EIL Intercultural Learning

Hi everyone!  Hope you are all well! Nigeria is still a delightful muddle to me:) I feel like a count down has begun today as I was reminded of the date by one of the students in my computer class. Up until now I have been concentrating on the days of the week to forget the return to Ireland. Work is still so interesting!

 
In the past few weeks I feel that I have been given a few opportunities to see the treatment offered to some of the most vulnerable people in the area who are affected by HIV/AIDS.
I went to a city, Ibadan, about an hours drive away with people who were going to receive treatments or routine check ups. At the hospital I was taught how to carry out HIV tests, I learned the counseling service that is provided and I got a general insight into the care offered. I also went to visit the home of a patient with an psychiatric disability. This woman is being provided care by Living Hope Care (LIHOC) as she was raped and now has a very young baby. While some of these experiences sound harrowing, they are all set against the background of beautiful Nigerian mountains and the cahotic welcoming society.
 
So far I have been most struck by the difficulties faced by women who are positive and are pregnant. I have very privileged to have struck up a friendship with a young woman who recently gave birth to a beautiful little girl. From talking with this woman I have gained an insight into the economic difficullties which she faces. I have also been horrified by the stigmatization faced by peolpe living with HIV/AIDs, in this case, the stigmatization and abuse delivered by family members. It has been very frustrating to have to see a vulnerable new born baby be faced with the prospect of becoming infected because the cost of baby formula is too much. It is nothing short of a tragedy that ALL the donars donating baby formula to the state hospital in Ibadan have cut all funding for the project. There was no explanation given for this cutting of funds and the small stock the hospital had is quickly diminishing. It is so sad to witness how vulnerable babies are not afforded the 'luxury' of baby formula simply because they live in sub Saharan Africa. If a pregnant woman decides to breast feed her baby there, without taking ARV's correctly or at all, there is a one in three chance that the baby will transmit the virus. Even if she takes the ARV's the liklihood can be increased greatly if her nipples become cracked or infected. Without education on how to breast feed correctly this is very likely to occur.
 
 
Furthermore, having visited state hospitals and maternity clinics (free of charge) to deliver ARV's to new born babies and their mothers, I have seen some atrocious conditions in which some people have to accept medical care. I have really struggled with seeing these conditions and been overwhelmed by the personal stories of those who are delivering care- despite the enormous obstacles they face.
 
I have begun working on a training, that I will deliver early next week, on Child's Rights. This will be delivered to field officers and volunteers who work directly with children and will hopefull enable them to utilise more effective strategies to correct a child's behaviour rather than physically abusing children.
 
From these experiences I have learned that having access to information and education is an amazing gift (such teacher talk) and that we should never take this for granted. I am urging everyone to learn their HIV status and become educated on how they can either begin living positively (through diet, deciding whether or not to take ARV's) or protect themselves in order to remain negative. By becoming educating we are reducing the stigma attached to HIV/AIDs. This is the most disabling aspect of the virus and leaves the most vulnerable people in society even more vulnerable. This is true in Nigeria and from my brief introduction to HIV/AIDs in Ireland it is unfortunately true there too.
 
Before I begin the journey home I have (as usual) a million projects on the go. One of these is an information pamphlet for women who are positive and prgenant. Another is a very exciting vacation camp for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC's). This camp will be on for four days and there will be sixty teenagers attending. We are all going to be staying at a Church nearby and we've got loads of activites! Wohoo! Fingers crossed that it all works out really well.
 
Hope that you are all really well. I'm sorry for the lack of contact- my mobile phone is broken and internet access is a luxury and a test of patience. It will (brace yourselves) mean that I will be bombarding you all with a million and one stories of this adventure of a lifetime when I return.
 
I would like to take the opportunity to thank EIL for this amazing experience. I feel so honored to have been given the chance to have travelled all the way to Nigeria and to have been trusted by them to have worked in this dynamic and challenging setting.
 
Le gach dea-ghuí,

Emily