Signs of hope: A reflection for World AIDS Day 2009

Joanna Hiebert Bergen

What does it mean to be in a world where 33 million people are living with HIV? Stories place us at the heart of the staggering numbers. We find suffering, to be sure. But on visits in the last year to MCC partners and projects, I've also seen transformation, persistence and astounding courage.

 

Mugumu, Tanzania

Chausiku walked very slowly down a dirt path accompanied by her husband. The young woman collapsed into the van of an MCC partner organization, Imara, as Mary and Neema, home-based care workers, gently laid her down on the mat ready at the back of the vehicle.

The 28-year-old, mother to a 6-year-old daughter, moaned as the van bumped and jostled over a 20-minute drive on the gravel road to Mugumu District Hospital. With a bed capacity for 120 people, one doctor and six medical assistants, the hospital covers the needs of 75 villages with a total population of 10,000 people!

It was past 4 p.m. when the vehicle pulled into the hospital parking lot. The emergency room was open and Chausiku was helped into a nearby chair. Within minutes her diagnosis was made - sepsis...a serious blood infection. She needed antibiotics, an IV and pain medication – all of which patients or their family or caregivers must go to get. After admitting her onto the ward, Mary and Neema found the government-supported and hospital-run clinic for HIV/AIDS and STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections), which has free medicines for patients, was closed. It is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. two to three days a week. Outside those hours, patients must wait until the clinic opens again or buy medications elsewhere.

This is where MCC support is vital. It provides funding so people who become critically ill can get medicine outside of “office hours.” May and Neema made a stop at the hospital pharmacy, which didn’t have the needed medications, then traveled to a pharmacy in town that could put together the doctor's order. Two hours later, they returned to the hospital to ensure Chausiku received care and treatment. Mary went to sit with Chausiku until the nurse administered the IV and gave the first dose of antibiotics and pain medication. Mary explained that home-based caregivers routinely do this. She said that due to stigma and discrimination, patients who are living with HIV may be left untreated until someone advocates for them, even within the hospital walls.

Mary and Neema are examples of the dedication and care given by home-based care workers. Mary, who herself is HIV-positive, left Chausiku long after the sun had set, telling me later that this was the norm when it came to caring for the many people infected and suffering from HIV. Her warmth and diligence and unwavering determination to make sure Chausiku received the earliest possible care reflects the passion of many home-based care volunteers around the world who give in spite of their limited financial resources. “One of my goals is to find ways those of us who have HIV but have strength can help those who are weak,” Mary told me.

 

Johannesburg, South Africa

Bophelong means "the place of life" and such is the case as one walks into a brightly lit day care full of smiling children!  Preschool children sit in chairs at  tables just their size, their tiny hands matching, sorting and fitting colorful puzzle pieces. Other children play on a mat with brightly colored toys. The walls are full of posters, numbers, letters and pictures. This is a day care center where children are given opportunity to learn, to grow and to thrive. 

But many of the children at Bophelong, which is in Thembisa township near Johannesburg, South Africa, have lost one or both parents to AIDS and are being cared for by either a grandmother or by siblings not much older than themselves. MCC partners with Unsung Heroes, a South African organization, to provide support to Bophelong and other efforts to care for children and families affected by HIV and AIDS. Many of the children at Bophelong are being raised by a grandmother or older siblings. All would go hungry if not for the nutritious meals and snacks provided by the day care center. The staff speak softly and kneel to engage the children in conversation and play. They visit children’s homes to offer support to families headed by children or grandparents. They work with government agencies to get access to the support of social workers. They offer meals and tutoring services to older siblings of the children in the day care. This place is making a difference!

 

Nazaret, Ethiopia

Among dusty streets filled with donkeys, horses and wagons loaded with building material, food items or people, an Ethiopian Anabaptist church has people talking about HIV. Programs supported through the Meserete Kristos Church, a Mennonite World Conference congregation, are raising awareness about the disease, encouraging people to get tested and reaching out within congregations to minister to people living with the virus. For the church to speak out on the topic of HIV with care and love is a great step forward. People are willing to disclose their status when they understand they will not be shunned or discriminated against. Youth groups form drama teams under the direction of the church’s HIV/AIDS Focal Person (people who are chosen to lead the church’s HIV and AIDS awareness efforts) and make presentations in the churches encouraging people to get tested and be open about their status. This openness leads to care and support within the Mennonite church community.

Madia, who is HIV-positive and from a Muslim community, receives financial support from the Meserete Kristos Church and attends a church-sponsored support group. Through the group, she is able to buy milk to improve the health of her 8-year-old daughter, who has HIV and tuberculosis. Madia’s journey to the group was long. Before she was diagnosed with HIV, she spent the money she had to try to find cures for her health problems. Her community supported her with food and assistance. But after she was diagnosed with HIV, people in her community stopped giving her the food she relied on for herself and her daughter. It is the church that is enabling her to have enough to eat and to regain her health.

Joanna Hiebert Bergen is coordinator for MCC’s HIV and AIDS work.