EIL Intercultural Learning - Global Awareness Programme

Coming to the end of our South African experience

AislingEgan — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:46:55 +0000

As our final week here in South Africa looms, special moments and memories have already formed. After spending time with the NGO, we then moved on the HIV and AIDS Clinic, where we are volunteering now. This is a day hospital with a special ARV unit (the medication taken when you are HIV+ and your CD4 count is less than 250). The unit is divided into sections where there are doctors, counsellors, nutritionists and personal advocates. All of them are there to help and support clients who have contracted HIV. The South African health system is quite good and the government pays all medication expenses. There’s also a grant available to those who have a low CD4 count and are not earning sufficient funds to supply them with the proper foods like fruit, vegetables and porridge in order to make them strong and healthy again. Being white in the area we’re placed in, it’s automatically assumed you’re a medical student in the hospital and walking through many will greet you as ‘hey doctor!’. I was a little overwhelmed by this at first but then I was given the opportunity to work quite a bit with the counsellors. Here we’d take a pill count and make sure the client was taking the medication properly along with asking question about contraception, family planning and T.B. symptoms.

The day I found most rewarding was on Fridays as this is where paediatricians came in and let the day be solely designated to children. What I found difficult here was watching how the mothers felt about having to explain to their child that they were HIV+ as most of the children didn’t know what their medication was for. A lot of the mothers were afraid their child would tell others about their status and the stigma that is still in many places attached to the virus. A doctor from outside the clinic explained to me in the bigger hospitals they provide support groups so they have teenage groups where they find comfort in knowing they’re not alone to a women’s group where they take on crafts like beading etc. We also sat in on the maternity ward one week where we even got to see a baby been born! In the maternity ward, it’s the law that the mother must be tested for HIV when she first comes to the clinic and then when she is 32 weeks pregnant. In one case, the mother first came back negative and at 32 weeks she was positive. You could see the shock and disbelief in her face and it was times like these that I felt both compassion and helplessness to the cause. My time at this clinic has thought me more than I could ever have imagined about HIV and AIDS and for that I am grateful.

For Women’s Day, we gathered with the women from the support groups in our original project to celebrate. The women wore African dress and there was some song, dance and even some massages. It was a true reflection of the strength in women and how they are progressing in a country that is still very male dominant. We’ve even been given the opportunity to visit a juvenile prison on Tuesday evenings where a local church group visit these boys and give them hope. It’s a favourite part of our week as the group have everyone out by the end of it, singing and dancing. It’s a time when you see these young boys flourishing and the amount of positive potential they have within them. It’s moments like these that you discover how volunteering is the most gratifying, testing and stimulating experience. There are days when you question your role and the level of contribution you are making but then some little peak of goodness shines through and cancels out those doubts. Volunteering here in South Africa has opened my eyes in so many ways. I now feel as though I am a basket of knowledge when it comes to HIV and AIDS and I honestly look forward to going home and sharing this information with people in Ireland. From a personal point of view, volunteering has given me a clear focus and direction and I feel as though I’ve learnt a lot about myself along the way as well the cause.

My experience in a HIV and AIDS clinic

Danielle-RP — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 08:27:23 +0000

Today felt like an “Irish Day” here in South Africa as the sky clouded over with grey mist and heavy rainfall. However, this rainfall was a blessing for the South Africans as it allowed the reservoirs and lakes to fill with fresh water to prepare for the annual drought of the Summer to follow. People seemed quite happy with the change in the weather pattern from the last month of blistering sun and dry earth to a more damp, wet and cold atmosphere. So, it was all raincoats, hats and scarves for Aisling and myself as we plodded our way through the puddle filled streets of Mitchels Plain, a small town on the outskirts of Cape Town. We have changed placements and for the last two weeks Aisling and I have been working in a HIV and AIDS clinic in a public hospital. The hospital lies in the centre of the town of Mitchels Plain and has a constant flow of patients, so the staff are always kept extremely busy. Due to the fact that it is a public hospital, the services are free to patients. One of the biggest squatter townships in South Africa, Kayalicha, is situated only a couple of kilometres from the hospital so the majority of the patients who attend the hospital are from this township, but many are from Mitchels Plain also. The HIV and AIDS clinic is funded and staffed by the NGO YMCA, a community development organisation. The clinic itself focuses on three area’s – HIV testing, counselling and medical treatment with the prescription of ARV’s (Anti Retro Virals – the prescription drugs which suppress HIV for a limited time depending on the patients health). The clinic caters for both adults and children. According to the doctors the majority of adult patients in the clinic are female rather than male as it is thought that the females are more willing to get tested and feel more comfortable to discuss their status. The number of children who attend the clinic are equally male and female. There are three testing rooms in the hospital, two in the clinic and one in the maternity ward. The rooms in the clinic are open to anyone who wishes to know their status, while the testing room in the maternity ward are for pregnant woman only who must take a HIV test before they receive their initial pregnancy medical check up from the maternity ward. Many of these woman have no idea they are HIV positive and would have never gone for the test had it not been the regulations of the ward to test all pregnant women who want to receive free maternity care. The clinic feels that this rule is one of the only ways many pregnant women will get tested for HIV and become aware of the fact that they must take the appropriate PMTCT (prevent mother to child transmission) treatment in order to stop HIV being passed on from mother to child during pregnancy if they test positive for the virus. The other two testing rooms in the hospital are open to anyone who wishes to get tested. There are many times when the counsellors who carry out the HIV testing would roam the corridors of the hospital asking random patients if they would like to avail of a free 10 minute HIV test. Some patients take advantage of the free test but there are still a lot of people who refuse as they feel the reality of knowing one’s status is a fearful thing. TB is rampant in the hospital as the majority of the patients come from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds where hygiene is very poor. This is incredibly dangerous for the HIV patients as the risk of contracting TB if one is HIV positive is very high. Therefore, all the staff and patients are required to wear a mask at all times to avoid passing on TB to others if infected and for those who aren’t they must wear the mask to avoid contracting it. In most cases it is TB that causes death to HIV patients. There is free treatment for TB in the hospital but at times the illness is so far gone without treatment there is little the doctors can do to cure it. It is since I have been working in the clinic that I have come to realise just how prevalent HIV is in South Africa. The Clinics waiting rooms and corridors are over crowded everyday as the patients wait from as early as 5am to receive their ARV medication and emotional support from the counsellors. The shocking thing is that this is just one clinic in one town. According to the national statistics, one in seven people live with HIV in South Africa. However, these are just the statistics based on those who get tested, if one were to include those who do not get tested and live with HIV unknowingly, the number would be more like one in four. The main way the virus is contracted with the patients in the clinic is through unprotected sexual intercourse. However, there are many patients who contract HIV with the sharing of needles through substance abuse, blood to blood contact through open wounds and many females become infected from being the victims of rape. Most of the children all contracted the virus from their mother during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Therefore, there are many instances where there is more than one family member living with the virus in one house as both parent and child are infected. While working in the clinic I have met many mothers who find the aspect of telling their child that they are HIV positive just as tragic as discovering their child’s status for the first time. One mother burst into tears today as she described that she had managed to distract her daughter from finding out she was HIV positive for as long as she could, but now that the child is ten years old, she has come to the age where she is beginning to question why she must take pills everyday and why she must visit the clinic with her mother every month. The mother explained to me that she was distraught when she found out her daughter was HIV positive, it took her a long time to come to terms with it. Now, she must go through the whole process again, as she this time it is the daughter who will go through the trauma of the discovery of her illness. Not only must she inform her daughter of the horrific implications of living with HIV, she must also explain to her how she contracted it, which can often cause rifts between parent and daughter as the child may blame them for her illness. She expressed the fear of letting others know of her daughter’s status as the stigma attached to HIV is awful and many fear being rejected by family and friends. The mother stated that she must emphasis to her daughter the importance of keeping her illness a secret, which is another strain for the daughter. This mothers pain and worries mirror many of the other parents hardship of raising a child who is HIV positive in South Africa.

