HIV/AIDS support group, travels, and family

Hello Everyone,

Last week I went to my first meeting with the new HIV/AIDS support group in Bulamagi village and I have to say that I was disappointed. The only man in the group and the only one who speaks English, Nelson, was running the meeting and I felt like he was using his position to take advantage of the others. My director and his wife could not attend because of other last-minute responsibilities, but another YOFAFO employee, Peter who is a social worker, came with us to translate. Nelson started the meeting by saying that the women were late because they are very sick and mornings were bad for them because they had to go to the fields to dig for their food. When they showed up it seemed to me that he was chastising them for being late. He didn't let them speak during the meeting and it was mostly him talking about how the group wanted to do some sort of activity to gain an income and wanting to know how Angie (another volunteer from Denmark) and I were going to help with that. We explained that we knew how to make paper and how it is a relatively inexpensive activity that could be used to make greeting cards, post cards, file folders, photo albums, and journals to sell in craft markets. We said that we were willing to teach them the next week if they were interested. Nelson then was saying how they wanted to make clothing out of African cloth, weave baskets and mats, and learn other things. We explained that all of those things require more start up costs, are more complicated, and would take a lot longer to learn to do and thus longer before they could sell them. During the whole meeting he kept hinting towards the fact that they were very poor and wanted donations to start these projects. Never once did they discuss HIV/AIDS support and awareness. In fact, Nelson emphasized the fact that they should keep their meetings secret because they were scaring off members who were ashamed to tell the community they are infected because of fear and shame. At the end of the meeting when we asked when the group could meet the following week, Nelson didn't even consult the others, he just said that Wednesday mornings were the only time that worked for him, probably because, like he said, the women are not available in the mornings and he is a selfish, deceitful man who wants to learn the economic activities for himself.

Angie and I left very disappointed, but after we talked to Valence we were reinspired. Valence said that he would go to the meeting the following week and tell them that if they wanted to have an HIV/AIDS support group that there would be no hiding because that only prepetuates shame and fear. He said that we would bring in people to lead seminars about breaking down the walls of stigma associated with the disease. We also decided that we would teach papermaking to anyone in the community who wants to learn and that everyone can come to learn and no one will know if htey are HIV positive or not. That way, people can learn the activities and we can have the support group and once the support group has enough confidence, they can come out of the closet and start holding community seminars. In this manner, everyone will benefit from learning a new skill and from learning about HIV/AIDS. As Valence told me, it is suspected that even up to half of the population in this community of 2000 villagers may be infected.

On a side note about this group, one lady who came in late told us that the day before some thugs had entered her home and stolen all of her clothes and food. Now, all the clothes that she has left are the ones on her back. Rose, a woman that Valence and Doreen hire to help do the cooking, cleaning, and laundry because of all of the extra volunteers taht they house, also sells gently used second-hand clothing in local markets. Angie came up with the great idea of benefiting both Rose and this woman from Bulamagi by buying clothes from Rose and donating them to the other lady. I decided to chip in some Empower Walk World money with Angie to help buy clothing. I can't wait to see the expression on this woman's face when we give her the clothes this week!

Over the weekend, three other volunteers, Alison, Stephanie, and Will, and I went on an exciting outing. First, we went to Mabira Forest, which is Uganda's largest national forest, to do trekking. We did a three hour hike where we saw a couple of red-tailed monkeys, a few cool birds, and awesome and enourmous trees. Unfortunately we would have seen more wildlife, but our guide told us that they are more active in the morning and late evening, but we came in the mid-afternoon. Afterward, we went to a place called Ssezibwa Falls. Around this part of Uganda, there are lots of legends surrounding women giving birth to twins, animals, and other abnormal things. One legend surrounding the falls is that a woman was pregnant with twins and when she gave birth, she gave birth to water. The twin waters formed two rivers and the one river leads to this set of falls. In Buganda tradition, the twins receive certain names depending on birth order and if they are male or female. This river has the name Wasswa, which means the older male twin. The river also has another name, I forget, but it means unbroken because the river meanders through the forest and is said to flow in an unbroken path. Because of the lengends about this area, many witch doctors used to have shrines around the falls in small caverns where they would sacrifice eggs, chickens, and other things and do prayers. Although we got to see some of them, now, even though some these practices still exist in the area, I think it is more of tourist attraction around the falls, but you get the general idea of what it might have been like. Sorry that I cannot add pictures anymore, but I do not have my camera cable and I had been borrowing one from another volunteer, but she has left for home now. Hopefully another person will come with my same type of camera because the pictures are great!

