Calling for Entertainment!

“I think that life here [in Africa] is much more in line with our rhythm as human beings really.  Because when I go home I see people who look completely stressed out, and it is as if, in one way, people are never really satisfied.  There are such high demands.  There are demands here as well, but here the human being is allowed to take up space… at home it is production which counts… Life seems so close here compared to [home]… [But] who is right and who is wrong?  Is it that we have taught ourselves to WORK and do it wholeheartedly and with all our energy, while the Tanzanian has learned to LIVE and do that with the same enthusiasm and pleasure and energy?  For whom or for what is it that we rush through life recklessly working?  What is it that makes us REAL human beings?  Is our welfare really worth the price we have to pay:  not having time to care, or to take care of, or to be friendly, generous, smiling and hospitable?”  -Excerpt from an interview in The Paternalism of Partnership

 

So while my days are fairly busy, by late afternoon I am mostly on my own and, as I am experiencing opposite seasons to you, the sun is usually down by 6:00 leaving me with plenty of alone time inside the house with not much to do.  Those of you who know me know I love my alone time; however, those of you who know me know that my alone time without occupation only leaves me thinking.  And those of you who are human know that it’s probably not the wisest idea to have a semi-cynical young man (who is approaching a quarter-life crisis, no less) sitting in his concrete house in the unbearably-cold and eternally quiet village of Maitengwe, Botswana thinking about Life & Co.  Did I milk it enough?  SO, that being said, I am requesting that you keep me from thinking by filling my time with books and music… no need to rush, but over the next few months if the feeling strikes you, then go ahead.  Don’t know what to send?  Well, those of you who know me also know that I always have a running list of books to read and music to explore!

How many of you realized in the last paragraph that you have no idea who I am?  Don’t feel bad, I don’t either… LOL just kidding!

Anyway, if you are interested in sending me anything please click here to open the list.

Speaking of lists, I have updated the list of things that are good to send (the link to which is posted on the right side of this page) so feel free to peruse that as well.  I think I am getting spoiled!!!

Also, I’d like to send some specific thank you’s out to a few people: 

To Heather, a former colleague who I haven’t heard from in years – thank you for finding me and sending me some magazines!  The kindness of past but familiar friends means so much when, at times, you feel like you have no one. 

To Rick – well, I could write a thousand things to say thank you for, but most recently thank you for the INCREDIBLY thoughtful boxes of goodies for the children.  You have no idea the joy they will bring these children, many of whom have never seen the things you sent.  I’ll do my best to photograph their experiences but I am not at all a photographer.  The fun began Sunday with about 8 or so kids, and the number has grown every day.  Friday I left the clinic to find just over 25 kids waiting outside my house to play lol.  They’re such good kids too.  So we’ve been playing football (ie American soccer) every day since Sunday and we all have you to thank for the fun.  Maybe we’ll form a World Cup team!

To my father, thank you for buying the clinic some bicycles.  Walking over an hour one-way to do a home visit was annoying enough now… I cannot imagine what it would have been like in the blazing heat of December!  You are a good, good man I hope to be able to put one foot in the shoes that you’ll leave behind one day… just don’t leave them behind anytime in the next 50 years, ok?

What else?  The 3-yr-old-window tapping boy is officially coming home with me to the US lol just kidding.  He comes to the clinic every morning before school to give me a hug (and sometimes charms his way into getting tea or breakfast from me) and then a lot of times he comes afterwards as well.

The other day we watched Robots (thanks again, Rick!).  Well, he watched Robots and I watched him watch Robots.  I have to say, seeing a 3 yr old watch his first movie is something I cannot explain, especially when it’s this 3 yr old.  It was probably one of the Top 10 most beautiful moments of my life so far.  In fact, I am not sure that he’d ever seen a screen before.  So for him, Robots (which is one of those computer generated movies like Toy Story) was more than just seeing real people on a computer screen – it was like seeing something from a dream, or from the future.

I will say though, he is sad way too often.  It’s not normal.  I’ve never seen a 3 year old so… raw?  You know most kids just stare and drool and don’t know their elbow from their buttocks, but this one is aware of his reality - I think even more than his older siblings.  Three year olds don’t just wander to the clinic and from 50 feet away walk towards you without a slightest hint of a smile, and then just walk straight into your legs and collapse, breathing heavily.  Some days no matter what I do, he won’t smile.  He won’t smile, he won’t speak, he won’t cry, he’ll barely blink.  It’s like he’s just completely numb.  On a more joyous note, the other day during our morning meeting we heard a kid outside the office singing in Kalanga, “I’m the son of Kagiso!  I’m the son of Kasigo!” and sure enough we opened the door to find him shaking his booty at the old ladies waiting to be seen.  He’s a ham, that one.  But also fire and ice.

