooperative because they wanted us to always give them some money. They
always told me how the government was delaying their salaries, how they do a
lot of work and are paid less and so gave me little attention. At some points
we could go the hospital at 7:00am and be worked on or served at 3:00pm because
the people in charge take their time to attend to us and sometimes they may
even tell you that the drugs are finished and one has to buy them from a
pharmacy. You can imagine how one would feel when you came to a place and
waited for a service for more than 7 hours and at the end of the 7 hours you
are told that what you are waiting for is finished because attention has only
been given to the rich who have their money and you who doesn’t, you suffer the
consequences.
So when the time for
giving birth had come, a “Good Samaritan” helped me and took me to the hospital
and at about 2:00pm, I gave birth to my baby girl. Because I was HIV positive,
my baby needed a lot of attention to shield her from acquiring the HIV virus
and this would be with the help of the medical personnel. In most cases when a
mother is positive, there is a drug she is given before she delivers and there
is one that is given to the baby immediately it is born. I knew that would be
done to me because I am aware of the prevention of mother to child transmission
(PMTC) services. So I was given the drug which I swallowed and I was sure and
happy that my child would be safe. I delivered the child at 2:00pm and because
I was conscious, I waited to see if the drug would be administered to my baby
but it was not done. When I approached the nurse who had helped me deliver, she
told me she was busy I should wait. At that time the life of my baby was in her
hands. I waited for 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours, there was nothing so at about 7:00pm
after waiting for so long, I jumped out of my birth bed and I decided to
confront her again. She told me she had forgotten so she administered the drug
after 5 hours yet it is supposed to be administered a few seconds after birth. And
because of her negligence, my child is HIV positive. As told by Esther.
The scripture is very clear in Luke 6:31 that; “Do
to others as you would have them do to you.”
But many times we have treated others like the way one would treat a
waste paper. Is that what God demands from us ? If God has put you in a certain
position, it is very important if you use it for the glory of his name not to
exalt yourself, and step on other people around you because tomorrow you may
find yourself in the same situation.
This also calls us not to be judgmental because God
tells us not to judge others in Matthew 7:1. Judgment in most cases is based on
segregation. When one segregates others basing on race, status and other
things, it leads to cases like the one above. I wonder how one would benefit if
they subjected another into suffering or pain. That does not add days to your
stay here on earth and besides that we are not here permanently we are but
visitors any time, God can call you and you will be no more. I wish we learnt
lessons from Zacchaeus in the bible. There are several important lessons, to be
sure, that we can learn from this story. First among the lessons is the lesson
of stewardship. After Zacchaeus said, “I’ll give half of my money away and if I
have defrauded anyone, I’ll return it four fold.” It was only then that Jesus
said, “Today, salvation has come to this house.” Do you remember those words
from Isaiah? God does not even want our money, not when we live in such a way
that we deny justice to those who are oppressed. There is an important lesson
about stewardship here, about how God expects us to be generous. God puts us in
all positions to be stewards but many times we abuse that opportunity by suppressing
the people we are supposed to serve. Zacchaeus had used his position to
suppress many but when he came into contact with the savior, he repented and repaid
all he had defrauded. He never segregated but he treated all people equally and
salvation came to his house.
There is also
a lesson about change. In the language of faith and the way we communicate to
others. We call it “conversion.” It goes like this: Our present and our future
do not have to be controlled by our past. If you had issues with someone in the
past, why should you carry it to present and future? It is important to forgive
and forget. We have to be open to God’s help in order to be converted. I have
seen many people who have chosen certain professions because they want to
revenge. That is not what God requires from us. God wishes that all his
children live and serve each other in peace and harmony.
My prayer for us today is that we may appreciate God
for the positions of authority that he has put us in and also help us to be
good stewards and serve those we are supposed to serve in a way the glorifies
his name.
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