Curious about the legends, I asked Doreen what she knows about them. Even though Doreen is highly intelligent, holds strong Christian beliefs, and holds a Bachelor's degree in Development Studies, she says that she has heard so many accounts of people having witnessed someone give birth to twins, one being human and the other being a snake or leopard, that she tends to believe that it is possible. It is amazing how strong this tradition is, even though I don't believe it and it seems far fetched, but one volunteer posed a good question: Is it any more far fetched than people in our own society that whole-heartedly believe in aliens, ghosts, or magic?

Speaking of Doreen, I should tell you about my family and where I live. I do have pictures that I had already saved to my computer before that other volunteer left, so the photos you see above are from my first couple of weeks. So I told you about Doreen's education, but let me tell you a little more about her. She is 30 years old and she is pregnant with her second child. She was pregnant with their son Joe the last time I was here. Both times she has suffered through terrible morning sickness, but she is so strong that she gets through it like a champ. She comes from a family which is better off than most because she is lucky to have educated parents. Her dad is a radiologist and her mother is a midwife. She is really like my sister here. She teaches me about traditional cooking and culture and she even helps me learn some Luganda when she is not too busy. She is also just a great friend to hang out with. She really keeps the house running smoothly and she makes sure her volunteers are taken care of. Valence is her husband and the director and founder of YOFAFO. He just turned 33 yesterday and I baked him a cake, which is a feat since they do not have ovens here and I had to create a Dutch oven to cook with. He also has his Bachelor's degree in Development Studies. Valence had a harder life than Doreen. His father died in a tragic accident when he was only 9 years old. While walking through Mabira forest, during the reign of dictator Idi Amin, he came accross some villagers who were logging illegally. Some soldiers of Amin's regime were patrolling through the forest and when the loggers heard them they took off running. Because his dad had no reason to run, he did not, but he was shot without question when the soldiers saw him. The men who had been logging felt guilty and so when the soldiers passed they came back to help Valence's father, but they could not get him to the hospital in time. Tragically, his mother also passed away when he was only 14 and so Valence was left an orphan. By this time though, Valence had already developled a love of learning, a strong character, and deep morals from his family. His uncle helped support him and he eventually went to unversity where he met Doreen. He started YOFAFO in 2005 from his vision of helping youth like himself. You can read more about his organization on their website at http://www.yofafo.org/. Valence and Doreen have a son, Joshua (Joe), who is now one and a half. Doreen is due in November and we are hoping it is twins because her stomach is much bigger at this point than it was with Joe.

Above I have posted pictures of the family and of the home where they live and where I am staying. It is modest by any American or European standard, but they are much, much luckier than the bulk of the country. Here are some statistics that might help you understand how much better off they are: the average family has about 7 children, the average age in Uganda is 15, life expectancy is 52 years of age, and the average person lives on about $1 per day. The national statistics say that the rate of HIV/AIDS infection is about 7% of the population, but they have not reported in about 10 years out of fear that numbers will have risen. Many suspect that they rate may be 10% or more and in certain areas even higher. Anyway, our home has three bedrooms, one shared by Valence, Doreen and their son, the other two are for volunteers. My room is the bottom one shown, the other volunteer room is the second and the family bedroom is the third on top. We also have running water most of the time, but I still take a "shower" from a bucket and electricity is on most of the time. We also have a flush, sit-down toilet as long as the water is running. The kitchen is detached from the house and we cook over a small clay stove about the size of a big kitchen pot, which is fueled by coal. We also have a mini fridge! The storage room is divided in two with a papyrus mat to give room for an office and we have a living room with an old television that picks up some of the main Ugandan stations. I really am spoiled by normal standards!

Until next time,

Courtney

"The robbed that smiles steals something from the thief." - William Shakespeare