October 31, 2009 at 2:56 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: Africa, HIV/AIDS, International AIDS Conference, poverty
I try to resist getting too preachy when I start writing about certain topics, so forgive me if I fail. In my work here, or really in my everyday life I see glimpses of life that challenge my established thought patterns. I just sat down to write a newsletter and thus found myself reflecting on what the African people around us are doing and how amazing they are. Particularly when I think about people who have taken orphans into their homes. They completely rearrange their lives and go to great expenses to serve these children. Some of them have special needs that require a lot of attention.
I am also thinking about the clinic. The people who work there are pouring themselves out and doing the best they can to meet the needs of those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. Most of the people working there have at most, completed high school. They can read and write French to some degree. They don’t own computers to look up the latest research or protocol. They don’t have access to major conferences or universities where there is teaching on the field of public health. There are very few NGOs who come to this “insignificant” country, and when they do come it is even more rare for groups to make their way 6 hours north of the capital city. In short, my colleagues are working in an area where the AIDS pandemic is out of control and they are working with some of the most meager resources of anywhere I’ve seen.
And yet they work. They use what they are given. They continue whether the support is there or not. They continue doing they best they can even when they don’t have access to the newest information put out by the World Health Organization or Partners in Health.
I am trying to raise money to go to Vienna next summer so that I can attend the International AIDS Conference and bring back what I learn to help the clinic. Raising money during a recession is pretty tough, and I can’t help but feel a little cynical. I wonder if I won’t get the money, won’t be able to go, and then the people working at the clinic in the small town in this country will face yet another instance of not warranting the attention or resources of others. I’m not typically a cynical person, and I do see a bright side in all of this. I greatly admire the way my friends and colleagues press on relentlessly despite the poverty of their resources.
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August 20, 2009 at 10:21 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: Africa, HIV/AIDS, orphans
Last night was a bittersweet evening as we were able to have dinner with some old friends who were lost and have been found, and as we spent our last evening with Kevin and Jenny, our friends from the clinic who are on their way back to the US today.
We were on our way back from Ghana after our retreat/vacation last week when we received a call from Kevin and Jenny . There was some urgent business that needed to be taken care of, so we set up a meeting for the morning after our arrival back home. Last year when we were here we were introduced to a family of four girls, Yvonne, Soolim, Massah, and Ruth. They had lost their parents to AIDS and were living with their elderly grandmother. These girls were healthy, friendly, and vivacious.
This November we returned from our trip to the US to find that three of the girls were gone. Their uncle from Ghana had come to visit them and then decided to take them back to live with him against their wishes and the wishes of their grandmother. We weren’t sure exactly where they were, so Kapitan set off on several trips to locate their village in Ghana and see that the family understood their health needs and that they were being cared for properly. Over several months he did find the girls, spoke with the family, and tried to convince them of the importance that the two youngest receive their medication without fail. These trips were unsuccessful. So about two weeks ago he made another trip, having already spoken with an uncle that lives here in town, and with the uncle there with the agreement that the girls needed to move back here so that they can receive the medical care that the clinic provides. For several reasons, some miscommunication and some family politics, he went but was unable to return with the girls.
We met last Wednesday morning to decide how to proceed, and the next day Mark, Kevin, Kapitan, and Abass (the director of the clinic) set off on a trip with medical papers and legal papers to try to convince the family that it is in the best interest of the girls to be where they can receive monitoring and treatment for HIV. I am very thrilled to say that they were able to accomplish this and that the family agreed that it was the best decision. Soolim, the second sister, is still with the family there and isn’t HIV positive so this poses no risk to her health. Please pray for her as she is now apart from her three sisters. We have spent the last two evenings with Yvonne, Massah, and Ruth and are grateful to see them so happy and healthy.
I am amazed at the lengths to which the people of the clinic will go in order to take care of their members. They could have written off these children who had moved to another country and never would have been blamed for it. The work that they do there is a work of the heart, and they see each individual they serve. I am grateful to work with and learn from them.
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August 13, 2009 at 4:10 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: Africa, HIV/AIDS, orphans, summer camp
Every year, Peace Corps volunteers in the country of Togo work to host Camp Espoir, a summer camp for children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. This year they were running very short on funds, and we were able to contact some friends from Singing Oaks who very generously helped with the cause. Amee and Alicia, the Peace Corps Volunteers who headed up the camp, invited us to come spend some time there. So Maddie, our intern Abbie, our friend Shannon (who spends her summers volunteering at AED) and I headed down to spend the night and take part in the camp activities.
