Care in the community

This week in Lusaka all the VSO volunteers in Zambia gathered together – joining up to share experiences (good and bad), learn about what people are doing in their placements, catch up with familiar friends who were strangers back in February and greet new faces, and of course eat and drink. The two days were split: day one was where people were in their different sector groups (HIV and AIDS for me); and on day two we were all together for a series of presentations on topics including the forthcoming elections in Zambia (supposedly taking place sometime in 2011), DfID/UKAID’s role in Zambia and income generating activities (how to rear goats for a living!). It was a good couple of days despite Lusaka being absolutely freezing. The fact that my room at the hotel had a permanently open window – because a few glass slates were missing – did not help but the change from the warmth of Mazabuka was not enjoyable.

The most interesting, and also the most disturbing, part of the few days in Lusaka was the visit on the afternoon of our HIV and AIDS sector workshop to an organisation called VK Community Care Organisation. The organisation is based in an area called Garden compound in Lusaka – far from the nicest living area but also not the worst. It provides a holistic community based response to the problems faced by individuals and families affected by HIV and AIDS, TB and other diseases in this community. To my surprise there was a familiar face waving and smiling as our bus arrived at the organisation’s office. I had met Maureen, the manager of VK, when she had visited Mazabuka as part of study tour a few months earlier, and there she was greeting me very warmly as a old friend. This welcome is all very Zambian and despite the fact that she had lost her husband to HIV and AIDS very recently. We met many of the community volunteers who work for VK and then we visited some families who are receiving this support to hand over some the food (maize, oil and nuts) that VSO had bought for them. We were welcomed into one family’s small, dark and cramped home; I think there were two rooms for 4 or 5 people. We asked various questions to the person being supported by VK, and realising how VK is essential in providing food, drugs (and ensuring adherence to them) and care. I learned many weeks later from Maureen that this man who could barely stand when we met him was now much stronger, walking and also working. Perhaps the lasting impression was of listening to the passion from the VK volunteers in caring for others even though most of them are also HIV positive.

Hammermill

It is surprising (to me anyway but now not anymore) how much trouble a hammer mill can cause a community. Nameembo is small rural community in the district of Mazabuka and to get there we had to travel for 20mins along the main road to Lusaka and then a further 2 hours along a bumpy, rutted, falling apart excuse for a road. A few years ago as part of a HIV project, the community of Nameembo had received some funding, training and materials to help sensitise the community on HIV and AIDS issues. This also included the donation of a hammer mill to process locally grown maize, and therefore act as an income generating activity for the community. As there are no other hammer mills for approximately a two hour distance, then this one would hold a dominant position in the Nameembo area. The income could be used to provide transport to the local clinic, develop other income generating activities and provide more care and support for people affected by HIV and AIDS. In practice, this makes sense but this was our second visit to Nameembo in two months because the hammer mill had yet again become ‘personalised.’ By this I mean that a few people part of the committee responsible for the hammer mill had taken it over for themselves – they were benefiting directly from it rather than the community.

Our visit to Nameembo took most of the day, listening to the debate from all sides of the community (a friendly local man did much of the translation from Tonga to English for me) and in the end we elected a completely new committee to look after the hammer mill. Both we and the community itself seemed to have little trust and faith in members of the previous committee. We left them actions and deadlines in the hope that they would follow them, otherwise they were warned the hammer mill would be taken away and given to another community.

Ideally, Nameembo is one of the communities that I should be visiting every month to provide what can be seen as very basic support such as how to hold committee meetings, write minutes, monitor and report on activities. However, at the moment Judy and I have both hands tied behind our backs whilst we wait for the National AIDS Council in Zambia to provide funding for our organisation.

Office girls

A few pics of some of the people that make life around the Boma (District Council office) enjoyable even when we still have no office. Sadly, the girl in the orange Sandrine, has since left Mazabuka as she was offered a job elsewhere. She was our secretary at the DATF and in my first few months here was invaluable in orientating me to all the people and organisations here in Mazabuka. She was also a very handy translator given that some people come to the office cannot speak English and I certainly cannot speak Tonga.