3 Weeks into the Global Awareness Programme in South Africa

AislingEgan — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 13:51:03 +0000

Just about three weeks here and wow, what a whirlwind it has been. We arrived in Cape Town to be greeted by a member of SASTS and were orientated at a volunteer house for one night. The big thing about South Africans is their sense of time, everyone is very laid back along with being super friendly. We then were transported to our host family where we were greeted by a big family of a grandma, grandpa, their daughter and her husband and their three young children. Here we were given the opportunity to sample African cuisine and see their love for chicken and butternut squash not to mention the surprising amount of fish and chips shops you pass along the streets.

We then came to the start of our volunteer work with Sothemba AIDS. The very first day we were packed in a van with two facilitators and brought to a psychiatric hospital – an experience that was something very new to me. It was explained to us, by the community development officer, how each week they give awareness talks to the same wards to reiterate HIV & AIDS and its prominence in South Africa. Working with people with mental illnesses was something new to both Danielle and I but even in our short time here, I feel more adaptable to any situations thrown at us. We then went on to visit a township called Freedom Farm. This was without a doubt the highlight of my trip so far. The warmth and love that came straight away from the children was truly humbling. They instantly take you in with hugs and smiles. We were even given the opportunity to help some of the locals make fried dough balls to accompany their chicken feet supper. Most of the locals I have personally come across have a positive attitude to HIV and AIDS awareness. I was struck by how little a response was given by adults if there is no food to accompany the talks and sometimes we have very little to none turn out. This for me made me realise the importance of educating young people, as it is here they’re most willing to learn. By incorporating awareness through games etc it is very easy to teach the young people about HIV and AIDS and also self-satisfying to see their enthusiasm towards interactive learning.

This opportunity is my first experience of overseas voluntary work. I can’t express how awe-inspiring each and everyday becomes. Not only do you learn so much about another culture but you also learn a lot about yourself. Patience is one thing that I have definitely adapted to while running on African time! EIL have kept in brilliant communication with us and have been as efficient as always. I really can’t wait to see what challenges, tasks and heart-warming moments lie ahead for the rest of our duration here but like the South Africans I’ll be welcoming each and every experience with open arms.

Global Awareness Pre Departure: why I can't stop pinching myself...

Aine Carroll — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:40:17 +0000

This is my first blogpost ever, one of the many new things I am learning thanks to winning a travel award from EIL. Just one more week now before I depart for Nigeria to complete the second leg of the programme, having just completed the first. I am nervous and excited in equally healthy doses and can't help but feel compelled and inspired by the work that EIL have put into developing this incredible programme - the Global Awareness Programme. Myself, Ciara, Aisling and Danielle are the lucky Global Awareness volunteers 2011 and I'm delighted to be sharing this experience with these enthusiastic, interesting, and kind people. The training period was a great way of getting to know each other and of getting to know the issues around HIV & AIDS. The quality of the training and facilitation throughout the whole process has been outstanding - from the pre-departure workshop, to the media and awareness training at Comhlamh, to the introduction to HIV & AIDS in Development with Dtalk, and the half-day training at Open Heart House, each component has shown a different dimension to the causes, outcomes, and possible solution options around HIV & AIDS. The pre-departure workshop was great craic and really informative. Meeting people like us who were heading off on their travels and returned volunteers was a great opportunity to dispel any nerves and to ask any lurking silly questions that we might have about our unfamiliar destinations. Comhlamh aswell was a window onto the campaigning world and an opportunity to see that when people are well-organised, committed and supportive of each other, anything can happen. I now know that awareness raising is an essential tool for inspiring popular support for political action, which is ultimately what I believe achieving equality is all about.

At Dtalk, we learned about some important nuances that can affect the spread and impact of the disease including gender, development, poverty, sexuality & drug use. We also learned that some sub-Saharan states (e.g. Zambia and Uganda) are 'mainstreaming' gender and HIV & AIDS, meaning that these issues are currently being woven into every aspect of governmental policy and activity, which I found very encouraging. What stood out for me though was how stigma can add unnecessary suffering to a person's life. It's funny how little we question our own prejudices that pop in to the mind unannounced at various stages throughout a persons life, or even just throughout their day. Judging people it seems is a way of life, an instinct, a reflex, and reflexes can be hard to unlearn. Dtalk provided us with the opportunity to begin to unravel our own prejudices, to recognise them, to question them, and ultimately to discard them.

And for anybody interested, the global meets the local at the top of Parnell Square, St. Mary's Place, Dublin 2. Here at Open Heart House, we learned some of the more human and moving dimensions of living with the disease including hope, solidarity, wamth, welcome and acceptance. It sort of knocked my understanding of HIV & AIDS out of it's comfort zone as I am beginning to recognise it as not just something that governments and NGOs talk about, nor is it specifically a problem in a 'development' context either: it is something that affects people's lives in multiple ways on a daily basis right here Ireland, probably in your neighbourhood, or else not too far from that. It is organisations like Open Heart House that provide essential, frontline support to people affected by the disease and I was blown away by the kindness and sensitivity I found there. I will carry this feeling of warmt, welcome and acceptance on my journey with me to Nigeria and beyond.

I have a suspicion that the training was carefully organised to deliver just this precise impact, another reason why I can't recommend EIL highly enough. They haven't asked me to say any of this, but so far every aspect of the programme has been absolutely spot on. It is not only a fantastic opportunity or an amazing experience, but a privilege to be taking part. If you feel you have something to learn and something to contribute, and if you are reading this and wondering whether or not to apply for the Global Awarenss Programme, or any other EIL opportunity, DO IT.

You'll be hearing more from the Global Awareness Team 2011 in the future, wish us
luck!

Áine

Global Awareness Programme: my experience

Gill Carter — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:17:55 +0000

I was delighted when I found out that I had successfully secured a position on the Global Awareness Programme with EIL. It was the only travel award that I had applied to and had felt really passionate about all the component of the award. I was excited about going away for eight weeks to South Africa and I knew working in a HIV respite centre and living in a township would open my eyes to various issues and allow me too consider a new culture and way of living. I was apprehensive about a number of things, and my emotions were spontaneous varying from excitement to anxiety of the unknown. It was a thrill to feel I was entering the unknown and to learn about issues and topic I had never before even considered. My eight weeks in South Africa were truly eye opening; I realized what a beautiful country it was, in both the sense of geography, culture and society. I was working in a respite centre and my duties varied from day to day. Some days I was helping the patients, attending support groups, visiting hospitals and clinics, liaising with NGO’s or organising HIV awareness presentations and more! Every day was different and every day was new. The training and information given to me by EIL before my departure was great and really informed me on important issues so I felt reassured and relatively knowledgeable for when I arrived.

