Food for Thought

It’s been a month since my last blog post, and I have a lot of catching up to do! To start, I’d like to share with you a few of my favorite culinary discoveries:

BUNNY

This is authentic Durban cuisine right here! Take a ¼ loaf of bread, carve out the center and fill with curry and beans or meat. Then the bread from the loaf’s center is placed on top of the curry filling. A bunny is usually served with a carrot and chili salad, and you eat it all with your hands!

When I first arrived in South Africa and Rhona introduced me to the “bunny,” I ate bean bunnies almost every day. That was before I discovered the chip roll.

CHIP ROLL

A hot dog roll, filled with French fries, covered with cheese and ketchup. YUM. I’m always carbo-loading for tomorrow’s run!

ROTI

I’ve also enjoyed plenty of roti and beans here. Roti is essentially a savory crepe, that I most usually order filled with beans and curry. I love my beans and curry. I hope to learn how to make a proper South African curry before I leave!

ROOIBOS & HONEYBUSH TEA

I drink it almost every day. It’s delicious and good for you.

CRÈME SODA

Sodas are called “cool drinks,” here. The drink I know as cream soda in the States is bright green here, but it tastes (almost) exactly the same!

And finally, a friendly reminder from a neighborhood restaurant…


When it comes to food, my willingness to try anything and everything has introduced to me a plethora of other delicious South African dishes not represented in this brief blog post. And with the Easter holidays approaching this weekend, I hope to discover even more!

I'm also thrilled to report that with the beautiful support of a community volunteer, the Blue Roof nutrition program is now providing hot meals for our patients Monday through Thursday! It is very important for patients take their anti-retroviral medication with food, and for many patients at the Blue Roof, the meal they receive at the clinic will be their only meal for the day. Food prices in South Africa continue to rise, and so the number of patients who need nutritional assistance is growing. Rhona and I are working hard to negotiate discounts with local grocery stores, as well as donations of excess food products that can stock our supply for patient meals. We also intend to use the vegetables grown in our community garden as ingredients for patient meals, in an effort to make the nutrition program more self-sustaining.

Keep It Simple

My time here in South Africa has taught me to find joy in the most simple of things. Like African sunsets...


and monkeys crossing the road on power lines...


With these joys in mind, I have lots of progress to report from the Blue Roof! Home based care began our outreach to patients last week in our new vehicle! In addition to providing home care to patients, our home based care workers are going to use the vehicle to trace patients who have defaulted from treatment, in hopes of getting them back on their medication, and possibly identifying them as a patient in need of home care.

I joined the home based care workers in the field on Thursday, and it was eye-opening in a number of ways. Thulani drove, and Audrey, Brenda and myself went with him. On the ride there, Brenda commented on me collecting CVs from everyone in the clinic, which I have been doing the past week or so, because Human Health Development Trust needs them before they can begin training our team on TB-DOTS, HIV/TB counseling, and home care. Brenda explained to me that nobody had ever asked them for CVs before, and they were so grateful, because it shows that we care what their background is, what their skills are, and that we value them as Blue Roof employees. I honestly thought I was being a nuisance by asking everyone for their CVs, but apparently, in some way, they felt empowered by the ask. I have to keep this in mind as I move forward in my work here – sometimes the simplest things can make a significant difference. Most of my work is focused towards making things bigger and better at the Blue Roof, and while this is a good goal, I have to remember that it doesn’t always have to be big to make an impact. The big things will come, but there are plenty of little items to take care of along the way, that will also be helpful to the clinic’s growth.

The first three patients that we went to see in the home based care vehicle were “defaulters,” patients who had missed their doctor’s appointments or failed to pick up their medication recently. We found that the first patient we traced had passed away almost a month ago. We met with her mother and father, and one of her sons left behind. It is difficult to speak to anyone about a family member who has recently passed, but what makes it even more difficult in this situation, is often the family will not know that their mother/sister/father/brother/son/daughter had HIV. Therefore, the home based care workers have to tread carefully in their approach to our patient houses. It is one thing if they are expecting us because they have requested home care, it is quite another if we are just checking up on them because we have not been able to contact them. We had brought monthly food parcels with us, so we left a food parcel with each of the families we visited. I talked to the home based care workers about how I wish there was more we could do for the families after our patients passed, because right now, when we find out that patients have passed, there is nothing more we can do than offer our deepest sympathies.

