Never Give Up: Vignettes from Sub-Saharan Africa in the Age of Aids

I expected from the word “vignettes” that this book would be a collection of individual stories about people living and/or working with HIV/AIDS in Africa. However, it is not. They are the experiences of Kevin Winge who is also the executive director of “Open Arms of Minnesota”. He makes frequent trips to South Africa, where he works with people living with HIV/AIDS. He wrote most of the stories in this book between July 2003 and January 2004, when he lived in South Africa, working in the Guguletu township.

This book was a quick read, but the topic matter is not easy. He pulls no punches, hides no truths when it comes to the devastation that AIDS is leaving in its wake. He describes a couple of the funerals he attended, from the emaciated bodies, to the “rush-'em-through” necessity of little time at a “viewing”, to the funeral (that many families can't afford), to the grief of the families who lose yet another beloved family member to this killer.

He talks about the work that is on-going to destigmatize HIV/AIDS in an area where all ages and walks of life are affected. He describes the outcry when Gugu Dlamani went public with her HIV-positive status. She was beaten to death in 1998. He talks about the folks who are brave enough to wear “HIV-Positive” T-shirts – and even describes the discomfort he felt when he, an HIV-negative man – put one on and went to join in a World AIDS day rally.

I grabbed the shirt, removed it from its hanger and hesitated before putting it on. I never thought, when I so eagerly agreed to wear the shirt, what the implications of this act could be. . . . .I was uncomfortable about how people might respond to me and, as I had experienced at other times in South Africa, I again felt like a fraud. Some of my friends in Guguletu knew I was HIV-negative. Would they now see me as a phony? Others in Guguletu didn't know my HIV status. Would they now assume I was positive and see me as more of a comrade? Did any of this matter?

He obviously has a love for South Africa and particularly for those affected by HIV/AIDS. That comes through loud and clear, all the way through his book. A nice read for an up-close-and-personal look at how HIV/AIDS is affecting real people in very real ways.