The beautiful thing about the Global Awareness Programme is that when you come home your experience does not end, the campaign that is attached to this travel award is great. It really allowed me to get thinking about what I wanted to convey to the Irish public and what I wanted to share about my trip abroad. As part of the campaign I have done a wide range of things varying from writing articles for my University magazine to making an awareness video. As part of the campaign, the four Global Awareness Participants have collected their photos together and made a photo exhibition which has toured the country at this stage! I have also tried to make HIV an important issue on campus in my university, and so; I put together ‘UCC HIV Awareness Week’. For the Awareness week I collaborated with various other related societies such as; SUAS, Atheist Society, Microbiology Society, Film Society and Slainte to hold a rang of talks, information stalls and fundraisers such ‘UCC’s Got Talent’ which was held on World AID’s Day in December and which raised just under €1,000 for two HIV related charities. My awareness campaign is not over yet! I still plan on visiting some secondary schools to give some presentations on my experience and I’m very keen to get involved in more work with EIL in the future!

Global Awareness Volunteers 2010

Piers Meynell — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:54:45 +0000

Volunteer Abroad

Nigeria

South Africa

Development Education

Global Awareness Programme

Travel Awards

Nigeria-South Africa Aids awareness

About EIL

Description:

The EIL Global Awareness Programme is an exciting training, volunteering and awareness programme focussing on HIV&AIDS. Each year 4 people are chosen to participate on this partially funded programme. Maeve, Emily, Gill and Paul took part to the 2010 Global Awareness Programme. As part of the programme, they received a training on “Understanding HIV in Development” as well as a training on Media and Campaigning skills. They volunteered for 8 weeks with a local project in Nigeria and South Africa working with people living with HIV&AIDS.

hiv & aids

Global Awareness Programme

EIL volunteer abroad

Nigeria

South Africa

An Overview of my Experience as a GAP Participant in South Africa

Gill Carter — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 10:13:42 +0000

Orientation Arriving in South Africa was daunting; I honestly didn’t have a clue what to do really. But as I met the other volunteers on my orientation group I started to relax. The orientation week was a great way to see how truly beautiful South Africa’s landscape is and it allowed us to grasp a glimpse into the various different aspects of South African culture from it’s animals and wildlife to it’s scenery, history and enterprise. I had an action packed week where I was lucky enough to go to the Fanpark for the World Cup final, alongside that we also got a walking tour of the city, visit to a seal colony, ostrich farm and the Cape of Good Hope. The action doesn’t stop there we also got wine tasting, a walking tour of a township, whale watching and a visit to a penguin colony. All in all, it was a culture filled experience in a great place with great people.

The Move to Kayamandi Moving into my host families house was scary but I will never forget my welcome, I literally had just stepped in the door when the two cutest little girls latched onto me and hugged as tight as they could. I felt really included in the family and I felt so welcomed. I admit, I was quite anxious about moving to Kayamandi, living in a township is something that other South African have strong opinions about however I learn fast how important it is to make up my own opinion, sometimes you have to ignore other peoples judgment in order to make up your own, I loved living in a township, it was an experience I will never forget. My first day at work was a bit of a whirlwind, it was a busy day and so I was landed in on top of chaos. I felt lost, and this is the reality of volunteering, it does take time to find your bearings but ultimately things do become easier. My first few days were hard, the centre was not what I had expected and honestly, I started to question my input and relevance in the centre. It was difficult to adjust from what I had expected to what the reality was.

The Work – What I did in The Centre

My work really did vary from day to day, some days it was manual work such as sweeping and washing the wards, preparing meals, cleaning communal areas. No, it wasn’t glamorous but it is essential to remember that being a volunteer sometimes means getting your hands dirty, it can be hard work and at the end of the day it is important that it’s done. Its part and parcel of being a volunteer. On the other hand, we often spent hours just talking or playing cards with the clients, and albeit not laborious work it’s extremely important too. Every day varied, I tended to go home each day having done something new and different whether it be going on a home visit to call to past clients, going on hospital trips, sitting in on the support group meetings or networking with other close-by NGO’s, on the whole it was exciting and extremely enjoyable. In the mornings I would be helping out in the respite centre whilst in the evenings I would be taking part in the Children’s Afterschool programme, teaching English, recycling and more. The children were the most amazing group of young people I have every encountered, there were always so much fun and when things were difficult or emotionally draining they would always cheer me up without fail. I was also very lucky to be able to take part in a youth group called Vision-K which met every week which discussed issues surrounding HIV, and sexuality, it was a privilege to be able to hear the views of the young people living in the township and to be able to interact and talk to them about their views and opinions.

Myself and the other Global Awareness Participant; Paul were lucky enough to take part in a HIV facilitation course in the University Of Stellenbosch. This course took place over two weekends. It covered all aspects of HIV from stigma, statistics, gender, sexuality, prevention, treatment and media campaigns. It was an amazing experience to interact and chat to local South Africans about HIV.

Leaving A Legacy

At our centre we were encourage to leave what they call a “legacy”. After the HIV course we participated in the University of Stellenbosch myself and Paul decided to make a HIV presentation and training manual regarding Awareness and the basic facts of HIV for children. We carefully planned out what format to use and what information to include. We made sure to use lots of images and stories and made it interactive by including a quiz and a true/false round. We gave our presentation to two different groups of young people. One group was aged 10-12 with about 40 children involved while the other group was aged 10-15 with about 65 children involved. It was a great experience to get such “hands on” work. Various topics were covered such as what to do in the incidence of rape and dispelling common myths about HIV. It was a great opportunity and extremely educational for my understanding of how HIV is perceived by locals.

As I have said previously two days were never the same in the project, one day we found ourselves in the office of the Life-Orientation Teacher’s office of the local school. We had got in contact with her previously in order to ask about the possibility of organizing a workshop In the school. As we sat in her office she told us about the number of children who often confront her with problems which are frequently related to HIV. She told us that when these children come to her with various problems she often doesn’t know what facilities or organizations there are to help. She then introduced us to a young girl who had confined to her teacher that she was worried about her HIV positive mother and that there would be nobody to look after her if she was to die. After seeing this young girl and hearing her harrowing situation we organized for her to get into contact with our centre in order to build up a support system of people who help. We then produced a poster which had all the names, contact numbers, opening times and addresses of the NGO’s and services such as crisis pregnancy, HIV support, educational help, safe houses for children and others which were available around the township. We then distributed them to the NGO’s, primary and secondary schools. Hopefully in time to come they will help people and will show what facilities are available to assist people.

All in all, it was a great experience. Words cannot describe how much I have learned about HIV and South Africa. It was a great opportunity for me and I look forward to sharing what I have experienced and learnt to others. I would also like to thank EIL for all their support and help in which, made this experience so worthwhile.

When Are You Coming Back

Paul Q — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:50:42 +0000

After what was an incredible weekend we came back to the office on Monday for our last week, but there was zero time to get nostalgic about anything. My card teacher’s condition had deteriorated a lot over the weekend and his infection was getting worse, so he was sent to hospital again. But later on, the other client who had been catatonically depressed and hospitalised the week before, walked in with a big smile on his face. The turn around period for some people is quick. A lot of the clients made leaps and bounds in their health during my time at the project.

