An Oasis of Mercy: Caring for Those with HIV/AIDS in Mexico's Yucatan Mary Durran - Catholic News Service
go to original February 14, 2016

A red-roofed, ramshackle collection of one-story buildings grouped around a tropical garden sits next to a small field where black pigs and hens run free. Inside, two large dogs wander contentedly, greeting visitors.

Nothing about this dwelling on the edge of a rural suburb would suggest that its work is on the cutting edge of the battle against HIV in Yucatan, the Mexican state that has the highest incidence of new cases among a section of the population.

The Oasis San Juan de Dios houses 24 orphans, women and men, all either HIV-positive or somehow affected by HIV or AIDS. All are here because they have nowhere else to go; all have endured the constant, daily humiliations that accompany the social stigma attached to HIV. Neighbors have tried to force them out, falsely claiming the land belongs to someone else, spreading myths about HIV-infected corpses being burned in the gardens. Local restaurants have refused to serve them, and children attending the local school have been called profane names.

Of some 200,000 cases of HIV in Mexico, Yucatan, with 6,400 cases, is in the top five of the 31 Mexican states and the federal district for incidence of AIDS and HIV.

Read the rest at CatholicPhilly.com

Related: Yucatan in First Place in New Cases of HIV (The Yucatan Times)

Related: AIDS Affecting Mexican Adolescents (Prensa Latina)

Related: Men's Self-Image Puts Them in Danger of Dying from AIDS, Research Shows (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

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