HIV Survivors – Natalie

03/03/2013

Natalie* is 16 years old, her father died from HIV they year she was born. Her mother is HIV+, taking ART and currently works as a telephone operator at the Health Bureau. She has a brother aged 24 who has graduated with a diploma in nursing and cannot find work. Her sister who is 19 and left school at grade 6 to be a daily worker and provide some income for the family.

Natalie is a grade 9 student, she is doing very well academically. OSSA can take a little credit for this because they sponsor her education, paying her school fees, uniform, book and material costs. It is vital that she stays in education so that she can provide herself with a reliable future.

She lives with her mother, siblings and grandmother. We also met her grandmother, who moved to Awassa to find her brother several years ago, when she got here she discovered he had passed away. She stayed in the area anyway, and now regrets this as she feels that being here may have been what caused her family to be affected by HIV.

Kx

*names have been changed to protect identity

HIV Survivors – Bethany

03/03/2013

Bethany* is 58 years old, she is HIV negative. One of her daughters died 5 years ago from HIV, as did her husband, leaving their two children behind to be cared for by their grandmother. She has another daughter who lives independently, she was the result of Bethany being raped when she was 33 years old – she does not know who her attacker was.

Both her grandchildren, aged 13 and 15 are HIV negative, they are tested regularly. Bethany suffered stroke 4 months ago which has left the right side of her body paralysed and her speech severely affected. She cannot work and relies on her neighbours for day to day assistance. She is also diabetic, and receives help from OSSA to pay for her medication.

OSSA were supporting her grandchildren before her daughter died, and has continued to provide support since her passing. They receive assistance for educational materials and medical care. Her surviving daughter provides funds when she can and pays the rent for their Kebele home which is 40Birr per month.

Kx

*names have been changed to protect identity

HIV Survivors – Esther

03/03/2013

Esther* is a 70 year old woman, who lost two of her daughters to HIV. She now cares for one of her double orphaned grandchildren, aged 17. Her grandchildren from her other deceased daughter live with the family of their father. She has another daughter who lives with them, and her children aged 3, 5 and 22 – their father is unaccounted for.

OSSA only supports Esther and her 17 year old grandchild directly, they receive educational support and a small amount of money monthly (200Birr, £7) to cover the rent of her Kebele home which is 60birr per month and their food costs. Her surviving daughter works as a daily worker, and her grandson works laying cobble stones for the city administration.

Esther has to rely on OSSA as she is too elderly and sickly to work herself, and while her daughter and grandson work, they cannot support the six of them who are living together on their own.

While we were visiting Esther, her youngest grandchild aged 3 was truly frightened by myself and Alex, thinking we were ghosts due to our fair skin, she cried and hid from us for the duration!

Kx

*names have been changed to protect identity

HIV Survivors – Kate

03/03/2013

Kate* is a 30 year old mother of an 8 month baby, she is HIV+ but does not know how she contracted it. Her baby’s father left her during her pregnancy to go back to his former wife and child. Both of them were HIV+ when they met. Kate is participating in a PMTCT (Preventing Mother To Child Transfer) programme, she is receiving special medication to enable her to breast feed her baby with a reduced risk of her transferring HIV. Her CD4 count has reduced significantly during pregnancy, she will have to stop breast feeding when the baby is 1 year old and return to her regular ART medication.

She lives in her family home, although both her parents have died from HIV, she has 2 remaining brothers, aged 19 and 20 who also live with her. They all support each other, and receive aid from OSSA frequently.

OSSA provide financial support to cover their rent, food, medical bills, clothing and more for the 4 of them. Some time ago she also received a sum of money which she used to buy two goats; she is breading them and selling the kids to earn income.

From visiting Kate I could see that she is certainly benefiting from OSSA, considerably more than many of the other people I have met– it makes me wonder why there is no balance between the supports provided to each of the beneficiaries.

Kx

*names have been changed to protect identity

HIV Survivors - Billy

26/02/2013

Billy* is the first male widower we have met. He is 57 years old and has 4 children aged between 16 and 27. His wife died in 1993 (EC) from HIV. Billy is not HIV positive, this situation is called discordant when in a couple only one person is HIV positive. He lives in a Kebele (government owned, subsidised property) and does not work. He is mainly supported by his son who works for the Health Bureau. One of his daughters would like to start a business; however she does not have basic education or the funds to start up any form of IGA (income generating activity).