Most of the week was spent wrapping up the work that we had been doing. Gill and I made an emergency contacts poster, with a list of all the NGOs and services available for people looking for help in Kayamandi. It had names and contact details and other relevant information so we brought copies to all the schools so ‘Life Orientation’ teachers would know what to do and who to go to if they are approached by students like ‘Mary’. We gave them to the other NGO’s as well so they would know who to contact, where to send people and what the other organisations were doing.

Unfortunately during the week we got news from the hospital that one of the clients our ‘cards teacher’ who had come to the respite centre the day I started had died. The support group for people living with HIV in the community that week was particularly sombre, people had lost a friend, and you could see how HIV doesn’t just affect one person but a whole community. Despite that the entire group sang and danced as usual and even did an extra request for me and gill considering it was our last day on the project.

After support group we went to Inkanini, an area of Kayamandi, on home visits. Inkanini is an illegal settlement entirely composed of unofficial dwellings (shacks) where kayamandi spilled over onto private land, there is no electricity, no sanitation, or no running water, but, it could well be the most densely populated part of the township. We visited a lady who Gill has spoken about in her blogs. She had been very ill and her children were taken into care but when we arrived at their home we met a group of health happy kids running around and the lady herself, in good health and clearly doing much better.

The boys I taught English to moved onto book number 3 this week... so they are doing great.

On my last morning in Kayamandi when I was saying goodbye to my family, my host brother asked ‘when are you coming back?’, it was an easy answer though ‘as soon as I can’.

Kayamandi has been amazing my host family, the people, the culture, the food, the other volunteers, everything. It has been a great experience.

Xolisa

Read here Paul's previous blog

Street Party The Township And Petted A Cheetah… What!

Paul Q — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:48:37 +0000

This week started by travelling to a town 2 hours away for a talk on ‘sexual violence’. It was really interesting and there were people from all over the world at it. One of the guys had written a book about HIV and Stigma so he gave both myself and Gill a signed copy which was nice. What was bizarre however was the venue. There were goats, impala, horses and a pot belly pig strolling around the grounds outside, in the car park, on the lawns; everywhere … I kid you not! Bizarre!

A new client arrived, a young guy probably in his early 30’s, he couldn’t speak, stand, move on his own, he was catatonically depressed and the entire back of his body was covered in open bed sores. Although he had been staying with family they didn’t know what to do with him. He was in such a bad way that he had to be transferred to hospital straight away. It was really difficult to see.

On a lighter note, we finally got a venue for our workshop though. Another NGO in the township has an afterschool project with 75 teenagers and asked us if we would do the workshop with them on Friday, clearly we jumped at the chance. It went really well, the group got involved plus we had sweets as incentives which definitely helped participation! It ended up being a long session we were over there from 3 to 8 with organisation and everything, but it went well. It covered everything, we did a power point presentation, activities, a condom demonstration, even how the HIV prick test works.

From there we went directly to an engagement party. There was a huge celebration. We started with a meal, then we moved to another part of the township for the rest of the party and stayed out talking to everyone and dancing in the street with half of Kayamandi until 5.30 in the morning. It was incredible! Half way through the night myself and some of the other volunteers had what we call a ‘make a memory’ moment. We are not only in Africa; we are in a township in Africa. We’re at a street party and its three o clock in the morning!

The next day a group of us went for dinner at a nearby vineyard, we were brought to our table which was in a tree house! (as you do) and later on, I got to visit and pet the Cheetahs on the reserve. I should probably add at this point that they are hand reared and I don’t just go around Africa randomly petting wild animals!!

In other news the exam results from the HIV course at the university are out. I got the second highest result in the class… whoop whoop!! Delighted.

Read here Paul's following blog

Read here Paul's previous blog

Still Striking... Nooo

Paul Q — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:46:17 +0000

Because of the HIV workshop hiatus, myself and Gill have been meeting with some other organisations in Kayamandi this week. There is one that do fairly large scale testing, they went to section J of Kayamandi last week so we just missed out on that, but they’ve asked us to join them on another testing programme next week.

We were talking to them about our own programme for a while and talking about stigma, discrimination and other issues surrounding HIV. You can see how frustrating it must be for them. There is this great free HIV testing and free medication scheme available to everyone. But, a lot of people wont get tested in case somebody sees them and then tells others that they are HIV+, or, because they are afraid that if they start taking medication people will see them at the clinic and know their status. How can the HIV pandemic be tackled if people won’t get tested or won’t start taking ARVs after they find out their status. The fear around HIV is just incredible. At the same time you have got to put yourself in other people shoes. Imagine if you tested positive for HIV, how would you react? It’s an impossible question to answer.

So yea, the strike escalated a bit this week! There were marches and stuff around the township so the staff who continued working at the clinic in the township had to keep their cars on the grounds of our organisation. They put a big cross on the wall outside as well to show that the organisation has some religious affiliation as well and that they weren’t really public sector workers.

My ‘cards teacher’ was moved into hospital as well. It looks like he is developing an infection after his amputation. On top of that the sarcoma is spreading onto the other leg and he has reacted badly to his pain relief medication... its not good. Myself and Gill got the chance to visit him for a while which was great he was delighted to see us. As it turns out he was discharged later that day so he was only kept in hospital for three days. When he arrived back he seemed to be in much better spirits, back to his old self.

Also, just when you think you know someone, I found out that Gill has never had a Mc Donald's apple pie (random point of information I know).

Read here Paul's following blog

Read here Paul's previous blo

His Name Is Xolisa, Don’t Call Him Paul

Paul Q — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:37:47 +0000

A national public sector strike has been announced over the weekend, doctors, nurses, teachers, guards… everyone is on strike. So needless to say the workshops have been put on hiatus for the time being.

I’ve been in the office a lot more this week just helping out with anything and everything that needs to be done in the respite centre. I’ve become friends with one of the clients, he’s been teaching me more Xhosa and every lunch time I’ve been learning new card games. I still can’t shuffle though… my hands just don’t work that fast!! The food we get for lunch here is amazing. It’s all African dishes, not quite as exotic as ‘Smiley’ thankfully!! Mealie Pap, Boerewers, Shishebo (Gills favourite!!), Samp and beans (my favourite!) and Chakalaka... its great, I’ve got to find somewhere at home that does all this stuff now.

I was given a Xhosa name this week by the people at work. Its Xolisa (pronounced C – click – o – lisa), it means peacemaker which is nice. Gill is now called Khutala, pronounced as it reads, meaning busy one. So we’re bona fide Xhosa people now. I might not even come home at this rate!! Joking! But yea, the Xhosa names have completely caught on. My host family now call me Xolisa, kids at the after school, and all the staff at work. Someone missed a few days and called me Paul when they got back, the word had literally just come out of their mouth when three people in the room shouted his name is Xolisa, it was hilarious.

