AIDS in PNG

John has asked me to proof read three of his books which were written for literature study on the theme of AIDS education. I was surprised at how movingly and knowingly they are written. John himself is foster father to his brother's children on account that his brother died of AIDS and the language John uses to tell the story is confronting. I've never read anything like it although I think some of the TV programmes try to deal with AIDS in an enlightened way in Australia but the way John uses language and confronting imagery is a new experience for me: "I began cleaning the room. I found some plastic gloves and used these to remove the wet sheets full of urine and shit - you should always use gloves. If you don't have any, wrap your hands with a plastic bag. This way you don't touch the wet linen. Not that you get AIDS, but if the person had a contagious secondary disease like typhoid, you could get it..."
These books, targeted at senior secondary school students, are written in a challenging style to confront the students with the reality of child prostitution and unprotected sex without a karamup (condom). AIDS in PNG is a very serious problem and I hope John's work in the literature and education side will be useful in addressing the problem.