As for some breakthroughs?  Well this week we had a few.  The American Embassy has agreed to come take a look at our orphan center next week.  They are interested in helping us build a nice kitchen so that the two old ladies who cook for the 45+ children EVERYDAY can have a better facility in which to work, instead of just an open fire outside.  (It just hit me how incredibly dedicated these women are.  I admit, I hadn’t really thought about it until actually writing it down.  But cooking for 45+ children everyday?  You try it… and wait ‘til you’re old).  So someone is coming on Wednesday and I have been charged to show him around and charm him a bit.  I will say, the Maitengwe HBC (HBC = Home Based Care, the organization that operates the center) is very committed & responsible.  They don’t want handouts; they just want help.  So as their input for the kitchen, they have agreed to provide the bricks, the sand, and the concrete.  THIS IS DEVELOPMENT:  working together.

Some other good news has yielded some bad news, which I am hoping will later result into more good news.  The guardian of the 3-yr-old-window-tapping boy has mostly been bed-ridden for some time. (By the way, I choose not to use names because these are real people with real lives, and the stories being told are theirs and not mine… so the least I can do is respect their privacy.  I apologize that it makes the reading less user-friendly).  I convinced the nurses to do a home visit, something we don’t normally do unless the patient is registered as a Home Based Care Patient or unless they are HIV-positive & pregnant.  Anyway, he agreed to come in for some blood work (that’s the good news).  Then Thursday we discovered that his CD4 count was less than 30 (that’s the bad news).  For those of you who do not know – and to put it very simply – HIV attacks a certain protein (like a cluster of cells) called the CD4, which in turn destabilizes the immune system.  HIV-negative people enjoy the privilege of having 700+ CD4 cells (usually more like 1,000+).  And the main technical difference between HIV and AIDS is that someone is considered to have AIDS when their CD4-count drops below 200.  So, having less than 30 is incredibly low – near death, really.  In fact, it’s among the lowest we’ve seen this month.  What’s even worse than the bad news is that this man does not want to take HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy/treatment).  He claims that his brother took the drugs and died anyway so what’s the point (again, relating back to my point about resignation in my last entry).

So, essentially this means that he has a month or so to live, if he is lucky.  I am trying to convince the nurses to bring him back in and further convince him, but they’re resisting – and I don’t blame them.  This is happening all over this village – heck, all over the world – and we just don’t have the time, capacity, staff, nor energy to follow every person and give them some ‘You Can Beat It!’ speech when at the end of the day, many people don’t – even with HAART.  And ARV’s must be taken with faithful adherence, so someone who isn’t serious about taking them is likely to fail, and die.  Unfortunately we can’t convince people to save their own lives.  ‘And why should we?!?’ the overly conservative side in you might ask?  Well, because if he goes he leaves behind 6 WONDERFUL kids (14, 12, 10, 7, 3, and 1) who, as far as I know, will have no one else here to care for them.  So they will be taken by the state and sent to Francistown where there is – to put it bluntly – an orphan farm, where they will remain until they are 18.  That being said, being taken by the state is a LOT better than what would happen in most African countries – so praise Botswana for at least having a state-run system where they can be fed and educated, though I am sure the conditions are not at all desirable.

So THAT is why each person should be followed and convinced – because an individual dying is not the worst thing that can happen, but leaving behind children with no guidance and love is.  All the amazing things that have been done in this country since 1966 are in jeopardy and of course it’s the innocent who will suffer.  Anyway, we’ll see what we can do but I am expecting this worse.  After all, 15% of all children in Botswana are orphans, making up 8% of the total population.

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The entry above was written with the intention of being uploaded last weekend.  However, the cost of transport to Francistown went up 30% so I told myself I would wait another week when I was more in need of food so as to kill more birds with one stone (this is the second time transport has gone up since I’ve been in Maitengwe… if it goes up again – which it surely will – it will likely be unjustifiable to go.  Already the round-trip cost is equivalent to nearly two days of my wages, excluding the money I spend once I am here).

Anyway, before posting I wanted to share some updates – both good news!  Firstly, some men from the American embassy came to see the Centre.  It was kind of odd seeing Americans here, and I honestly found it difficult to speak as eloquently as I would like.  They probably thought I had some sort of speech impediment but I have just become so used to speaking very simply and slowly.  Anyway, they seemed impressed with the work we are doing at MHBC and would like to help us build the kitchen for the kids.  However they have not yet received their new budget so the details of their commitment are pending.  We are hoping for good news by the month’s end!

On more microcosmic yet larger news, the guardian of my window-tapping-boy has decided to give HAART a try!  I had convinced one of the counselors to go back to his house and while he was fairly apathetic at the time – a few days later one of the nurses informed me that he had come in on his own accord and filled out the paperwork.  Whether my persistent visits had anything to do with it, I don’t know.  Either way I am happy to see he is at least going to give it a shot.  It by no means guarantees a happy ending, but it least puts the option of a happy ending back on the table.  Let’s just hope he stays committed because the medication requires responsible adherence to work properly, and intense side effects often discourage people from continuing.

So how’s that for good news from Africa?

I had hoped to upload some pictures and videos but unfortunately the connection is really bad today.  Maybe next time!