I was able go on some home visits this week. Its basically a way of making sure that people who had been in the centre are in good health, are taking their medications, maintaining a support network for them and that sort of thing. Home visits definitely give you an idea of the size and layout of Kayamandi… huge and erratic! Going between the shacks is outrageous you get the impression that you could get lost in there forever! Luckily I didn’t!! Something I didn’t expect though was the difference in living conditions between people who live in informal dwellings (shacks). Some people have a bed, a mattress that the children share, a couch, a television, some other furniture and maybe even a car. While others just have a one bed/mattress and you wonder where everyone that lives there sleeps. For some reason I hadn’t really thought about the different levels of poverty before. I know South Africa has an unemployment rate of 24% with an estimated 50% of the population living below the poverty line, but even then I hadn’t considered how people’s basic living conditions could vary so much in that situation.

‘Mary’ also visited us at the organisation this week. As it turns out there are a lot more problems there that need to be addressed then we thought before. She was raped when she was a child by a man who was not convicted and still lives in the area, so she sees him from time to time. On top of that there seems to be some domestic abuse as well, although that could be as a result of HIV dementia which makes the situation even more difficult. This girl is amazing, she arrived with a beaming smile on her face, we know that she’s doing great at school, has lots of friends and has the gift of the gab, but she’s going through more then most people could ever even relate to. She has been introduced to all the staff here at the organisation, who’ll give her support, we’ve made an appointment for her to see a rape crisis counsellor, and we’re getting in contact with all the other NGO’s and safe houses in the area to create a wider support network for her as well. Hopefully there’ll be a positive outcome for her.

We finished up the final three days of the HIV course at the university over the weekend. It was really weird leaving, it was an intense couple of days and we had gotten to know a lot of people. They really integrated us into the group which was phenomenal so yea ill miss them. We do still have to sit an exam for the course so I have to get my head in the books over the next week to prepare for that.

Oh, and a group of the volunteers went to ‘Corridor’ the nightclub in the township again, it never fails. And yes, people are still trying to teach me how to dance South African style!!

Read here Paul's following blog

Read here Paul's previous blog

Its All Business Here

Paul Q — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:31:33 +0000

So, refreshed from the course at the weekend, we started this week by making a pitch to the ‘Life Orientation’ teachers at the high school, about HIV/AIDS workshops in the school. Thankfully it went well and they’ve asked us to come back next week and do at least six workshops with the older groups, possibly a second session as well. So yea, this week has been spent running around like mad trying to get all the prep work done.

While we were at the school one of the teachers approached us. She started by telling us what a big problem HIV is in Kayamandi and then told us that one of her students, we’ll call her ‘Mary’, a 16 year old girl, had come to her and told her that she was really worried what would happen to her. She’s an only child being brought up by her mother, a woman living with HIV. ‘Mary’ wanted to know what options would be open to her if her mum died, she has some extended family but they had severed all ties since they discovered her mothers HIV status. Not the normal worries a 16 year old should have. Anyway, just as we were sitting there the teacher shouted out the window and told some students to get ‘Mary’ to come to the office. Honestly I had no idea what to do. ‘Mary’ arrived and explained her situation, and all I could say was that I would go back to our organisation and see what we could do to help. I’m not going to lie, it didn’t feel great. Here was a young girl, with serious worries, telling us intensely person stuff and I just didn’t know what we could say or do.

We got back to the organisation and told them about it, so we are in the process of trying to set up a ‘support network’ for her. We’ve made an appointment for her to come to the organisation next week so I’ll keep you updated on what’s going on.

I forgot to tell you in the last blog that myself and Gill were invited (slash invited ourselves!) to join the university’s HIV outreach team in Kayamandi. It’s a project called ‘Vision K’ or ‘Vision Kayamandi’, basically we meet every Tuesday evening after work with a group of teenagers from the township and do activities that get them talking, asking questions and hopefully challenge their ideas about HIV. This week there was a vote with your feet exercise, a controversial statement was read out and the kids had to say whether the agreed, disagreed or were unsure, and explain their reason for standing on each side of the debate, its was great they got involved and were really passionate about it as well!

Kayamandi is amazing; I think everyone should come here. My host family are brilliant; I’ve been designated homework corrector which is funny! I’m getting to learn a lot more Xhosa… and finally after a few weeks practicing I can finally say the name of the language… progress!!! (Xhosa is pronounced C - click - osa).

It is definitely strange to walk out of my house in the morning when there are rows of shacks (informal dwellings) made of wood and corrugated iron right outside my front door. It’s not something I can see myself getting used to any time soon, but the people are great. Everyone and I mean everyone says hello (‘Molo’) and chat to you as you walk around. It does mean that you need to leave 30 minutes to do a 5 minute journey… but its ‘Africa Time’!! I love it. I end up having little conversations loads of people a bit in Xhosa and a bit in English. They laugh a lot when I speak Xhosa so I know it’s not up to scratch just yet, but like I said I’ve got the click down now so I think I’m on my way now!

Read here Paul's following blog

Read here Paul's previous blog

GAP volunteer Maeve Galvin discusses her experiences on East Coast FM

Piers Meynell — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:28:23 +0000

East Coast FM's Declan Meehan interviewed Maeve Galvin upon her return to Ireland after spending a month in Nigeria volunteering to raise awareness of HIV&AIDS. As part of the Global Awareness Programme Meave will now be raising awarness of HIV&AIDS here in Ireland.

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If you'd like to learn more about Maeve's experiences in Nigeria take a look at her latest blog entry: My Nigerian Experience.

Access to antiretroviral medication: the hard reality

emily_pemily7 — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:02:26 +0000

Prior to my departure I felt that I was very well prepared for working on a HIV and AIDS project, due to support and training given by EIL.

To prepare for volunteering in a local project in Nigeria, I attended training on "Understanding HIV in development and community responses" which gave me an interesting overview into the AIDS epidemic. I learned that HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency and is a virus that results in the progressive deterioration of the immune system. AIDS stands for Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome. A person is diagnosed with AIDS when their immune system is too weak to fight off infections. Being HIV-positive, or having HIV disease, is not the same as having AIDS. Many people are HIV-positive but don't get sick for many years. As HIV disease continues, it slowly wears down the immune system.

Without treatment, two-thirds of adults infected with HIV are likely to develop AIDS within ten years of being exposed to HIV. Unfortunately, in Nigeria this period is much shorter as people are exposed to tuberculosis and parasitic diseases such as malaria. Sadly, it also takes HIV to develop to AIDS is also shorter for children born with the virus.

HIV is found in many body fluids, including blood, semen, vaginal fluids (including menstrual blood) and breast milk. HIV transmission occurs when a sufficient quantity of these fluids get into someone else’s bloodstream. There are various ways a person can become infected with HIV. It is vital that everyone takes precautions to know their HIV status and to protect themselves and others from this virus. The only reliable way to discover if you are HIV positive is to get a blood test which can detect infection from a few weeks after the virus first entered the body.

Antiretroviral medication (ARV) medication can prolong the time between HIV infection and the onset of AIDS. Unfortunately as I learned in Nigeria, these medicines are not widely available in poorer countries around the world, and millions of people who cannot access medication continue to die. I was given an opportunity to accompany some of the Living Hope Care, care receivers to a hospital an hours drive away for them to receive their ARVs, to receive check-ups and to have secondary infections such as TB treated.