We got there on the last day of camp, and arrived just in time for the group discussions on discrimination and stigma. We watched as the kids talked about these issues, then broke into groups and performed skits to demonstrate what they had learned. It was great to see these children speaking openly about things that have an impact on their daily lives, yet are taboo to discuss. At camp, they were able to be who they are without fear of being judged or ostracized.
After the group discussion they had a mock market. They had divided into groups earlier in the week in order to learn to make things that they could sell at the market and perhaps earn a little money for themselves. At the mock market, children were given camp money and groups sold what they had made. Maddie was given an allotment of camp money and we were able to sample a little of everything that was offered. There was popcorn, juice, two different types of peanut candy (one very similar to peanut brittle,) beignets, and beaded jewelry. I was very pleasantly surprised that all of the snacks were quite good!
After market, there was free time during which the children could choose to do art, sports, or rest. We enjoyed getting to know some of the people and talked until dinner. Dinner was provided and was delicious. They offered African fare but also provided some roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables for the Americans. I didn’t expect that at all but found that it was wonderful! I noted that the dinner tables were very quiet as the campers had worked up great appetites during the day and were very focused on their food. It was good to see these children being provided for so plentifully.
That evening we congregated to watch the camp slide show, then headed down to the pavilion were we celebrated with a dance party. The party was a lot of fun and I was honestly impressed with many of the kids’ ability to dance. There was a great celebratory spirit, and it was inspiring to see these kids cut loose and enjoy themselves before heading back home the next morning.
The next morning they had breakfast, then a final session. We loaded them into taxi vans and provided them with lunches to eat on the way, then they were off and so were we. For many of them I know that they were returning to very difficult lives. Many didn’t have families to go home to. Many will return to places where they have to pretend that they are not dealing with the difficulties presented by HIV/AIDS. Many will not have the camaraderie or support that they found at camp until next summer. My heart and prayers go out to these children as they go back to daily life, and I’m thankful to AED, the Peace Corps, the volunteers, and my friends at Singing Oaks who gave them the chance to let their worries and concerns go for week!
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March 28, 2009 at 11:36 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: Africa, orphans, poverty
I just got back from a trip to the bank with my teammate, Becky. I am taking on the responsibility of helping the families who have taken in orphans get monthly support from donors in the U.S. through the Christian Relief Fund.
I wanted to take time to express my thanks to the Christian Relief Fund and to those who contribute to it for the difference they are making in people’s lives. There are so many children who are left without homes and families, and there are not enough orphanages to take them in. There are families who are willing to take children in but have to stretch already tight resources to do so. I know ideally we would like to empower people here to be able to support themselves and the others in their community without having to go to developed countries for help, but I look around me and I can’t deny that these people are living in poverty and that in many case that is impossible. At the very least, it is a long process that doesn’t occur over night and still takes resources outside of what is locally available to them.
For those who contribute to efforts like this, I want you to know that your money makes all the difference. We are seeing children who are going to school, receiving the nourishment they need, and who don’t have to worry about not receiving medical care because they don’t have the money. We see families who can joyfully give them the upbringing they need because they don’t have to worry about choosing to feed themselves and their children or feeding another child in need. Thank you for you help.
When I contrast that with the children I see who have nowhere to go it is clear that the service that Christian Relief Fund and other groups like them offer is truly making a difference in the lives of those who need it most.
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March 27, 2009 at 11:43 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: Africa, HIV/AIDS, orphans, poverty
I wanted to post an update on Awe. We have not been able to find a new home for him, but have spoken with the grandmother and she is willing to start feeding him again and start him back on meds. His home situation is being monitored three to four days a week, and we have started him on a diet that should re-nourish his body. He has already gained some strength. We will continue to look for a home for Awe as his grandmother is still less than enthusiastic about his care. Thank you all for your prayers for him.
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March 17, 2009 at 1:35 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: Africa, AIDS, HIV/AIDS, human rights, orphans
Today I went to the clinic and met with Capitaine who informed me that we needed to go check on a little boy who has been sick. Awe (Ah-way) is nine years old and has been living with his grandmother since his mother died in 2005. He is HIV positive and blind due to an illness he contracted in December 2007. Awe’s grandmother feels overextended by her responsibility to care for a child with a disability and has therefore made the decision to quit feeding him and giving him his ARVs.
When we went to Awe’s home, I asked if there were any other children living there, and Capitaine said that there weren’t. I wondered then, who is the child sleeping on the porch that looks to be around five years of age? It was nine year old Awe. We sat down and spoke with Awe for awhile, whose grandmother was out working in the fields quite a ways away, and we found that he had not eaten that day. He did not stir from laying in fetal position during the duration of our visit, but spoke to us freely and without complaint. All he asked was that we bring him some bread. We left to go get him some rice, peanut sauce with vegetables, and oranges, and then returned to feed him. He ate with trembling hands, but not very much as his stomach had grown so unaccustomed to food that he could only eat a few small bites at a time. After his “meal,” he laid back down in the same position we found him and talked to us some more.
