Simon: The Ghost

One day last year, a health worker came to us with a terrible story: a man named Simon who lived in a nearby village had been locked inside a room of his house without food and water and left to die. His family had done this to him after discovering that he was sick with HIV. Unfortunately, this was not uncommon; those suffering with HIV in Burundi are often stigmatized so. Upon hearing of Simon’s fate, we immediately drove to his house. There we found him lying in his own fluids and on death’s door. We quickly bundled Simon into the truck and took him back the clinic. Slowly and miraculously, we were able to nurse him back to health.

When Simon was well again, he went back home to see his family. But instead of greeting him with relief and joy, all that knew him, including his wife and many children, ran. As though they were running for their lives. They could not believe someone as ill as Simon, had actually survived. No, it was impossible. Simon, they thought, must be a ghost.

Today, Simon is now our ambassador at the clinic. Every morning, he talks to patients about the consequences of being ashamed of being HIV positive, and encourages everyone to get tested. One patient at a time, Simon is changing the way patients view HIV. We at Village Health Works believe living should be the norm, never the exception to the rule.