I discussed this idea with other members of our staff, and was reminded of two very good points. Firstly, the mission of the Blue Roof Center is to provide the life-saving AIDS medication and surrounding care that people in our community need to survive. Our patients and their families are all a part of the Blue Roof family, and so it is natural that we want to continue providing support to patient families even after the patients pass. However, there is so much development that still needs to happen with all the programs that we are already running, and thankfully there are outside organizations that are already set up to address the family's needs after death. Secondly, the Blue Roof Center is a place that people come to in hopes of staying alive, and it will perhaps give the wrong impression if we begin offering grief counseling services or such to families who have lost their loved ones. It is important to recognize that death is inevitable in the line of work that we do, but all Blue Roof programming must stem from our central mission: keeping people alive.

I am developing a thicker skin for when my ideas bounce back at me. It is to be expected that not everything I think of as a solution here will work, and that not everything I think of doing will be well received by my colleagues at the clinic. I think I’m also just used to a different dialogue of ideas, where someone suggests something, and we build upon that idea, developing it until it becomes something we can use. I’m realizing though that any resistance I encounter can be constructive, and it is all part of the process of trying to make strategic change in a foreign country. I am still working on finding the balance between where I can push for change and progress in certain areas, and where I must learn to just let things be. I am so appreciative of the input from the Blue Roof staff, who are more familiar with the clinic's operations and the local community mentality than I may ever be, and they are helping me so much by filtering my ideas to identify an effective platform for change.

I think just the fact that the home based care workers are going to be tracing defaulters, many of whom we may find have passed, is actually enough. The two families that we visited on Thursday were so grateful that we even stopped by to check in on their family member who had recently passed, and we were even able to give them food parcels as well, and they were most appreciative.

The third defaulter we traced was a patient who lives in a tin shack in Malagazi, outside of Wentworth. She looks around my age, and she has just recently given birth to a baby boy. We were happy to see that she is alive and well. She said the reason for her missed appointments was because she could not get transport to the clinic, but she had arranged it for Monday, and would see us then. It was shocking to see all these tins shacks clusters in Malagazi. Her shack is about the size of my bedroom in my old St. Marks apartment, for those of you who can recall (I think the dimensions were 10 ft by 11 ft). The ceilings are low though, 6 feet maybe, and no windows. She lives in this space with her mother and new baby boy. We were able to give her a food parcel, for which she was most grateful, but we were left wanting to give more. I am going to work on getting a more readily available supply of clothes and linen and basic necessities that we can provide to our most needy patients. We can have a supply closet in house to provide items to patients at the clinic, and our home based care workers can also bring a stock of items with them to give to patients as they see necessary.

The fourth patient we visited on Thursday is actually not a Blue Roof patient yet, but his family is working on transferring him to the clinic soon. He has full blown AIDS; he is literally skin and bones, and shaky to the core. He is probably in his mid-40s, but you can’t tell his age by looking at him right now, because he is just so skeletal. And you could tell he was uncomfortable having the three of us girls there in addition to Thulani, so we excused ourselves so Thulani could bathe him. While we were waiting in the kombi (the local term for van), we spoke to his daughter who is his primary caretaker. She is 23, but she looks about 16. She wants to go to university for fashion design, but for now, must continue working and seeing to her father’s health. He has clearly been sick for quite some time. Apparently he took a turn for the worse in November, and has only been on ARV treatment for the last few months. Brenda and Audrey commended his daughter for her strength in handling the situation, and while I can only imagine what it takes for her to see her father so ill, and to be the one responsible for his wellbeing, I understand the strength she shows. It is incredible how the most terrible heartbreaking things in life can become so normative when you are constantly faced with them. After a while, it’s not so shocking any more. I exchanged numbers with her and told her that she should do her best to take care of herself in the midst of everything. If you don’t take care of yourself first, how can you expect to take care of anyone else?