His youngest child, Charlotte* was adopted by Americans who came over to Ethiopia for voluntary work when she was 4 years old. This is the case for many of the young children in the area at the time. Unlike the others, Billy has not seen his child since. Other children have been back in large groups a couple of times to visit their homeland, but Charlotte never came with them. He has tried contacting the American Embassy, the charity involved and various other organisations to find out if his daughter is alive and well. He received one photograph of her in reply; they have not provided her new name to him, or even which state in the US she is living in. While he is telling us it makes him desperately sad, he has essentially lost a child. Whilst he knows that she probably has a better life now, he still wishes he could know more about her.

This meeting was terribly upsetting; this man lost his wife and essentially a child very close together. No one will help him to contact her, she may not even know he is looking for her. For me this brought up many questions surrounding foreign adoption, which I will be writing about separately.

Kx

*names have been changed to protect identity

HIV Survivors - Debbie

26/02/2013

Debbie* is in her 40s, she is not married, has no children and lives alone. She is HIV positive and for the past 7 years has been taking ART. She was up-rooted from her family when she was very young, she does not know any of her relatives or even where she is from. She has lived in Awassa for most of her life, although she struggles to speak Amharic, and has no education.

Due to circumstance she ended up being a street sex worker. This type of work is very dangerous here, she has been left sterile and with HIV due to it. She now does daily domestic work, washing clothes, grinding barley, and preparing food for anyone who will employ her. Generally she can only get work if people do not know her status or her working past.

She was previously employed by a woman with a family to help around the home on a permanent basis, but when the woman died her children evicted her, not wanting someone who was HIV positive in their home – just one of the examples of discrimination she suffers regularly.

Her OSSA counsellor provides her companionship, she has no close friends in the community and so has little interaction socially. In the past she had received some financial support from OSSA, but as will many of the cases I have met, this was a one off occurrence some years ago.

  

Kx

*names have been changed to protect identity

HIV Survivors - Alexis

26/02/2013

Alexis* is a 16 year old girl, she is a grade 8 student who lost her father when she was 7 years old. She is HIV negative, however her mother is HIV positive.

In order to support her mother, and as the only child that can do so, she resigned from her education and is now studying to be a hairdresser with the aim that she can start to bring in a wage. Their home costs them 300Birr per month; their water usage is restricted to one jerry can per day by the landlord. This is not enough to provide them washing water, drinking water and water for making food. They spend a few birr each day buying water elsewhere so that they can wash their clothes and make injera to sell.

Their OSSA counsellor is their only support; they say that his interest in their lives and mediation between them and OSSA has helped considerably. He is the middle man that gets their donations to them, although in recent times thee donations have become few and far between.

Kx

*names have been changed to protect identity

I’m hungry, give me money

25/02/2013

I’ve heard the above phrase a few times; it seems that children and adults here have learnt a handful of English sayings to aim at the foreigners they see on the street.

The sad thing is, what they are saying is often true, but then again many other people do not know the meaning of what they are saying. For example, a well-dressed boy, with food in his hand said to me “money, money, I am hungry. Ferenge give me money” and it dawned on me that they may learn these phrases on the off chance the person they aim them towards feels a twang in their heart. Often I do, but I cannot give something to everyone, and if you are seen to give to some then you are harassed by others. It is a vicious circle because giving directly reinforces the perception that all foreign people are rich and can give things away, but walking by and not doing anything is so incredibly difficult when you feel you could help.

You may recall my HIV Survivor story about Helen, her life story evoked the most emotion from me of those I have heard so far. I found myself wondering at night whether she had eaten today or whether she had prioritised her children eating over her own health. It has niggled away at me ever since I met her, so I resolved I had to do something. The small act may have been just to settle my own mind, but also to provide some temporary relief for her and her children.

I am a believer that just throwing money at a problem does not necessarily have your desired outcome. So rather than just give money, I went to the local shops and bought her 2kg rice, a pack of spaghetti, a bag of seeds & nuts, 1kg onions, 1 cabbage, 1kg carrots, a pack of ’enriched’ salt, 6 eggs, 4 pieces of bread, 3 body soaps and 1 laundry soap - amounting to around 150Birr (just over £5). With my counterpart, I took them to her home and let her know that I had been thinking about her. Like I have said, it is a small gesture, which provides temporary relief but I felt it had to be done.

