Simply put, Idmay tsega new. I wouldn't care to count back the years, but my recollection of a particular conversation remains fresh in my memory. It was also abso-bloody-lutely a different space and time.

Enjoying one of the ubiquitous laid-back moments in Adu Genet one evening, nursing a second cup of TQur Buna, a mild conversation I was having with a confidant lady friend of mine took a wild turn and got real intense. She confided in me that she was with a child. Sebhat LeAb! Out of wedlock pregnancy, in those days, was just unfathomable, and the extent of risk our sisters were willing to take in order to fulfill societal expectations was also tremendous. Those who perished in the process, b'yet yQuterachew.

The fate of the unborn child is decided way before it was even conceived. The right of the unborn ... what??? What is that? What is there to discuss?! Eko mn likon! My friend stated her unfortunate circumstance in a matter-of-fact tone, maybe with rudiments of regret for the mishap but no overt sense of loss for the life that was to be destroyed [Sorry ladies, not being judgmental, rather, a perception]. The prime concern here was logistics on how to get rid of the unwanted pregnancy. Oops! Aye yene neger! I got carried away and forgot to inform you that the child was not mine and our relationship was purely platonic.

The intriguing thing was that her peers considered aj'rit as being zemenait and held her in high esteem, therefore, unlikely to fall victim to this predicament, what with all her outward sophistication and access to modern technology which is hailed to ward off such unpleasantness.

Naturally, I inquired as to how/why it happened. "Were you not protecting yourself?" I asked. "Ene enja," [how I hate this phrase] she answered with her eyes downcast, "I took my pills regularly." She meant the contraceptive pills. To my utter horror I found out what she meant regular was popping the pill every time she was to have a sexual encounter.

Before we start ridiculing this incident, let me ask how many of us are knowledgeable enough to claim confidently that our every day health decisions are reasonably accurate and scientifically grounded?

The World Health Organization defines health as not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. But it goes on to state health to be the composite of mental, physical and social wellbeing. It allows us enough room for maneuvering, at various levels and capacities in order to address our individual as well as collective health concerns.

Nowadays it is commonplace to witness people assume a proactive role to secure improved well being in their personal health. The choice in leading a "healthy life style" is a catchphrase for our modern society of abundance. But the quintessential question remains how to enhance our health awareness and empower ourselves to pave our destiny? Freedom of choice abounds. It gets somewhat trickier especially for those of us first generation immigrants engaged in the process of shedding our carried over baggage from our home of origin. Adapting to mainstream lifestyle of our adopted homeland is also challenging, if not outright unmanageable. The classic scenario in western society of a family squabble on the dinner table over an unfinished plate of broccoli sitting in front of a child is indeed an alien concept to most of us. Here begins the ABCs of balanced nutrition and early inculcation of healthy living in the mind of a growing child. Health Education teaches individuals and communities the methods of and the necessity for improving and maintaining optimum health practices. Community health educators, school health educators, business and industry health educators and clinical health educators who target different population groups, systematically teach it. Since health is a personal as well as societal matter, it ought become a part of the experience of each learner, disseminate itself into the immediate family, and extend to the surrounding community.

Understanding and grasping health promotional messages, however intimidating on the surface, is a sine qua non for healthy living. Breaking barriers and imparting appropriate knowledge is not an easy task. Allow me here to proceed with the illustration. A family planning educator in a rural Ethiopian community was once teaching adults the importance of condoms in preventing unplanned pregnancies. During one of the sessions, she punctuated her point on the practicality of using a condom by placing it on her thumb. The students coyly grinned and nodded aye ye ferenje neger! A few months later, the educator was confronted by one of her students who found this technology quite disappointing. He claimed that he had being using the condom regularly but sadly, to his and his wife's great dismay, she had conceived anyway. The instructor, unperturbed by the demeanor of her student, prodded on to ask if he had properly followed her instructions. It was with disdain when he answered, "Ere Wedia, I did everything like you taught us: I took out the condom from the package, like you showed us, and exactly placed it on my left thumb right before I megenagnet my wife. Demo, the whole time, KeTate alteleyem."

Not knowing well our target audience may result in formatting inappropriate messages and subsequent miscommunication. This ultimately results in misunderstanding, like the type mentioned above and disastrous consequences. Education in health enables individuals to seek that which moves them toward an optimal stage of wellness. It is not merely concerned with knowledge acquisition but purports to influence individuals apply that knowledge in order to develop responsible and responsive personal, family and collective behaviors. From the start the processes is fraught with obstacles.

Even after we managed to impart what is considered to be a complete, and appropriately tailored health message, the reaction it receives could be varied. It may elicit denial, vulnerability or commit us to resign within the shell of our ignorance like the unfounded notion that the potent miTmiTa/berberé one eats everyday will ward off any evil that lurks from the darkest crevices of this world. How about féTo? Amongst those who succeed to assimilate the message, and ultimately manage to acquire the desired attitude, its translation to an actual change in behavioral practice is also another matter. Not to mention all the external forces that conspire to thwart our decisions and weaken resolves. There are also legitimate socio-cultural rationales for not heeding advice. The process of acquisition of health information, modification in behavior, and the resultant practice changes in lifestyle muster elements from the personal, psychosocial, cultural and scientific realm.

It gets more delicate when the issue at hand involves such everyday behavior such as sexual intimacy. The intention is not to dishearten us, but rather to stir us towards attempting a break in the taboo and help us act now before we find ourselves wallowing in some quagmire. A split second decision, like putting on a condom or not, can alter our future drastically. Health issues like HIV/AIDS ought to be confronted directly but done in a culturally sensitive and scientifically sound manner. We should not abuse our privileged position in the community by pretending not to hear or see the scourge that is spreading like a prairie fire.

Let's be clear about one fact, HIV/AIDS has no face. It doesn't respect any social or geographic boundary or spare any race. Whatever our socio-economic standing in the community may be, it directly or indirectly affects us. Last week, a friend of mine triumphantly related to me how she succeeded to dissuade her girlfriend from going out with some man she claims to know for sure is infected with the HIV virus. She did it without divulging to her girlfriend the true reason and concocting some "face saving lie." Who is going to come to rescue the next unsuspecting Ethiopian before some smooth talking canny predator victimizes him/her? And the next, and the next?

Freedom involves freedom of choice; hence, health education is a tool providing us an opportunity to choose in one aspect of our personal life, and as such, allow us to be fairly in control.