After we left Awe, we went to visit a woman who is trying to help find a family who will take Awe in and nurse him back to health. Once he regains his health and strength, we will search for a way to get him into a school for the blind.
Awe’s full name means “What is beautiful in the world?” He is intelligent, sweet, and full of potential, but his life is like a candle flame in the wind that will surely be snuffed out unless someone intervenes. He will never cry out that his human rights are being violated. He does not even seem to realize that every child deserves to be fed, loved, nurtured and cared for. He doesn’t realize that having a disability does not make you worthless.
Please pray for Awe, and for the family who will take him into their home, and into their hearts.
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March 7, 2009 at 6:41 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: Africa, AIDS clinic, orphans
I can happily say that I am starting back into work with the clinic. The last couple of weeks have involved home visits, meetings, and various other activities, but I was particularly excited about the meeting I attended today. It was a meeting for parents and caregivers of orphans and other vulnerable children, and the discussion centered on mass media’s effect of children’s perception of sexuality. In the U.S., this topic is widely discussed, but in Africa, not so much. In fact, it is rare to find a group of people willing to discuss anything having to do with sex here.
I was much encouraged to hear the thoughts and perspectives of the parents in the room. There was significant discussion over being discerning about what television and radio programs a parent allows a child to see or hear, and much discussion as well about monitoring peer relationships of one’s children. These are not easy topics to discuss in the Kabiye culture, but I am heartened to see these parents of children who are already in a vulnerable position being proactive in equipping their children to make good choices and to be on guard against those who may not have their best interests in mind. There were several strong statements that affirmed a parent’s right and responsibility to do what is best for their child, whether it is popular with their community or not.
I feel privileged to see these changes take place before my very eyes, and in the midst of all the bad news and travesty in today’s world, I feel joyful for these victories.
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January 27, 2009 at 11:30 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: Africa, poverty, power, gender inequality, women's issues
Every time I get on a plane to travel from Africa back to Europe or America I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone. Truly, the differences between the “first world” and the “third world” are like travelling between worlds and to imagine that they are just different places on the same planet is pretty mystifying. In some ways the adjustment to living here again and adapting to life has been easy and enjoyable (I owe this to the fact that this is our second time around.) It has been relatively easy to adjust to cooking with the ingredients that are available, and I love that we can get most easily and economically fresh fruits and veggies that are for the most part, organic. I have no problem with the lack of entertainment. I love to read above all things, I’m getting time to learn to play some musical instruments which I have wanted to do, and family time is much easier to come by which is probably the greatest benefit of living here. We have a lot of good friends among the Kabiye people and I honestly love them.
However, there are deeper parts of the culture here that are quite staggering to observe on a daily basis and almost impossible to wrap one’s mind around. I have come to believe that a key issue in African culture is power that is mismanaged and therefore pollutes the lives of just about everyone. The often fruitless struggle for power has many manifestations, but in my opinion the most pervasive manifestation is gender inequality.
Here a crowd will lynch a person who steals in the market, but a man will also hand a young daughter over to an older man to form a beneficial relationship for the family. Boys are seen as virile and strong because of sexual conquests but girls are defiled and used up. In fact, the Kabiye word for a divorced woman means “used up.” When a woman has a child, the father’s family and even her brother has more say in the child’s life than she does. Children are FREQUENTLY taken from the homes of women by male relatives at the male relatives will and a woman has little to no recourse. Spousal abuse is an acceptable means to “correcting” your wife.
I am not making a case for man bashing. I don’t see it as a problem of men being evil and victimizing women, I see it as a human problem as people mistreating other people, and it just so happens that it in this case it is based on gender distinction. It seems that here people often have needs and responsibilities that are outside of their power to fulfill. That’s a hard thing to cope with and people often turn to destructive coping patterns such as exerting power where they can, over those subordinate to them. In the case of this culture, women are subordinate to men and therefore become the recipients of a man’s anger and frustration. Who then, in turn, is subordinate to a woman? A child. Thus the cycle perpetuates itself and becomes the modus operandi for the whole community.
John Mayer penned the lyrics “Power is made by power being taken…” and those words echo in my mind frequently as I live among and interact with people here. Some situations are so sad and seem so unjust, and to my mind, absolutely unacceptable. Yet they are approached with resignation because people here are powerless to resolve them. It makes me reflect on how privileged I am to have grown up in a place where I was taught that I can make my own decisions and chart my own path.
