I learned one very important lesson over the past couple of weeks: update my blog more frequently! I’m not even going to pretend like I’m up to the task of reporting each event that has unfolded since the last time I checked in, but I’m here to tell you that I’m going to do my best. I figured for the sake of space and time, it would be far easier to break the past three weeks into a series of highlights and lowlights (hopefully more highlights than lowlights).
Highlights
· Number 1 definitely has to be about the immensely successful VCT event that we held in the Area 36 district of Lilongwe this past Friday, the 23rd of October. This event was essentially planned the same exact way as the Area 25 event that we hosted about a month ago. We had 8 teams of about 15 kids aged between 16-18. Each one of these kids got the opportunity to play in our soccer tournament, engage in GRS HIV education activities, and learn their status by testing for HIV/AIDS. This event was a huge success because we managed to test around 220 kids, close to 100 more than our event in Area 25. Seeing an increase of 100 people tested was very gratifying for Rachel and I, especially when you consider the amount of obstacles that we had to overcome to ensure that the event was a success (I can spend a whole blog entry talking about obstacles themselves but I fear they may bore you).
· One side note about the event we had in Area 36 – the whole thing cost only 235 dollars! That means we essentially spent one dollar per person that we tested – this is amazing when you consider all of the different costs involved. We have to rent a loud PA system to attract people, we have to pay our coaches/peer evaluators, we have to feed them and the children and we have to provide water, testing supplies and stuff for the football fields. I feel weird saying this, but if you donate one dollar to GRS you can help one person find out their status within the context of a Malawian VCT. That feels pretty good to say when you consider how much money it could potentially cost elsewhere!
· Coming in at a close second is the sensitization event that GRS hosted in Area 25 this past Sunday afternoon. The basic idea behind a sensitization event is to make sure that people in and around Lilongwe learn about GRS and the kind of work we do. These events make our work a lot easier in the long run because people are way more willing to work with us if they know who we are and what we do. Sensitization events are so important in the world of HIV/AIDS in Africa because it such a taboo topic, so it is good to get all of the facts out there in order for people to realize that all of the stigma is a waste of time. Sensitization events are particularly important in Malawi because GRS was established here in 2006 so very few people know who we are and what we do. Most sensitization events here are small scale, maybe in a small church or some small room with a handful of people. But GRS and Baylor Hospital decided to absolutely blow this event up by inviting some of the biggest performers in Malawi. There were three musicians who are household names in Malawi, as well as a group of acrobats and actors. Almost all of these performers decided to test, and this in turn encouraged OVER 600 people to test! As you can probably imagine 600 is an insane number for one of these events, so we were all very happy with the work that we did. The performers acting as role models in the testing department definitely helped, but I think the massive number also proves how important HIV/AIDS work is here.
· My closing highlight definitely has to be the number 820. This is the total number of people tested from the two events that we had this weekend.
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I don’t want to spend too much time discussing downers, because it is impossible to ever be too down on yourself when you are in this beautiful and amazing continent – but I will discuss one or two things that got me thinking over the weekend.
Downers
By far the biggest downer was interacting with the people who just found out that they were HIV+. When you test over 800 people in a country where the national average for HIV+ people hovers around 14%, you should expect to meet people who discover their positive status – but this doesn’t make it any easier. I have to admit that I had a hard time talking to the first couple of reactants that I talked to. I mean, what can you possibly say to them to make the situation better? And who am I to talk to them? I would just kind of freeze up and go silent when I should have been trying to make them feel better. Thinking back on it now I feel terrible because I should have done a better job but I think my silence was due to my inexperience. After spending time at a couple of events now, I wouldn’t say that I feel comfortable interacting with people who test positive for HIV right in front of me, but I would definitely say that I feel comfortable enough to not be silent. In my limited experience, I have learnt that it is ok to reassure people moments after they learn about their positive status. At first I thought it wasn’t my place to try to reassure them, I was afraid that it would come across as patronizing. But after thinking about it I realized that these are the people who most desperately need to hear a friendly and reassuring voice.
The only thing that you need to tell them is the following: everything is going to be ok. Just because you tested positive doesn’t mean that your life is over. You can still live a healthy, happy and long life IF you adhere to the ARV medication and make smart decisions about your lifestyle from here on out.
All right, I think I’m done for today. Please let me know if you want to here any more about these events or anything else. I have a bunch of pictures and videos that I cannot upload in this country because the Internet connection is so slow and unstable – but maybe I can get them to you when I come back to the states in December.
We are hosting our last VCT event of the quarter in two weeks, on Friday November 6th in the Kawale district of Lilongwe. We have set an extremely optimistic goal of testing 400 people at this event, and I cannot wait to tackle this challenge.
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