More rivers or Smaller seas?
on Colm in Kenya (Kenya), 22/Oct/2009 19:58, 34 days ago
Offering exclusive support toPLWHA(People living with HIV/AIDS) is, perhaps not surprisingly, a bit of a controversial activity inKilifi. For example, imagine this (If you can):YourSifiaBayo- a mother of 6 children aged between 1 and 12. Between you and your husband, Alex, your income levels are unreliable and insufficient. For breakfast you have rice, no lunch and then dinner you have some maize shared for all the family.You live in a small cramped mud hut, barely capable of fitting you all in. Despite the meagre shelter, there always enough room for Hunger and Struggle as well as frequent visits from Mr Sickness. You attend mass everyday and thank God for your health and that of your family.Your neighbour– Geoffrey and MaryOcheino– also live in a small house with their 6 children. However, Geoffrey has been diagnosed as HIV+. Thus theOcheino’s get World Food Programme support – Food for the month for the entire family andCSB(CornSoyaBlend) for Geoffrey’s to provide specific nutritional support. This is called Prescribed Food by the doctors and the powers that be– it is called free food by theBayo’s and the rest of the community.So you ask me– how come, even though we theBayo’s need food support as much as theOcheino’s, we do not get it because none of our household is HIV+? Should I contract the virus so that my children can evict hunger from our house?It’s an interesting one – HIV is a dreadful disease but thankfully, now with more available ART treatment, a person living with the virus can still enjoy a long and reasonably healthy life. Of course that’s if they can get treatment, if not the face a horrible, slow and painful death – often alone. Even if they do get treatment, the stigma follows them everywhere like a large pointed finger– the silent ringing bell screaming an accusatory 'unclean'. Hunger effects a child concentration and natural growth as well as leaving them open to infection and disease. It offers generous helping of stress and strain for the parents forced to struggle to put bread on the table. It encourages families to seek income by what ever means possible. The thing is, HIV is dreadful illness but families need food– today and get no food. Forget long-term debilitating illness - what about today and tomorrow.   If I’m positive I get food for my family and treatment.Why is it only the people living with HIV/AIDS who get the food support? Why are we left to carry the burden alone because we have not been infected? Why must my child go hungry because we listened? These are the questions some people inKilifiare asking and many more are thinking. At the same time they are being fed messages on HIV/AIDS prevention.The virus is killing Africa (Kenya is 9thin the list of most infected populations) by wiping out the most productive generation– most infected between 18-35 – therefore having enormous economic effects. It leaves a country with 000’s of orphans - there are 9 orphanages inKilifinot including home stays likeZilpas– and no one knows how these children development will be effected and thus the communities they live. It places incredible strain on the countries health and social services system and thus public services and the wider economy.But it is one of several problems facing the continent and the country. Sometimes it feels a like a hose with many leaks but with only a small bit of tape to stop the leak. Stopping one leak means pulling it from somewhere else.But sooner stop one problem then sit in your hands doing nothing right?This morning I met 7 groups of Index clients (PLWHA– People living with HIV/AIDS) all of whom qualify for World Food Programme support. SCOPE are offering them Business Management and Marketing Training amongst support for other Income Generating driven activities. This is specifically what I came here to do– and it has been a very positive development for me in terms of meeting objectives. Over the past few months we’vebeen mainly training and advising small micro businesses throughout the community in general. So I’vedone my practice on the regular poor and now polished my act for the sick poor! Nice work.The river always flows to the sea, but the sea is never full.