I don’t deceive myself that the work we are doing will change the whole culture, but I am glad to stand beside those who fight for each small step and who seek healing from these hurts. I feel honored and privileged to know and learn from these people who live in such hardships and yet live with joy and peace in Christ as if unassaulted. Witnessing the indomitable spirit of another is both a salve in times of pain and an inspiration in life.
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December 21, 2008 at 4:21 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: Africa, Christmas tree
This year is proving to be a very Kabiye holiday season. Yesterday we had a lunch party to decorate our Christmas tree and invited Sitsope (our girls’ babysitter,) Essowe (my language teacher,) and Essowe’s two daughters and Ann and Grace. None of them had ever participated in this American tradition, and all were excited about it. They do celebrate Christmas here but mostly they just take the day off and spend it with family and have a big meal. All of the decor and gifts and such are not really a part of their traditions, but they find those things pretty exciting.
It was a lot of fun to watch the kids, and they were so enthusiastic that I hardly had to do anything. Afterward we had hot chocolate and let the kids play. Grace (who is 5 years old) particularly liked the little singing and dancing Christmas tree that my Grandmother Lois had given my grils a few years back. She kept starting teh songs and dancing along- it was pretty sweet to watch.
When we were planning our move here we contemplated what to bring, and it seemed a little excessive to bring all of our Christmas stuff. On the other hand, being able to maintain and enjoy some of our traditions is an important part of blending who we are as Americans with the ways in which we are trying to adapt to living in Africa. Having Kabiye friends who help me learn and understand Kabiye ways of doing things, but also enjoy learning about and partaking in our lives is such a blessing. It always makes me feel like these friendships are truly a two way street, not just me trying to reach out the Kabiye people. I thank God that he has given me such sweet and close relationships here in Africa.
As a side note, I didn’t blog about our Thanksgiving, but we spent it feasting (African style) with Kabiye friends as well. It was a good opportunity to express our thanks for all they had done to help us acclimate to life here and have a sort of “simulation” of the first Thanksgiving.
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December 18, 2008 at 7:17 pm (missions, Africa, Togo, poverty, God, Jesus, HIV/AIDS)
Tags: Africa, AIDS, ARVs, orphans
I typed this up to share the story of one of the little boys I’ve gotten to know at the clinic, and thought I’d post it. The clinic is having a really hard time with funds currently and doesn’t have enough medications to go around. This story takes a tough fact like that and shows the real tragedy behind it.
“This one is a miracle of God!” That was introduction I was given to three year old Kevin as we visited the homes to check on the welfare of families who have taken in orphans. Kevin lost his mother, father, sister, brother, and nephew to AIDS in a span of three months in 2007.
Early that year a woman and her 11 year old son came into town to AED to be tested for HIV. She was sick and emaciated, and the hospital recommended that she be tested. While at AED, the Psychologist also suggested that her son be tested as he appeared to be in poor health as well. The tests came back positive, so Kapitaine (the head of the Orphan and Other Vulnerable Children) went to the family home. Once there he found that this woman had a teenaged daughter who was expecting and a young son of only two years. Everyone in the family was very sick and malnourished. They proceeded to test the young son and found he also is HIV positive, but the teenaged daughter refused to be tested.
The family was slated to start Anti-Retroviral Therapy, but supplies were limited and so they were unable to begin. The mother had become so ill that she was no longer able to walk and had to be hospitalized. The father also soon had to be hospitalized which left the two sons with no one to care for them as the sister was pregnant and in poor health.
AED approached a woman named Assiki and asked her to take in the two boys. Soon thereafter the mother died, a month later their sister gave birth and died along with her child on the same day that their father died. Within a month of that the older brother was hospitalized and died. Kevin was the sole member of his family left, and he was sick and malnourished. Through the loving care of Assiki and his new “brothers and sisters”, along with the help of AED, Kevin is now healthy and strong and receiving ARVs (anti-retrovirals.)
Kevin is shown here with the seven other HIV positive children that Assiki has taken in. Assiki is one woman with limited resources, but relies on God to provide for her needs and for the needs of these children. Please give thanks to God for Assiki and her selfless ministry to these children. Pray for God’s continued sustenance of this family, and for his peace, comfort and joy to be present in their home despite the tragedies each of them has lived through. Praise God that his spirit gives strength daily to Assiki and her children, and pray for AED as they continue and struggle to make ends meet so that they might serve the forgotten and hopeless here in Togo.
Picture: back row: Gentille (15 years,) Happy (13 years,) Alice (14 years,)
Front row: Sadate (10 years,) Bernadette (18 years,) Kevin (3 years,) Tante (19 years,) Bienvenue (12 years)
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