The home based care workers finish their workday at 2pm, and we returned to the clinic just in time. Then, Thulani and I had drove quickly to Wentworth Hospital (which is just down the street) to drop off the second round of bloods for testing. It is incredible to see the difference in mere appearance between the public hospital and the Blue Roof. The hospital is old and dark, dingy and rundown, a far cry from the Blue Roof that is so warm and welcoming. Again, the simple things can make such a difference. The new Blue Roof building is filled with light and brilliant color that uplifts the spirit when you arrive, which is so important, especially when people are so sick. And in the context of HIV, it is even more important to provide patients an environment where they can find hope in the light, in the colors, in the greenery, and in the company of people who are doing everything possible to keep them alive.

Wentworth Hospital

The Blue Roof was blessed last week with friends in the community and patients volunteering their time and talent to help the clinic’s programs continue to grow. I also met with a number of Rhona’s friends from the community this week who are interested in helping the clinic fundraise and get items we need most urgently, like furniture, donated.

Construction of the new kitchen has finally been completed, which means we can begin providing hot meals to our daily patients! Last week, we started by making samp and beans - a mix of grain, beans and veggies that’s high in protein and a hearty meal for our patients. One of Rhona’s friends from church has volunteered to help prepare hot meals like this three days a week, and we also have a patient here who has express interested in helping cook as well! Our community garden is growing and thriving, and we are already preparing to use some of the pumpkin tops as spinach in patient meals this week.

Samp and Beans

Another of our patients, Nicol, started volunteering her time to work with me and the youth program last week. I am so grateful to have her involved! Just having someone else on my side to communicate things to the kids I think is going to make an enormous difference. I know I am working on creating these bigger empowerment initiatives, like physical fitness, income generation, and so forth, but what I’ve learned time and again this week is that even the little changes are making a difference. Nicol is going to be such a huge help to me by volunteering her time with the youth, and she feels so empowered by the role at the same time. She told me that now she feels even more so that she can indeed beat this disease, and it means so much to me to be a part of that.

Whatever It Takes

The Blue Roof Clinic is one of five sites that Keep a Child Alive funds in South Africa. Three of these sites – Agape, Bobbi Bear, and the Blue Roof - are located in and around Durban. The other two – Ikageng Itireng AIDS Ministry and Boikarabelo – are located near Johannesburg. The beauty of having three sites in close proximity to each other is that we can support each other’s work more readily. The Agape Child Care Center is home to nearly 50 children from ages 1 to 17, offering hope and promise to a generation orphaned by AIDS. Operation Bobbi Bear focuses on the rescue and rehabilitation of children who are victims of sexual abuse or rape. If any of these children at Agape or Bobbi Bear test positive for HIV, they can come to the Blue Roof for treatment. If the Blue Roof or Agape encounters a child who has been victim to rape, they can reach out to Bobbi Bear for support. And if Bobbi Bear or the Blue Roof discover a child that needs a home, they can contact Agape for help. Together, the three sites are addressing the many facets of the AIDS crisis that make it so difficult to overcome.

On Wednesday, Rhona and I went to visit the Tree at Bobbi Bear. Jackie Branfield and Eureka Olivier are the superwomen who direct Operation Bobbi Bear, and every Wednesday, they hold the Tree as a place for all the women in the area to come from near and far for inspiration, encouragement and empowerment. During our time there, Rhona and I talked to Jackie and Eureka about Bobbi Bear’s more urgent needs for funding. My work at the Blue Roof and my recent interactions with the amazing Bobbi Bear staff and volunteers has shown me just how complex the needs for funding are in this line of work. From staff salaries to training more community safety and child safety officers, to new pillows, clean linen and mattresses for the children, to a constant new supply of food and clothing for the children, to doctor payments in private hospitals so the children are seen as quickly as possible, the costs to keep Bobbi Bear up and running are only going to grow more as its life-saving services continue to expand.

