I love this little boy

Day 10

July 15, 2008
We had the past two days off, a lot of us randomly got sick though and so we were completely exhausted when we had to start our day today. We had to work in the new VVOCF garden. It needed a ton of work. We had to rake and clear brush, then we had to till- but the only way to till here is to dig and turn the earth. It took a long time, we got half way done today. It was some really hard work though. Sometimes there would be large ant piles and the ants bit so we tried to work fast around it. Lets just say gardening is a ton of work. Then after that we ate- and I bought some avocado and spread it on a sandwich with salt and pepper and it was so good.

So today Jeanne and Sly took Mfanakona (7 year old boy) to the hospital to see the doctor and get ARVs, (he has been tested, and is positive for HIV) it was successful but it took a really long time. (He has been getting worse since we have been here) ARVs were not available until 2006 and the only way you get them is if you have been diagnosed with HIV. But to get tested you must be 18 or have your guardian with you. Most guardians do not have the time or money to take their kids to a doctor; also they do not want people to know their kids have AIDS. There is still a certain stigma and stereotypes that come with being HIV positive. People still don’t fully understand the virus here. They think you can get it from touching or playing with the person. Mfanakona’s uncle told the other kids not to play with him because they will get AIDS. That’s so heart breaking to hear. VVOCF wants to get other kids tested as well so they can get the right treatment but it’s just so difficult. There are only clinics in the townships and no hospitals, and the hospital is where you have to go to get the right drugs. Hospitals are far away though and to get to them you either need a car or a taxi; which can get expensive. If you make it to a hospital then you have to wait all day to see a doctor, they don’t do anything by appointment, and then you have to wait even longer for your drugs. So it would appear that it is an all day event; and if you have to go several times a month or week then it can get pretty expensive and difficult to do. Basically the systems set up here are not working and most people do not have the means to take care of themselves or others. There are a lot of kids who need medical attention, and a lot of people who need to be better educated. VVOCF has a program that is teaching the kids about HIV/AIDS and how they can be peer educators in their communities. I think this is a great way to create collective efficacy- or Ubuntu- which is the ability of people joining together to help one another in their community, to address problems and affectively solve them. This is trying to be instilled in most African communities to create more awareness about HIV/AIDS so that people can get better treatment and help stop the epidemic all together. Well it’s been a pretty long day, and I need rest so I can do it all again tomorrow.