Thursday, being our third full day in country, was our first go to see the AIDS project. Jacqui was to meet us at 8AM and take us across town to the Lideta area. Immediately out of the Bingham gate, Jacqui zips through a flock of school kids all matching in colorful uniforms with the same look on their face: another day of school. I am starting to get the hang of riding in the car. It doesn't matter if its a small child, a body sleeping by the street, a donkey or a SUV truck, 6 inches is plenty of space to navigate around them and maintain full speed. Driving to Lideta, we pass the Merkato which is the huge open air market. To no one's surprise it is jam packed, and to be honest, doesnt look much different from the rest of the city.
Once we arrive at the compound, we meet the various Ethiopian staff and make our way upstairs to the main offices. The three offices are littered with Macs. The first thing through the door is an iMac and Airport Extreme. Towards the back is a slew of Mac Minis and then, a couple of Dell PCs cowering in the corner. Downstairs, a team from Chattanooga's New City Church are working construction. They are renovating the back courtyard to accommodate future interns. This involved moving the outdoor toilet, or 'squatty potties' around to the rear of the yard and turning a small shed into living quarters with a kitchen.
Finally, Alemu, (the spelling is mine, all mine) greeted us and asked us to come along with him as he makes visits to nearby beneficiaries. As we walk, I am surprised we are not bombarded by the local folks. I was worried that walking next to Blondie was going to cause a groundswell. The first individual we visit is bedridden. Alemu asks him questions to see if he has been taking his medicine. His cough is long and deep. Alemu thinks he has TB. His daughter works at the little stove and the room is barely larger than an average bathroom. The smell is the same. As we walk out of the door, Alemu explains that the wife is positive as well but they are waiting to test the three daughters. They dont want to know.
The next beneficiary we visit is an ex-prostitute. Her house is the same size but very clean and orderly. She appears healthy, vibrant. She is very friendly and shows us pictures of her son and her as a young girl. Her eyes sparkle.
The third patient we see is elderly and has just returned from the Black Lion Hospital. Her legs are swollen and Alemu admits that he is depressed by her situation. Her children do laundry while they are there and they smile as we leave--its rude not to greet people as you pass them. Finally, we come to our last visit for the morning. A beautiful girl who most be 5 or 6 runs up to us and after Alemu play-kicks with her, we enter her home. Its obvious that she lives with her grandmother and Alemu explains that the little girl is not a beneficiary but they help her with her medication because the grandmother has a difficult time cutting the pills into halves and the little girl does not like to swallow the pills. Her parents died of AIDS 4 years ago. We play with the girl some more and Alemu tells us that she is actually almost 10 years old and when her parents were ill, she was never enrolled in school; since she can't read/write, she can't go to primary school and she is too old to be admitted to kindergarten. At this point, her only option is to practice her letters and numbers in a homemade, newspaper-bound notebook.
After lunch, we return to Bingham and sleep, for two hours.
Once we arrive at the compound, we meet the various Ethiopian staff and make our way upstairs to the main offices. The three offices are littered with Macs. The first thing through the door is an iMac and Airport Extreme. Towards the back is a slew of Mac Minis and then, a couple of Dell PCs cowering in the corner. Downstairs, a team from Chattanooga's New City Church are working construction. They are renovating the back courtyard to accommodate future interns. This involved moving the outdoor toilet, or 'squatty potties' around to the rear of the yard and turning a small shed into living quarters with a kitchen.
Finally, Alemu, (the spelling is mine, all mine) greeted us and asked us to come along with him as he makes visits to nearby beneficiaries. As we walk, I am surprised we are not bombarded by the local folks. I was worried that walking next to Blondie was going to cause a groundswell. The first individual we visit is bedridden. Alemu asks him questions to see if he has been taking his medicine. His cough is long and deep. Alemu thinks he has TB. His daughter works at the little stove and the room is barely larger than an average bathroom. The smell is the same. As we walk out of the door, Alemu explains that the wife is positive as well but they are waiting to test the three daughters. They dont want to know.
The next beneficiary we visit is an ex-prostitute. Her house is the same size but very clean and orderly. She appears healthy, vibrant. She is very friendly and shows us pictures of her son and her as a young girl. Her eyes sparkle.
The third patient we see is elderly and has just returned from the Black Lion Hospital. Her legs are swollen and Alemu admits that he is depressed by her situation. Her children do laundry while they are there and they smile as we leave--its rude not to greet people as you pass them. Finally, we come to our last visit for the morning. A beautiful girl who most be 5 or 6 runs up to us and after Alemu play-kicks with her, we enter her home. Its obvious that she lives with her grandmother and Alemu explains that the little girl is not a beneficiary but they help her with her medication because the grandmother has a difficult time cutting the pills into halves and the little girl does not like to swallow the pills. Her parents died of AIDS 4 years ago. We play with the girl some more and Alemu tells us that she is actually almost 10 years old and when her parents were ill, she was never enrolled in school; since she can't read/write, she can't go to primary school and she is too old to be admitted to kindergarten. At this point, her only option is to practice her letters and numbers in a homemade, newspaper-bound notebook.
After lunch, we return to Bingham and sleep, for two hours.
1 comment:
new city! thats where trish's family goes to church!
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