As I have travelled around Uganda, I have been struck by the public service messages seen on signs and billboards. While in the States we receive lots of messages about protecting the environment, avoiding drunk driving and living a healthy lifestyle, the messages in Uganda are different (although health is certainly a theme). Billboards promote monogamy, solid families, avoiding violence against women and most importantly, AIDS awareness and protection against HIV. One billboard that I can't stop thinking about (but I never got a photo) was one of a little girl saying "Grandma is all we have left because of the Sexual Network."The AIDS pandemic has affected every part of this society and it is painfully evident in so many places. During my confrontation with the Kenyan officials, I was distracted by a condom dispenser placed next to the visa window - a sight which we would never experience in a government office in the USA but one that is an effort to save lives here. While AIDS is without question one of the biggest challenges for this society, I am encouraged by the visible, constant and deliberate messages sent out in a concentrated effort to fight the pandemic.
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