Mission from the Margins in the Context of HIV/AIDS: Grandmothers' Narratives of Transforming Religious Communities in Maai Mahiu, Kenya

Using the narratives of grandmothers in Maai Mahiu, Kenya, this article demonstrates how the grandmothers from different Christian denominations and ministries were stigmatized within their religious communities, how they responded to the stigma meted on them, and their contributions towards the transformation of the religious communities in the context of HIV and AIDS. By revisiting the theme of HIV and AIDS in religious communities, the article affirms that it is still one of the biggest challenges facing the world. The situation of children orphaned by AIDS continues to be a serious issue in high prevalent areas - 80% of these children are found in Sub Saharan Africa. When AIDS kills parents, the grandparents, specifically grandmothers usually assume the parenting role of the orphans. This article utilizes the data collected for my unpublished Ph.D. thesis, which was conducted to examine the source of strength, faith, and hope exhibited by the grandmothers parenting grandchildren orphaned by AIDS amidst the intense stigma they faced. The study employed qualitative and grounded theory research approaches. In particular, 16 people were recruited as study participants (15 grandmothers and one health worker) and later into the study three pastors were recruited. The article points out that the grandmothers' responses to the stigma from their religious communities resulted in them gaining and promoting more accurate knowledge on HIV and AIDS, positive living, improved standards of living, and more importantly, the transformation of religious communities. The grand-mothers largely responded in a way that positively transformed their own lives, as well as those of their community and their religious leaders. Based on these, the article concludes that by being proactive in their responses to the stigma and ostracism meted on them, the grandmothers were practically engaging in mission, but doing it from the margins of the community where they had been pushed by religious communities. SIGNIFICANCE: The article offers scholarly and practical contributions of women who, initially marginalized due to HIV and AIDS transformed their experiences of stigmatization to become agents of change within religious communities. Keywords: Stigma, grandchildren, grandmothers, HIV and AIDS, mission, margins, pastors, religious leaders