She was incredibly grateful, and completely surprised to see us again. To thank me she prepared coffee, in the traditional way. We sat outside; she gathered grass and flowers and set about roasting the coffee beans and preparing the cups. A couple of her friends joined us, and their children. One of her neighbours came to sit and spin her yarn while we were together, and the boys of the compound played football around us. We came to learn that her third child had gone back to the family of her birth mother; I could not help but think that this was terribly sad for her but to an extent lessened her burden. It was nice just to do something that is so normal for the local people. I sat admiring this woman who has struggled so much in life and a still has a smile on her face.

I am sure I will be back to see her again, part of me feels responsible for getting her the aid she so desperately needs. She shared her life story with me, an honour not many people receive. Teddy and I will be championing her story to secure her future and that of her children. The area she lives in is due to be ‘redeveloped’. Soon she will have to find a new home, I sincerely hope that she can sustain herself and her children somewhere safe but also know that her situation calls for some direct action if any of this is to prevail. 

Kx

HIV Survivors – Amy

22/02/2013

Amy* is 56yrs old, her husband died 16 years ago, when their daughter was 4 months old, and their son was 4 years old. She found out she was HIV+ 11 years ago and has been taking ART ever since – it is thought her husband transferred the disease to her. She suffers from chronic ear infections, and is regularly on 6 month treatment cycles for them.

Over five years ago she received some financial aid from OSSA, a good portion of which had to go towards heart medications for her daughter; she has a heart defect which is currently not being treated. She is now earning money by selling fruit on the street, although often suffers vindication from people who are prejudice about her HIV status.

Her daughter has resigned from her education to care for her; she is working doing daily labour to earn some money for them to live on. Her idea is that without her mother caring for her as a child she wouldn’t have achieved anything, so now it is her turn to care for her mother.

OSSA provide regular HIV test for her children, they are both HIV negative, and also home based care for her when she is unwell. She is grateful for her counsellor, helping her mentally and physically and providing food when they have nothing to eat.

The sadness here is that her daughter, who was doing very well academically, has given up her education, granted it is for a very good reason, but this will also hinder her future.

Kx

*Names have been changed to protect identity.  

HIV Survivors – Helen

22/02/2013

Helen* is 32 years old, she is HIV positive, transferred from her husband and recently widowed. Her husband died last month, he was also HIV+ and had cancer. He had been in hospital with severe leg wounds which were badly infected; it is thought this is what caused his death.

She had two daughters with her husband, now aged 12 and 4. Within the same month of her younger daughter being born, her husband came home with another month old baby which he had fathered with another woman. This child became part of the family, and Helen refers to them as twins. Her 12 year old daughter is HIV+, however her CD4 count is ‘good’ which means she is not eligible for free ART medication; therefore she is not taking any. Essentially she has to be more poorly to get help. She did however receive quite intensive treatment for Tuberculosis.

Before her husband died, they were supported by OSSA. They had been given some funding to start a business, he was a shoe smith, and she would assist him and also make Shiro or Injera to earn a little more money for their family. They both suffered discrimination for their status and many people would not buy from them. She now receives little to no support from them, believing that some funds were raised for her but they have not reached her. She is grateful for the moral and spiritual support she receives from her counsellor.

Now that he is gone, she cannot earn the same wage. She has become a ‘daily’ worker – cleaning clothes, being a maid for anyone who will give her work. She needs to earn a enough to cover her outsgoings of 200Birr a month, as rent for her small home (a single room, about the size of a double bed where all 4 of them live). She also has to pay 350Birr per month for her two children to go to school – the family of her husband pay for his other child to go to school. However it was mentioned that the family of the mother are trying to claim the child back, the living status of the mother is not known.

She said she would like to be able to study, she is only educated to Grade 4 (her 12 year old daughter now being grade 5) but how can she study when she is now the sole breadwinner for her family. She said she would do anything to keep her children fed, including going without herself – a dangerous game to play when you are HIV+ and the only surviving parent.

I struggled to keep myself together whilst interviewing her, I could not decide if I should feel sad or angry for her. I was sat in a small home, watching a widow, dressed head to toe in black mourning for her late husband who was adulterous, infected her with HIV, and left her quite literally holding a baby that wasn’t hers…

Kx

*Names have been changed to protect identity. 

