Challenges

20 October 2009

We have been here for about 2 1/2 weeks now and are already seeing many of the challenges of working in a foreign country, especially with something like HIV. Our hospital, though very welcoming, was not really prepared to have us come in and work on anything. Most people who come here stay for about 3 months max, so they are fine with shadowing and just kind of hanging out for that time, but Zach and I had hoped to do more while we were here. Sure, we may have been naive and had higher expectations than we should have, but we were hoping to make at least a small difference in the lives of the people here.

Yesterday we went early to the hospital to talk to the director about what sort of projects or programs we could work on while we were here, since our time here is substantial. He gave us a standard reply that we should go on rounds and go out into the community with the outreach nurse at the HIV clinic everyday, observing the patients and doctors. Although that would be incredibly helpful in preparing ourselves for school when we got back, we did not travel all this way to help ourselves. We asked if we would be allowed to translate some pamphlets into Swahili and hand them out or hang some posters in the clinic with information about transmission, staying healthy, safe sex, medications, etc. He said that would be fine, so we had planned to start on that right away. Unfortunately, later that morning, we were talking with one of the doctors in the clinic and the topic of condoms came up. He said that they didn’t have them there and if anyone asks for them they just tell people “not to indulge in such things.” Although we have to respect their rules as a Catholic institution, it is frustrating to work with this issue and not be able to discuss and teach the things that will help prevent the spread of the virus.

We stayed home from placement today to work on our Swahili, as we figured it would be more productive than going in today. The faster we learn the language, the sooner we will actually be able to make some progress here. We are going to start looking and asking around for some possible places where we might better be able to use our talents and passion, but with the politics, bureaucracy, financial state and stigma that surround HIV here, it will be challenging.

It is ironic that when I was at home all I could think about was getting over here and working with the issue face to face, and now that I am here, I feel like I was making more of a difference selling pins on campus and sending money over (making sure it ends up in the right hands, that is, like PIH J). There are so many things that need to change on a societal level before any real progress will be made here. Although I was aware of this before I left, I somehow thought that where we would be would be different and we would feel productive and accomplished when we left. I am still hopeful for that and will continue to work towards it, but if nothing else, when we leave we will at least have a better idea of what needs to be done and when we come back again, will be more prepared for the challenges and better armed with tools that will help us accomplish our goals.

(The picture here is of the street we walk on to get home everyday. It is called Mianzini, which means “the place of bamboo” in Swahili. The walk is all uphill and it takes us about 25 minutes to get up it, but it is good exercise. Most of the time the street is very crowded with cars, people, dogs, chickens, goats and children. Since there is no sanitation system here, most of the trash ends up in the gutter and is burned in small piles periodically. The smells as you walk down the streets here are at times overwhelming, both good and bad: the smell of rotting food, then of barbeque and spices, burning trash, a cart full of sweet oranges, BO and strong cologne...the list goes on and on. I think the smells are something that will stay with me for a long time.)

Written by Whit