Kelowna May 4 and 5

Kelowna is a beautiful town on Lake Okanagan. There are hundreds of shops, restaurants, gas stations and other services. The waterfront is dotted with parks, boats, docks, trees, flower gardens, bikeways and walkways. A pair of ospreys, in the evening light, greet any mildly adventuresome tourist. The streets are spotlessly clean. To the outside observer it’s the perfect summer play area. It is almost too perfect for problems like HIV. 

Local AIDS Service Organizations seems to be in a state of flux.  I’d asked a friend to see about organizing an event in town and she was not able to connect with anyone. Our time was a little freer than we’d first imagined. Local friends told us about how hard it was for people to disclose in a town that is both big and small, where everyone knows who the other is, and there is nowhere to hide.

In Kelowna, we found women isolated and fearing the social repercussions of living openly positive. They envied Victoria’s network of positive women, who meet regularly. Solid self-esteem is one of the essential ingredients in maintaining my health, yet many other women live in communities that make them feel less worthy than others. We all deserve respect - especially women who manage to live with the daily challenges related to HIV. 

One day it would be wonderful to write a book documenting the treatment of positive women by their families, their friends, their colleagues and the medical community. 

Below is a picture of Cathy - at the request of my sister - who thought there were altogether too many pictures without her.