On this particular day I learned the patience, strength and stamina required to access the ARVs for these people. It was necessary to travel over an hour, crammed into an old bus on treacherous roads, to reach these free services (as there was nowhere in their State which provided the drugs). Upon arriving at the hospital those with TB and other air-borne diseases were required to wait outside in the unbearable heat. While others could go inside and receive some relief from electrics fans while there was intermittent electricity. Once you begin taking ARVs it is more detrimental to your health to stop taking them, then never to take them at all.

Therefore every two weeks, regardless of how sick our clients were or other plans they had, it was necessary for them to spend an entire day travelling and waiting at the state hospital in the city of Ibadon to receive their drugs. While waiting to see the doctor, I asked a friend if I could take her photograph, after she had spoken to me about her life story. Once she said I could I took my camera out of my bag, and immediately chaos ensued. As the group of about thirty people sitting with us jumped up and ran out of view. I reassured the group that I would not take any photographs, as aside from my friend, nobody else wanted anyone to learn of their HIV status. This fear was a result of living in a community and a world, which stigmatizes those living with HIV/AIDS. This experience really struck me as a concrete example of the reluctance of people to associate themselves with HIV and AIDS due to the stigmatization and discrimination they would meet from others in their community.

Within my first week in Nigeria I rushed to a run-down maternity health clinic to administer drugs to a baby born to a mother who was HIV+. These drugs are ARV prophylaxis drugs, which means that they attempt to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV. The reason our NGO had to deliver this treatment was that the maternity clinics did not have access to the drugs as they are not provided by the State.

Therefore it was necessary to travel to a hospital in a neighbouring state to register during pregnancy to receive the drugs. Our NGO kept the drugs until the baby was delivered, as they must be stored in a fridge, something most our clients did not otherwise have access to. Therefore at nine o’clock, in the pitch black, we rushed to the hospital where a mother lay exhausted, malnourished and frantic for her baby to receive the drugs which are more effective the sooner administered. The baby had been born a few weeks premature and because of the poor conditions of the maternity clinic, was going to have to vacate the bed and building within a few hours. In Ireland, this baby would have been in an incubator, however in Nigeria it was sent away from the overcrowded and understaffed maternity clinic despite the vulnerability of this tiny premature baby.

This horrifying experience taught me that poverty leads some people to receive poor health care. I was forced to recognise that in the Global South one-third of women have HIV+ babies (UNAIDS). Sadly, it has been recorded that “An estimated one-half million mothers die from pregnancy-related causes each year; at least 8 million suffer life long health problems linked to pregnancy and childbirth.”

Worldwide it is estimated that 15 million children under 18 have been orphaned as a result of AIDS. Around 11.6 million of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa. (Population Bulletin, 2005) In Nigeria alone there were 1,200,000 children who were orphaned due to AIDS in 2007. I was given many opportunities to provide vital services to such children and of these services a ‘teens camp’ was organised to provide four days of activities, meals and accommodation to over sixty children registered with the organisation. Sadly these children need special care which is not always provided as many had limited access to education, many were being abused and or suffered psychological trauma as a result of their experience of being orphaned.

My Nigerian Experience

maevegalvin — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:36:55 +0000

One of the greatest and most unexpected pleasures that I have derived from my Nigerian experience has been annihilating the misguided myths that people have about the country. At the beginning of June when I told people that I was going to spend two months working on a HIV/AIDS project in Nigeria the reaction was often one of misguided admiration, why would I want to go to such a place? Jokes were made about my alleged saintly nature, concerns were raised about my safety. One rather direct friend said: “God, that sounds horrible”. Phrases such as “Most corrupt country in the world”, “kidnappings” “tribal conflicts”, “HIV pandemic” “hotbed for malaria” were frequently thrown in my direction. In all honesty I wasn’t immune to this kind of thinking. I remained driven and focused, thinking that it would serve as a productive learning experience and that it would be an endurance test, something that I had to do rather than something that I might actually enjoy. No one was more surprised than me that Nigeria turned out to be the greatest adventure and most intoxicating experience that I have had in my life to date and I have relished in telling this to anyone who will listen. I feel that I owe it to the numerous of wonderful Nigerians I met to try and bolster the purely negative image that people have about their country. All of the phrases that were thrown at me were of course true, the progress of the Nigerian people has been hampered incalculably by corruption, tribal strife, HIV/AIDS and diseases that we in the West hardly need to consider such as malaria. But this is just one part of the incredible story that is Nigeria, a story that in my short time there I barely scratched the surface of but its impact is heavily imprinted nonetheless.

Genuine adventure is something that the human soul craves. It is the reason many people read books, watch films and even play video games. As Irish people, thousands upon thousands of us, go travelling every year bankrupting ourselves on a quest to achieve that specific sense of really living rather than simply existing. I can count myself fortunate enough to have really lived in spades in the nine weeks I spent in Ilesa, South-West Nigeria volunteering for the HIV/AIDS NGO, Living Hope Care. Every day was absolutely an adventure and horrendous injustices and frustrations were an integral part of that. But so too were rich traditions, diverse cultural values, a striking green landscape and most importantly some of the most beautiful (in every respect) people I have ever been privileged to encounter.

I was an exceptionally fortunate recipient of Nigerian hospitality given that the family I was placed with genuinely treated me as one of their own. My wonderful young host mother and the remarkable nine year-old boy she takes care of provided me not just with accommodation but with a home and that made the experience all the more special for me.

The sense of community that Irish people of a certain age mourn the loss of is alive and well in Nigeria. Strangers greet each other on the street, invitations to events such as weddings and funerals are extended to even the most distant acquaintances, one could never be short of people willing to give them directions and as a foreigner, a hero’s welcome is extended to you. Colourful traditional wear, music, dancing, rich food and traffic chaos that beggars belief are all a part of everyday life in Nigeria. However, so too is crippling poverty. The sense that it is by sheer accident of birth that we are born in a western democratic developed country has never been more acute in me than it was seeing the impoverished family home of one Nigerian in particular who came to mean a great deal to me. The lack of dignity afforded to these people by their living conditions was appalling to me and yet these warm people who welcomed me as a foreign stranger into their home were shielded from the harsh reality of their situation by not knowing any alternative to their meagre living conditions.

I also had a heightened sense of the vulnerability of women. I was fortunate enough to meet a handful of formidable Nigerian women who would prove a force to be reckoned with in any cultural context. But these were genuine mavericks in a massively patriarchal society. In the HIV/AIDS context, by the sheer biology of the infection, women are three times more susceptible to it, added to that is their additional vulnerability due to lack of education, lack of economic security and greater acceptance of infidelity than in more developed countries.

A large proportion of my work in Nigeria was with female sex workers. In the Nigerian context, HIV is mostly spread through heterosexual sex thus female sex workers are the most high risk group for HIV and they are a colossal source of the virus being spread. Barefaced poverty is the fuel for Nigeria’s sex industry. The country’s unemployment rate is officially set at 20% but this figure, like most data supplied by the often corrupt government is massively disputed and understood to be around half of the real figure. Thus, the cycle of HIV is invigorated by a situation whereby a massively young population (the life expectancy in Nigeria is 57 years-old) is without work, thus young women are drawn into sex work to support themselves and have little chance of alternative employment. Young men who are idle are enticed to use sex workers who are relatively inexpensive. The average Nigerian sex worker is 26 and has a secondary school education. Of the many brothel clients I came into contact with, the majority were in their early twenties and married.