HIV Survivors – Zena

22/02/2013

Zena* is a grandmother to four gorgeous girls aged between 10 and 18. They are cousins, their mothers being Zena’s daughters. Two of them lost both their parents to HIV in the same week, nearly 12 years ago. The other two lost their mother 6 years ago, also to HIV, although they do have a living father who cannot support them, and his whereabouts are unknown. None of the children are HIV positive.

Zena is quite energetic for an elderly lady, the love she has for her granddaughters is clearly evident, and tears swelled in her eyes when she reminisced about her daughters. She keeps herself busy with traditional crafts (e.g. spinning yarn) and making coffee and popcorn to sell. Her efforts are not well rewarded and she struggles to keep their heads above water.

OSSA have supported her for 12 years, initially providing everything from bed linen, soap and food to educational materials and financial supplements. This aid has waned considerably over the years and now the only aid they receive is educational materials and uniforms for the four girls to attend school.

This story is heart-warming alone, however I have to add that there was another child we met, Betty*, she is 5 years old – to look at her you would think she were 3 years old at a push (this is a direct effect of malnutrition). Zena found her in the woodland a couple of years ago, she had been abandoned by her family, no one knows where she is from. This big eyed shy little girl is now part of the family; she is helped by everyone in the home compound.

For a family, even a group of people living in a small compound, who have so little to live on to take on another child is such an outstanding thing. Their wages and homes may be small but their hearts are gargantuan.

Kx

*Names have been changed to protect identity. 

Time for some photos

As I cannot share photos of the people I am meeting here (in order to protect their identity) my posts have been rather dull! So here are a few photos of bits and bobs that have been going on;

This is some fresh fish from the lake, fried and ready to eat! Each fish is about 20Birr (under £1) which is a bargain for a quick bite. I've had a couple so far, but i find them oily and I'm not to keen on fish skin!

This is one of my neighbours making injera, a staple food here that is eaten with EVERY meal. It is made from Tef flour and water then cooked in a 'crepe' style way on these hot plates with a wood fire underneath. 

This a one of the many monkey families you will see in Hawassa. This particular snap if from the 'national park' which is on the lake, we paid 10Birr to enter and you can buy peanuts to feed to the monkeys etc. 

This is the view from the inside of a bajaj. These tuk tuk style taxis are everywhere here, like 3 wheeler passenger bikes that will take you short distances for a couple of birr, great when the heat is high and you're out and about. 

That is enough for now, more to come! 

Kx

HIV Survivors – Agnes

19/02/2013

Agnes* is 45 years old, she has been widowed twice by HIV. It was not until after she was widowed he second time that she got herself tested, with encouragement from her neighbours. Her first test came back positive; she has been living with HIV for 5 years and takes ART medication. Her CD4 count currently reads at 316 (the recommended count for good health is 500-1,000) anything below 350 should be considered serious and treated. When she first discovered she was positive, she was very stressed, she suffered many illnesses due to the stress, as a consequence she has lost a lot of weight (this is also a side effect of ART) she currently weighs 37kg. She has 3 children, aged 10, 11 and 18 – none of them have been tested for HIV. She struggles to pay for their tutoring and general living.

Until recently she lives in a nice compound, renting one of the homes, but when her HIV status was discovered she was evicted. She now has a small home, during the day it is a coffee place, and at night it is their sleeping area. She has suffered a lot of discrimination, she says the only companionship she has is her OSSA counsellor, and God.

She says in the future she would like some fridges and coffee machines for her small business, and that her advice to anyone else in her situation would be to get tested as soon as possible because she spent a long time suffering from various ailments without knowing her status.

Kx

*Names have been changed to protect identity. 

HIV Survivors – OSSA Orphanage

19/02/2013

When you hear the word orphanage, what do you imagine? I imagine a place full of young children who have lost both parents and are now in some kind of social care. This notion soon changed when we went to visit the orphanage the OSSA is responsible for.

When you think of an orphan, what do you consider? Certainly for me it is someone who has lost both their parents and potentially has no other family. However, I have come to learn the terms ‘single orphan’ meaning only one parent is lost, and ‘double orphan’ meaning both parents are lost.