The Tree

The Bobbi Bear team works all day from 8am-4pm, and when they get home from work, there are people literally lined up at their doors to see them. It is a 24/7 job. And when you are working with children who have been sexually assaulted, the job is a fragile one. Bobbi Bear has to pay for someone to do all their laundry, especially the linen and duvets, because many of these children are prone to wet the bed. Therefore, Bobbi Bear is also in constant need of new mattresses. Many of the children want to take their pillows with them when they leave, as well as the clean clothes they are given to wear, so there is always a need for more pillows and clothes for the children! And even after the children leave Bobbi Bear for their foster homes, the Bobbi Bear team checks in with all of them to make sure they are safe, healthy and happy. Bobbi Bear’s “Rough Aunties” are true heroes in the lives of thousands of children and families in South Africa, and I am going to work with Keep a Child Alive to ensure that Bobbi Bear has everything it needs to continue its amazing work. Email me at noelle@keepachildalive.org if you are interested in helping KCA support Bobbi Bear.

On Thursday, I spent the morning with the Bobbi Bear team at a local primary school. We spent an hour there, and Auntie Tandega spoke to the kids about HIV and rape on the most basic level. The children in the crowd were between from 3-5 years old, so the content of the Edu-toy program was focused on talking to the children about “good things” versus “bad things” and that when someone does something bad to you, you tell the teacher or your parents. The talk also taught the kids about all the liquids that come from your body – pee, blood, sweat, spit – and that “if it’s wet, and it comes from your body, do not touch it.” The idea behind this routine is that if a child is being sexually abused, they will be able to recognize it as a “bad thing,” to “not touch,” and to tell an adult they trust. They were also introduced to HIV as simply a virus that your body cannot recognize, so it makes you very sick because your antibodies cannot fight it off. These kinds of educational programs should be incorporated in schools every where, because it is so important for children to gain the skills and knowledge at a young age, especially in South Africa, where there is such a high instance of reported child rape.

On Friday morning, Rhona dropped me off at work because she was going to a day-long meeting at the Dept. of Health – there was a whole hour dedicated to discussing Keep a Child Alive, which is very exciting! As I walked into the clinic, I saw three white girls around my age walking out with a black baby boy. I could tell he was very sick, and something seemed up, so I went and asked the staff what his situation was. Apparently the girls had brought him in for a CD4 count, and even though the nurses generally do not do bloods and CD4 tests on Fridays, we figured out a way to help the sick little boy that day, because the Blue Roof does not turn any one away, ever. The girls were so grateful that we could test his CD4 count on Friday! Now they just have to come back next week for his results. What’s tragic is that he is actually six years old – but he has been sick his whole life without proper treatment and care, and therefore looks half his age. Even though we won’t have his results until next week, I am glad we were able to put his caretakers’ minds at ease for the weekend, knowing that the Blue Roof is doing everything we can to find out how sick this little boy is, and how we can help him.

"We may run, walk, stumble, drive or fly, but let us never lose sight of the reason for the journey, or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way."

My Mom, My Superwoman!

Today is a very important day – my mom’s birthday!! My mom is my oldest friend, literally there from the very beginning! She has spent the last 23 years of her life raising Nina, Nick and me into the smart, strong, passionate and unique souls we are today. And I’m proud to say that I’m a lot like her. We both take on any opportunity to travel to new places and meet new and interesting people. We both can spend long hours on the phone talking about not much in particular. We both hate shopping for ourselves, but can always find a reason to buy for others. We are both serious nerds when it comes to reading and discussing infectious diseases. We love taking photographs, and will make you smile for five minutes straight if that’s how long it takes to get a good shot. The list goes on and on!

My mom is such an incredible, constant pillar of strength, love and support in my life. She has always been there for me through everything. From the piano recitals to the Honolulu Marathon, from helping me get ready for school dances to helping me through multiple moves in New York City. She’s the one that’s always there to listen when I get emotional (which is often), and has found a way to talk me through every difficult moment in my life. Unfortunately, her birthday this year comes at a very difficult time for our family, and I’m very sorry that I am so far away, when she has always been there to support me no matter what.

My mom and me in Hawaii (after the marathon!)

MY MOM IS A SUPERWOMAN. Her selflessness is the inspiration behind the work I do every day for Keep a Child Alive. Keep a Child Alive was founded on a mother’s love, inspired by one woman’s fight for the AIDS medication to keep her little boy alive. In 2002, royalties from Leigh Blake's previous fundraiser, Red Hot & Blue, built the AIDS Research and Family Care Clinic in Mombasa, Kenya. When Leigh arrived at the clinic, she met Anne, desperate to obtain the anti-retroviral drugs that her three-year-old son Brine needed to survive. Leigh was so moved by Anne and her courage that she decided to pay for the medicine. What started as payment for the drugs for one young boy has expanded since with Keep a Child Alive to fund the treatment and care of more than 45,000 people in Africa and India.