Watching a young sex worker test positive for HIV and accompanying her on the journey to wait another six or so hours for her to register as a HIV patient was excruciating. Favour was her name. Many female sex workers gave us English names which had a Christian resonance such named Blessing, Favour and Joy. Favour was every inch kindly natured and graceful, a year older than me but she had a real placid, childlike quality about her. In such circumstances you can say kind things, you can give her food and try and make her comfortable, you can give her as much information about “positive living” as possible but nothing you do can alleviate the fact that her struggle has been multiplied, she is going through the worst ordeal of an already hideous life and she has to come to terms with the fact that her existence has been dramatically cut short even by the most optimistic estimates.

Favour and I waited at the clinic outside in the clammy heat on a bench with dozens of other patients, many of which were relying solely on our NGO to provide the transport they couldn’t afford to make the two hour journey to get their drugs. As we waited she was strained and non-communicative and I made pathetic attempts at small-talk. One boy was truly frightening ill and vomiting beside us, he was so emaciated he genuinely didn’t look like a real person. The closest physical resemblance I can make is that he looked a little bit like E.T with his head too big for his tiny body to handle. He was just a limp creature waiting for his body to cave in completely. A doctor told me that the boy, who was 18 years-old had a CD4 count of just 45. A person is classed as having developed AIDS once it reaches under 200. His mother had died soon after his birth and the boy had presumably become infected at birth. People in his remote village had rejected conventional medicine, treating him only with traditional remedies. The day I saw him was his first time receiving treatment in a hospital. He had skipped the HIV diagnosis process entirely, it was too late for him to begin anti-retroviral drugs to prolong his life, he was now dying of AIDS. Looking at a person in so much obvious pain almost induces you to physically aching with shock and sympathy. The enormity of the situation is beyond the capacity of mere words. Other patients at the clinic couldn’t help but stare at him fearing that he was an indicator of their own future. Favour was incredibly shaken by him. She stared at him in horror. “Is that boy going to make it?” she asked me. What could I do? I had to tell her that no, he wasn’t.

That same day, one of my most vivid in Nigeria in the midst of tragic circumstances, I also saw a real sense of the human spirit at its best. Myself and Favour and twenty of the other PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDS) all cramped into the NGO van that could only accommodate 16 people for our two hour journey back to Ilesa after a harrowing day spent at the clinic. Like true satirists they developed a game where we each took bets on how many police checkpoints we would encounter in our journey. In an indicator of the corruption which hampers the nation’s progress, police check points in Nigeria regularly stop and bribe motorists intimidating them with their ever-present AK 47s. But that particular day it was genuinely great fun. We laughed and mocked them incalculably. Blatant abuse of power by authorities was made a source of amusement and generated a camaraderie for a group of remarkable Nigerians who refused to be made world-weary by their unfortunate circumstances.

Mirth within misery, contrasts, contradictions and even hypocrisy were dominant themes of my experience. In the midst of extreme poverty, I also witnessed great wealth and excess in Nigeria. I spent time in a family home of a chief that can best be described as palatial and was situated on a street in the midst of other family homes which can only be described as wooden shacks. I attended an elaborate celebration put on by the state government to empower people with HIV and children orphaned and vulnerable through HIV where the elites including those of us who were white were deliberately offered better quality food than those being honoured. In the same week of witnessing an 18 year old HIV positive mother not being able to afford to buy formula for her new born baby to save her from becoming infected I was brought by speedboat to a luxury house on private beach with the young Nigerian glitterati.

There were days when I felt glaringly, painstakingly white. During the British colonisation, strikingly few Europeans resettled into Nigeria and the tourism industry is virtually non-existent outside of the main cities. A white person, especially within the rural area where I worked is genuinely shocking to see. Certainly there were times when my skin colour was valued much higher than any skills or knowledge I may have and I found myself a white novelty item more times than I care to remember. However, like most things incurred by this experience, you can choose to embrace or resist the pale-faced predicament. I like to think that myself and fellow oyinbos (the Nigerian term for white person) chose the former. If it meant that necessary work could be quickened or a vulnerable person could be helped than we used the bizarre attention created by our colour-challenged coating to our advantage.

There were no average days in Nigeria. One day I could be demonstrating to policemen how to use a female condom, the next I might end up teaching orphaned children how to Irish dance, the day after that I could be trying to convince the state government to give our NGO HIV testing kits. Yet I woke up every morning feeling exhilarated and downright privileged to be there. The people who welcomed me, taught me about their culture and shared their stories with me made my experience.

When a plane touches down in Nigeria’s capital Lagos, visitors are instantly met with a billboard stating “Welcome to Nigeria, the Land of Passionate People”. This is your first impression of the country and it is also the last sign you see when leaving. In the interim, you will find time and time again that in a country which is as unpredictable and contradictory as they come this declaration is a rare constant. I am humbled, honoured and incredibly grateful to EIL to have been given this exceptional opportunity. Thank you.

School talk about HIV and AIDS

emily_pemily7 — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 15:25:20 +0000

Hey all,

I called in to my old secondary school last week and asked if it would be possible to talk to the transition year group about HIV and AIDS with reference to my recent trip to Nigeria. The school were really supportive and organised for me to talk to alll three of the transition year groups the following week, 61 students in total. So I designed a power-point presentation (being conscious of death by power-point), gathered leaflets, posters and my materials and organised statements for a game.

I must admit that it was a bit wierd going back to my old secondary school, but the staff were so supportive and seemed delighted for me to have returned. I'd really reccommend this as a really effective way of being able to reach teeneagers. They were all given opportunities to ask questions and through our 'walking debate' the group engaged in a brief discussion about HIV and AIDS.

I felt that the talks were very successfull and that the teenagers knowledge of HIV and AIDS really increased and their awareness of how this affects some people inernationally and in Ireland really increased. I was really impressed by how receptive the students were to talking about HIV and AIDS. I felt that I had pitched the content of the workshop at a level which engaged them without overwhealming them.

By reccommending different websites where they can get more information I felt that I supported future learning. I felt that this was a really effective way of reaching teenagers in my community and was so touched by how attentive the students wee throughout my talk. It turned out to that the whole experience worked really well and would fully reccommend school talks as a way of reaching teenagers!

There are no innocent victims of HIV and AIDS.

emily_pemily7 — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:22:42 +0000

I once read that "there are no innocent victims of HIV and AIDS because there are no guilty ones"(Personally Speaking, 2007). I have safely returned to Ireland- despite being heartbroken leaving the beautiful Nigeria. HIV and AIDS was at the heart of all of my experiences in Nigeria, in terms of the focus of my work for the NGO, Living Hope Care and most of my discussions with friends. However, as I reflect on these experiences I am struck by the vulnerability of certain groups in our society. From my limited experience in Nigeria and my upbringing in Ireland, I believe that women and young girls are most susceptible to discrimination, violence and poverty. I feel that this is as a result of gender stereotyping, expectation and discrimination which favours neither sex.

It is only while reflecting on some of my experiences with friends and family that I am struck by some of the harsh realties of the detrimental effects of poverty, abuse and gender based discrimination. On examination of the core of many global issues I believe that we can always find common issues which we need to tackle together.

