Jaque’s Vibes:The A B C D of life…

The question of whether condoms should be supplied in secondary school greatly reminds me of the ‘’True love waits” Club in my former secondary school. We were always taught about this A B C D of life which is just an abbreviation of; Abstain, Be faithful, Condoms, Death. Abstaining from sexual intercourse is believed to be 100 percent safe, for anyone who is still single especially among the youth. It is obvious that when one does not engage in any kind of sexual activity, they do not expect any consequences such as; contracting STDs and unwanted pregnancies. Abstinence is the cheapest and most natural way of staying safe but if one cannot afford to abstain, they should opt for B, which stands for ‘Being faithful.’ In any relationship, spouses are expected to be faithful to each other to keep their relationship intact. Spouses should know that infidelity shatters relationships. Besides, a unfaithful partner can contract different diseases from other people they are sexually engaged with outside the marriage confines and, spread it to their honest partner. In the instance where A and B fail, then opting for C, standing for ‘Condoms’ should never fail. Condom use is the almost safe option in the ABCD strategy against HIV/AIDS. However, people should remember that even condoms are not 100 percent safe but rather guarantee 98 percent safety. When all has been tried and failed, then the only option by default is D, which stands for ‘Death’. When this option has taken its toll, HIV begins to waste the human body till the point of death. On the other hand, ARV’s are accessible in this age and stigma is becoming less popular against HIV/AIDS sufferers. At the end of the day, there is no point as to why people should dig their own grave. Why should D become an option when A is 100 percent safe? Haven’t we learnt that ‘prevention is better than cure’? Rwanda’s youth should be taught to think, ‘Abstinence’ as the safest life guard against pregnancies and HIV/AIDS. There is time for everything under the sun; when at school, it’s time for studies. There is no need for students to rush into pre-marital sex because, ‘when you rush, you crush.’ jacqueuwera@yahoo.com