We arrived at a compound, and were greeted by 7 young adults who had been sharing their lives together for over 7 years, in a compound constructed by German volunteers some years back. There was a boy’s room and a girl’s room, filled with bunk beds, a communal room with a TV and dining table, a bank of showers, toilets and sinks and a kitchen. They also has a little outdoor space, and a new addition to the orphanage, a tiny puppy.

We spent some time talking to all the occupants and having lunch followed by coffee, these are the stories we heard;

Mercy* is 21 years old and is currently studying computer science at university. It struck me that this girl has beauty and brains, something that I am sure will take her far in the future. She hopes to work in the software programming industry. Her mother died several years ago, she was left to be looked after by some family friends in the village she is from, but they soon began to struggle to look after her. At the age of 12 she came to be under guardianship of OSSA.

OSSA provide her materials for studying, food and accommodation. She also receives 400Birr from OSSA and 250Birr from Norwegian Church Aid per month for her studies – this is not enough for her to survive on and save for her future. When she graduates University she will have to leave the orphanage, she will be at an age where she should support herself, but will start with nothing.

Graham* is 20 years old, he is currently studying public health at university and homes to work as a health officer when he graduates. He lives at the orphanage with his sister, May* who is 18 years old. She is a grade 12 student and will go to university next year. She wants to study engineering, particularly hydro-power. They are originally from Shashemene, when both their parents died they lived with an uncle for some time. Sadly as their uncle aged and became less able to generate income, they had to leave to be supported by OSSA. They only have a slight memory of their father because they were so young when they were orphaned. They tell us that OSSA have made their lives more comfortable and ensured their education and wellbeing. Graham hopes to go to work in rural areas of Ethiopia when he graduates so that he can help the communities that most need it. He also receives 650Birr per month as noted in Mercy’s story.

Bobby* is 13 years old, he is a ‘single orphan’ and has one brother from the same father. When his father died, his mother remarried -we learnt that in Ethiopia there is a stigma attached to children from the first marriage living with the step parents. In this case Bobby and his brother came to the orphanage as their mother needed her new husbands support and could not provide for her two boys. She went on to have another son and a daughter with her new husband, who all live together. Bobby and his brother did not get on well, his brother was returned to the family, most likely stretching their resources and leaving no room for Bobby to also be there. He goes to visit, but will remain living in the Orphanage until her comes of age to leave. He hopes to be a doctor when he is older, and is an avid fan of Manchester United.

Sally* is 18 years old, she is a grade 12 student and will soon go to university. She came to OSSA when she was 5 years old. She originally comes from the gold mining areas.  Her parents separated when the father wanted to stay to work and her mother wanted to go to Awassa for a better life. Sadly, once in Awassa her mother died, she does not know her father or where he is. She may return to the area she is from in the future but has not relatives or connections there.

When asked what she wanted to study/ do as a career she replied that she did not want to confine herself to one thing and that there are many things she enjoys. For example; drama and the arts – she write scripts for plays at the church, and also like to dance. She then also notes that studying medicine would interest her. It was refreshing to meet someone who had so many ideas and considered several choices.

September* is 18 years old, she has no siblings and lost both her parents to HIV. Her only relatives are her aunts, but they cannot support her so at the age of 11 she came to the orphanage. She is a grade 9 student, this implies that her education is not as wholesome as it should be for her age. She particularly enjoys physics and history at school, and has ambition to be a film director but may settle for studying social science at university instead!

Sara* is 19 years old, she is extremely shy and did not want to join us for our discussions, though she came out of her shell a little later on. She did not want to offer much information about her life, we do not know why but can assume any number of reasons. She is a grade 8 student, for her age she is somewhat lacking in academic ability, OSSA are encouraging her to study and will monitor her progress.

All of these young adults seemed to be content with their lives, they have someone to cook for them, safe shelter, water and their educations to concentrate on. There are a few rules they must stick to, boyfriends and girlfriends are ‘prohibited’ so they do not become distracted (though this does not stop them having secret admirers), they have curfews and do not receive any ‘pocket money’ (with the exception of the university students who receive some funding to enable them to get to and from the university which is around 30minute away). They are however allowed to go and visit any living family they have that are nearby, so at least they have not lost all contact with their relatives.

