Make Your Way To Life

Rakesh (name changed) likes to think of himself as a daredevil. Call it his defence mechanism to escape the daily drudgery of his monotonous life, or call it an express desire to be recognized and accepted in his peer group – Rakesh loves to retain this aura of ambiguity around him. You never know what I can do – he says. Don’t even guess – he cautions.

Rakesh (name changed) is a highway truck driver. During his solitary midnight drives across the country forcing him to stay long hours away from home, it’s this attitude that keeps him ticking. Unfortunately, it’s this same mind-set that opens him up to a killed condition – HIV AIDS. He harbours an innate fear that he cannot share with anyone. He is afraid it will not match with the fearless image he likes to project to the world.

He often eyed our STI clinic at Guna, even spent time with friends at our awareness park, but it took him some time before he actually gathered the courage to go for the test. We don’t know what prompted him, but in all probability it was a well meaning fellow trucker or an interaction with our health worker. He knew HIV/AIDS was transmitted sexually –and that’s why he was afraid. Most of his sexual escapades with highway based commercial sex workers were unprotected. More than himself, Rakesh was worried for his wife and kids who lived in Gwalior.

Thankfully, Rakesh tested negative. The counselor advised him about the measures he should take for safe-sex, but Rakesh went a step ahead and promised him that he would now stay faithful to his wife. He has also promised to help his fellow truckers with his new-found awareness and bring them to the STI clinic for tests. Rakesh believes he is still a daredevil, but of a different nature. He says it needs immense courage to face the truth and confront one own inner conflicts. We agree, with all our heart.