Each person living with HIV also has to cope with the harshness of the stigma associated with this virus. I believe that HIV related stigma emerges from a fear and lack of education regarding HIV/AIDS. I feel that whoever has access to information should use and access it wisely, in order to learn how people can protect themselves and live positively. Through education fear and consequently stigmatization will be reduced. It is vital that we recognize our position of privilege in an unequal world and become informed about this devastating epidemic and that we learn our HIV status. In the global community there are over 39.5 million people living with HIV.

I recognise that HIV related stigma is manifested in different ways, such as rejection by family members, difficulties developing and maintaining relationships, maintaining employment, managing health or financial services, and also gender based violence. I accept as true, the argument that stigmatization and discrimination emerge from the fear of individuals. To quote the powerful words of Father Michael Kelly, the former Professor of Education of the University of Zambia, ‘HIV and AIDS do not stigmatize. People do. It is an assault on human dignity and worth.’

From my amazing, life-changing experiences in Nigeria I am eager to become involved in the struggle to break the silence on HIV related stigma. I urge anyone who takes the times to read this to please take the time to further your understanding of HIV/AIDS in order to protect yourself and those around you.

I will always be grateful to EIL and the wonderful people I met throughout my stay in Nigeria, for enriching my life experience. I was so privileged to have been welcomed and allowed to share laughter and the challenge of the work with some of the most committed people I have ever met.

The Betrayal of Tea

Gill Carter — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:55:46 +0000

People at home have stopped asking if I would like a cup of tea, simply because they know my reply will be yes! All my family, friends and even most acquintances know how much I love my tea! Before I left for South Africa my mom asked if I was going to bring tea bags with me and when I replied no, she was shocked. I had decided the space in my rucksack was already limited and when it came down to it, I couldn't justify leaving some much needed clothes just for some teabags. Besides, I didn't want to be like one of those people off a BARRY's advert, how embarrassing!

However once I landed in South Africa, I came to learn that they do it fact have normal tea, just like home... I was saved! However, I do have a confession; I, Gillian Carter, Irish lover of plain old milky, one sugar tea has fallen in love with South African Rooibos tea. Normal tea, it's not you, it's me! I haven't had a cup of Plain English Tea in days now, I am officially a Rooibos convert!

This got me thinking, I have got so adjusted to drinking Rooibos tea now that it's normal, I don't consider it strange or weird any more like I did at the start. And is this how it goes for everything? Do we come to "underdeveloped" countries and start off by being horrified by what we see and then slowly get used to it and then kind of consider it normal? Can we become complacent, do we forget about what we were previosly shocked by and gradually just accept it? And if this is the case does our passion to help, our eagerness to change and contribute and our drive diminish also? I hope not, and I'm determined not to accept the mentality of 'that's life', things can change. Lets be optimistic no folks!

As a gentleman in the support group of my project said; "I'm HIV positive so I'll be positive in life as well".

Cape Town and The Cape: Orientation Overdrive

Paul Q — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:37:37 +0000

My first week here in South Africa was hectic. It started as it meant to go on as well! After being in Cape Town for a few hours, and just meeting my orientation group, we all decided to hike to the top of Table Mountain for our first day. It was a bit surreal to be honest especially since I had been standing in the pouring rain a few hours earlier waiting to get to the airport. The weather was amazing, the views from the top were unbelievable and the atmosphere was great. We got talking to people from all over the world and sat for hours in the sun looking out over Cape Town.

The following day we went to the office of our receiving organisation and learned a bit about South African culture and what to expect on our programmes. We had a walking tour of Cape Town which was cool, we saw pretty much all the local landmarks, the markets, our guide even showed us were to get the best food and were to go on nights out, from there we visited a museum that had an incredible ‘Rock Art’ exhibition, with ancient drawings found on the walls of caves and rock faces all over the continent of Africa. Another tour was organised for the following three days... which was EPIC! It included a boat tour to a seal colony, whale watching, a penguin colony, a National Park, a picnic at the Cape of Good Hope... another surreal experience! and wine tasting at two vineyards. So yea we were looked after well!

One of the highlights of the week for me though was shark diving. I was the only one from the orientation group to take the plunge but it was beyond words. We dived in Gansbaai at Shark Alley, the place with the highest concentration of sharks in the world, and I got to see 10 Great Whites Sharks up very close and personal... it was a bit of an adrenaline rush!!

We also went on another walking tour as well, this time around the Township of Kayamandi, where I would be living and working for the duration of my placement. It was my first time in a township and I won’t pretend that it wasn’t shocking. We were shown residential hostels, which were tiny spaces where families were living, we walked between shacks or ‘informal dwellings’ as they’re supposed to be called, and were told how many neither have running water nor sanitation, so raw sewage ran down along the side of the road, which has the added side effect of making local children really sick... we all know that kids can’t resist jumping in puddles, it’s just a bit more dangerous when they do it here.

Our orientation finished up on the Friday with a last session at the office and then we moved to our host families... but thats for the next blog!!

In Good Hands at the HIV centre in Kayamandi

Gill Carter — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:13:37 +0000

I’m into week three at this stage, which means I'm starting to get used to the place. By no means would I say that I know the ins and out of Kayamandi, the shacks are like mazes with only tiny routes going through them all. My mental GPS is quite confused still when it comes to navigating around the shacks, shack E157 could be right in front of you and then, shack D89 beside it. So it's safe to say I'm still getting the hang of things.

The Legacy Centre has been a place of constant learning for me, everyday I see new things, hear new stories and learn that little bit more about life in Kayamandi, HIV, the people, the culture, it's never ending. Before I arrived, I had an expectation or mental image in my head about what the HIV centre in Kayamandi would be like and now that I'm here its a totally different picture to what I had expected. When you think HIV respite centre, you often think of a formal, reserved, hospital like scenario. However this Centre doesn't fit that description in my opinion. In my opinion it's not even a centre, I look at it as being as a house. A house where people come for rest, medication, food, and the Legacy staff speciality: care. I don’t look at Legacy as being a centre, it's more like a house and without sounding too cheesy it's a house with a family inside, a family made up of; sick people, carers, volunteers, gardeners, house keepers, nurses and more. It's not impersonal or over formal, it's a house where people are constantly talking, laughing, people are always in and out just to drop in and say hi. It's like any normal house, and clients see that, it has character, a personality which is happy, and peaceful and most of all; relaxed. It's a great place for people to rest and get better in. When you or I get sick, where is the place you want to go? Home, right? And HIV centre in Kayamandi is giving the best of both worlds by providing a home for people to get better in as well as care, medication, warmth, heat and friendship.

Times can be tough, people don't always get better and unfortunately some do pass away. Just last week, a young man came in but it was too late for a recovery, however, a few days later that young man's brother came in too say how thankful he was that his brother had come to the Legacy House. He had said he had been able to go to work knowing his brother was in good hands and wasn't in a cold shack, or by himself in a hospital, that man went to work knowing his brother was being looked after and was being cared for. So, is the HIV centre in Kayamandi making a difference? Most certainly, and I'm extremely happy to be a part of it.

Iyakubonana (goodbye in Xhosa!)

Gill