We noted several things that we would like to procure for them, books of all kinds, educational and novels as they all enjoy reading, and maybe some playing cards, dvds and cds. Although a little ambitious, maybe a laptop or computer that they can have to share and use for their school work. Only time will tell if we are successful or not!

Kx

*Names have been changed to protect identity. 

HIV Survivors - Wendi

19/02/2013

Wendi* is a 40 year old widow, with five children ages 18 to 25. She moved to Awassa from Wolayta around 20 years ago. She lives in the poorest area of the city, in a home constructed from mud and dung. Her husband worked for the water bureau and often travelled long distances and for long periods of time to dig wells and provide manual labour for water resources. It is likely this is how he contracted HIV, he died 11 years ago.

After she lost her husband, she noticed that she was falling ill regularly; her body often ached and itched so she decided to get her blood tested. She went with one of her daughters supporting her and discovered she was HIV+. This news caused much discomfort with her other children, and she suffered discrimination not only directly from them but also from her community.

OSSA provided her with some financial assistance, she was also part of the world food program, meaning she received regular donations of wheat each month to be able to make food. This contributed greatly to her health improving, which was particularly noticeable via her CD4 count. However, due to her recovering health, she was no longer eligible for the world food aid, which clearly had a diminutive effect.

She tried to support herself making injera to sell, but once word got around about her HIV status no one would buy from her, she became isolated and unable to sustain herself. She had saved some of the money she had received, but it did not last her long once she was reliant on it to live from day to day. Fortunately she is now earning a small income making some homemade foods and selling close to her home where people respect her regardless of her status.

Her OSSA counsellor has had a positive effect on her psychological well-being  although she is still very ashamed of her positive status, and will hide her ART medication from view of others, not disclosing her health to anyone. As a result of her ART medication she now also suffers from hypertension and regular fevers, but she considers this somewhat better than her illnesses before her medications.

Kx

*Names have been changed to protect identity. 

HIV Survivors – Ann

18/02/2013

Ann* is a 45 year old widow with 5 children aged between 9 and 24. She lives in a compound owned by her mother and pays 300Birr per month in rent. Their living conditions are considered to be that of a ‘low family’ in Ethiopia. Her husband was a war veteran (in the Eritrea war), he most likely contracted HIV during his serving years, he died in 2002 (EC). She had been his sole carer while he was poorly, he was not taking any ART medication and they had no external support from NGOs.

In 1987 (EC) she had her first HIV test, it came back negative. She was encouraged by an elderly neighbour to get tested again for HIV after her husband had passed. She subsequently found out she was HIV+, most likely contracted from her husband. When she discovered she was HIV+ she was very depressed and made at least one attempt on her life. She found it difficult to process the information she received and was struggling with day to day life. If it had not been for the intervening support of OSSA and her volunteer counsellor she would not be in the state she is today.

She noted that she suffered discrimination at first, but now that the attitude towards HIV/Aids is changing she does not notice it as much, although she is sure there is still gossip in the area regarding her status.

She currently lives hand to mouth, with a small coffee business on the street. Her future ambition is to have a shop, much like a convenience store, with the hope that it would provide regular and higher income. She would like some support for her children’s education because she feels they are doing well academically but will need future support to succeed.

Kx

* Names have been changed to protect identity. 

HIV Survivors - Teresa

18/02/2013

Teresa*, a 45 year old widowed mother of five, she is HIV positive.

She lives with her children aged 16, 20, 25, 25 and 28.

Her husband suffered from HIV, prior to his diagnosis he earned a good wage and they had a generously sized home by Ethiopian standards. As he fell poorly they had to sell their home and use their money to sustain their lives while he was unable to work. He died 10 years ago.

Teresa was helped by Mary Joy (an NGO) to get tested for HIV once her husband had passed. Her first test came back positive; she contracted the virus from her husband. At this time, not only was she grieving and having to deal with the news of her own health, she also suffered discrimination from her community. She says many people would not come to see her, believing that the ghost of her late husband was in her compound and not wanting to associate with someone who was HIV+.

This is when OSSA stepped in, providing financial support, food and medical aid to her and her children. Back then the funding from donors was much greater, it has somewhat deteriorated now. They still currently support her medically, covering costs of medical check-ups for her and her family. ART medication is provided free of charge in Ethiopia.

In an attempt to support her and her family, she began to rent some of the space in her compound to local people who had animals; her home became a grazing area for donkeys, goats and such like.