 

Old bugger

Well that’s another one for me! I chalked up 35 this weekend, and was completely spoilt by my friends here. On the Friday night in Mazabuka we had a party at my house, inviting our various Zambian and volunteer friends, and then on Saturday we headed to Lusaka for food and drinks with friends there. I was given some great presents: a fancy red and black chitenge apron (essential for cooking given how low our cooker is); a lovely African painting; new sandals (essential for the hot weather); and to continue the pub games theme a dartboard! There was also a huge chocolate brownie from our local bakery as the birthday cake.

Sorry the photos are a bit blurry, maybe because I was in front and not behind the camera. 

 

 

Tears

My job as a volunteer here, working with the HIV and AIDS stakeholders in Mazabuka, means that I know about the facts and figures behind this epidemic, I understand the drivers behind why this is such a difficult fight and regularly see the hard work and commitment by the various organisations to halt the spread of this disease. The stories of people of all ages and of all walks of life affected by HIV and AIDS are endless, yet I have had little personal attachment to them, however sad and tragic they might be.

This all changed when Stella, our cleaner, courageously opened up to Andrew and myself about how she was HIV positive; something that you would not obviously realise given how she carries herself on a daily basis. Stella, therefore, did not do speak to us as a request for sympathy or for financial gain but because she had to face the terrifying prospect of taking her three year old daughter along to also be tested. Her daughter had developed a cough and cold – flu like symptoms – which had failed to go away. And rather than ignore the situation, or even seek remedies from the local ‘witchdoctor’ which is still fairly common in parts of Zambia (and as a result delays testing and treatment); she bravely took her daughter to our local hospital. If I am being honest, I probably would not be writing this blog entry if there had been good news to report – Stella’s worst fears became reality and her daughter tested positive for HIV. Again she did not hide away and fighting away the tears and overcoming her trembling voice she told us what had happened.

The next part of the story remains uncertain. At the end of the month both Stella and her daughter will find out their CD4 cell count – a test to count the number of CD4 cells which are the infection fighting blood cells that are attacked and killed by the HIV virus. The results of these tests will determine what actions and treatments are needed. In the meantime, whether it is information, referrals, counselling or financial support we are trying to help her family in the best way possible.

Tonga tunes

The Chikuni music festival is an annual event held in September which seeks to promote traditional Tonga music, which is the dominant tribe in this part of the Southern Province. The village of Chikuni is about 2 or so hours south from Mazabuka and a place that Marco lived and worked in for two years when he first came to Zambia. So he guided us around the village, waving to various familiar faces and then we ended up at the home of a former neighbour. Kasonde and his family had prepared a feast for us – pork and goat cooked on the braii, nshima, various local vegetables and some beer too. We could not have received a warmer, friendlier welcome. We then spent the afternoon listening away to the various acts performing at the stage – having no real idea of what they were saying as the singing was all in Tonga but enjoying the music anyway. Some acts were simply a man on stage singing and strumming his homemade guitar, whilst others were much bigger with 10 or more people of dancers, singers and musicians. As dusk came in we headed back to Maz to continue our cultural experience, though this included enjoying the Lebanese food ordered from our neighbour (great hummus), and dancing and drinking away until the early hours. Needless to say Sunday was a lazy, lazy day.
 

Stella

A few weeks ago we gave in and decided that looking after a five bedroom house requires far too much time and effort, and decided to copy other VSO volunteers and employ a cleaner. Through my boss, the Bishop, he found us a cleaner who attends his church. Stella’s story is a sad one though in a Zambian context unfortunately not unique. Her husband is late (has passed away) and she has four children, all under the ages of 15, to care for and ideally send through school. Whilst we have not directly discussed her HIV status, she is on some form of regular drug treatment. Despite this situation she is a complete joy, always arriving on time (often early which is unheard of from my experience here so far) with a friendly, warm smile on her face and then does a fantastic job cleaning the house. Stella comes to the house twice a week and when I return, I find my shirts cleaned, ironed and hanging in the wardrobe. I have not had my underwear, socks and t-shirts folded away so neatly in my chest of drawers for a long long time. She has also started cultivating a vegetable garden in our compound with some seeds that we bought for her. So with a bit of luck ... squash, cabbage, onions, rape, chives and hopefully basil will start growing in the garden; mainly for her family, and a bit for us, to eat.