A few years ago some volunteers came from The Netherlands to work with OSSA. Teresa and her family became one of their priority cases. They raised funds and used them to convert the animal area into a better compound and living space. Her family now has a ‘movie house’ much like a mini cinema. They charge entry for people to watch films and particularly football matches on their large flat screen. Her son also runs a small rental stall for music and films to generate income for them all. Her eldest son is a Bajaj driver and supports her as much as he can. This currently allows them to live hand to mouth.

We asked if Teresa had an education, sadly she has no formal education, only the education of life. When asked if she would like to learn she claimed she is now too old and too poor in health to learn. She is severely affected by cataracts in both her eyes which are very apparent when you look at her. Something we hope we can assist with by referring her to an NGO for eye care.

Her future ambition is to have an animal dairy as this will likely produce a higher income for them to live on. Her advice to other people in her situation would be that a life with HIV can be maintained; she has lived with the virus for over 10 years and regularly shares her experiences with her peers.

My overall feeling from the conversation was that they were grateful for the assistance they have received over the years, however it has deteriorated considerably now and they are very much independent financially. Meselch, the OSSA counsellor who visits Teresa frequently helps with some things around the home when she can, particularly if Teresa is feeling unwell. She says that this kindness and assistance is invaluable to her.

Kx

*Names have been changed to protect their identity. 

HIV Survivors

18/02/2013

OSSA have various volunteer counsellors that work within the community. Teddy and I have been meeting these counsellors and going to the homes of the beneficiaries they support to learn about their lives. I will be posting stories of those that I have met so far, using ‘HIV Survivors’ as title references. The stories will not be sugar coated or exaggerated, you may find them blunt but they are accurate accounts as told by the people themselves.

Unfortunately I cannot share the photos I take on my blog, and all names will be changed to protect their identity.

I have come to decide that these people are not victims of HIV, they are survivors. Their stories do not involve rainbows and fluffy bunnies; they have suffered in more than most just to live to the next day. I feel honoured that they willingly share their life stories with me, and it is my duty to share their stories with anyone who will take the time from their day to listen.

Kx

No resentment

15/02/2013

Over the last few days I have been going out to various parts of the community in Awassa with my counterpart, Teddy, and various counsellors from OSSA.

Our task is to meet current beneficiaries of OSSA and discuss their stories, with the aim to create case stories for a selection of them which will then go to HQ to help raise more funding from donors.

I will introduce you to the people I have met so far in future blog posts, but I thought I should comment on the common theme I am seeing so far.

All the people we have seen are women, usually in their 40s. They are all widows, their husbands beaten by HIV. In fact, one woman I met has lost two husbands to HIV. The common theme here is that the women all contracted HIV from their husbands, who at the time did not know they had HIV. As their husbands didn’t get tested, they went without medication and subsequently died from the disease. These women then choose to get tested after losing their partners, only to discover they are HIV positive, and now take ART medication. Taking this medication prolongs their lives considerably, some living over 10 years longer than their husbands.

How are their husbands contracting the disease? They don’t seem to know, there are many conclusions you can jump to but no concrete evidence. All I can think is how resentful I would be if my husband infected me with HIV, especially if he knew he had it and did not tell me. These women do not seem fazed that their husbands have done this, and now left them to suffer a difficult life and bring up children on their own.

What I find even more interesting is that many of them have not had their children tested, meaning they could potentially outlive their children purely from the fact they are taking ART meds for their ailment and the children have not been checked.

The questions I find myself asking is why are these men being so careless about their behaviour, and essentially what they leave behind is devastating. The women do not seem to be resentful of their situation; many accept it as a norm which is even more heart breaking.

Even in the organisation we are working with, their focus about HIV transmission is for young girls, to prevent them transferring to their children, but I cannot help but feel the main perpetrators are the men who do not disclose their status, maybe because they do not know it, maybe because they do not think it is necessary to. I find it sickening they would not disclose this to their wives particularly but also to any of their sexual partners. In the UK, and much of Europe, knowing you are HIV positive and knowingly infecting other people is a criminal offence, which often brings prison time in the case of conviction. Why is the attitude here so blasé when Ethiopia has the highest HIV rate in Africa?

So many questions, will we ever know the answers?

Kx