The AIDS pandemic in Africa is bringing more superwomen like Anne, Leigh, Rhona and my mom to the forefront. With more and more parents dying from AIDS, grandmothers are raising their grandchildren and teenage girls are raising their younger brothers and sisters. In addition to becoming the primary caretakers, these superwomen are actively seeking AIDS medicine for these children left behind. Keep a Child Alive funds the anti-retroviral therapy at the Blue Roof, and we welcome all mothers and children in need!

Happy Birthday Mom! Take today to take care of yourself. Jam out to Alicia Keys, and celebrate the superwoman you truly are!!

“The state of humanity is wearing on my shoulders, I got to find the strength in me…’cause I am a superwoman, yes I am…’cause even when I’m a mess, I still put on a vest, with an S on my chest, oh yes, I’m a superwoman.

This is for all the mothers fighting for better days to come…and all my women, all my women sitting here trying to come home before the sun…and all my sisters coming together saying “yes, I will,” “yes I can,” ‘cause I am a superwoman, yes I am…’cause even when I’m a mess, I still put on a vest, with an S on my chest, oh yes, I’m a superwoman.”

We Are All In This Together

Last week was another busy week at the Blue Roof! Just how I like it. Unfortunately, Rhona was out sick until Thursday, and there are a number of items that cannot move forward without her approval, so I spent the week preparing and managing as much as I could without her. She’s feeling much better now – back to her vibrant self! – so I’m sure next week and the weeks that follow are going to be even busier as we continue to make things happen!!

One of the things I am currently working on is helping furnish the clinic. We intend for one of the rooms upstairs to become a learning center, filled with computers and a library, where we can teach computer literacy classes to our staff and patients, and offer a study space for the youth group. This guy Kerwin represents one of the companies we are quoting for the job, to provide us computers and a wireless network for the clinic. He stopped by last week to check on the status of the job, and then he ended up talking to me about my stay here and how I should really get out and see South Africa or I’ll regret it (which I know already, and we’re trying to figure out the car situation, but there’s a lot of other things going on as well!!). After he said goodbye, he caught our accountant Duane in the hall and we ended up talking even more, which led to a discussion on how vastly different lifestyles in South Africa can be. He was saying that whether he moved to the U.S. or Canada, London or Johannesburg, his lifestyle would not change dramatically from what it is right now. He made the point that people who live comfortably in South Africa are often incognizant of the fact that there are people not too far away who do not have access to clean water, let alone medical care. I think this is symptomatic of many places in the world – because even in NYC, people get used to walking out of Bloomingdales and passing beggars on the street without the slightest recognition. And I think when it comes to South Africa, you might wonder how people can be so blind, but depending on the areas that you live and work in, the country’s poverty level may be even less obvious than it is in the States. It’s interesting to think about how easy it is to live in a bubble and feel unaffected by things happening to people right in your immediate community. The province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa has an HIV prevalence rate of 40% (http://www.avert.org/safricastats.htm). Imagine you’re at an assembly of some sort, sitting in an audience. Look to the person to your left. Now look to the person to your right. According to these stats, at least one of the three of you is infected with HIV. I often talk about how inhumane it is for people in the rest of the world to feel detached, unaffected and irresponsible for the HIV pandemic in Africa, but it’s important to realize many people in Africa feel just as detached, unaffected and irresponsible, due to the circles they run in. If you aren’t witness to the masses of dying people that statistics report, then what makes you connected?

The social work interns started work here last Wednesday, and it is great to have them here as an added service to our clinic. Once we hire a social worker, she will oversee them, but for now, they are working with our VCT counselors. When our patients come in for doctor’s appointments, to pick up their medication, or to get tested, our staff will inform them that they have the option to see a social worker as well, if they are interested. Since the social work interns are still students, they cannot make any formal recommendations and take the action that a certified social worker can, but they can identify urgent concerns and make Dr. Itua and the counselors aware, so we can address the issue as soon as possible. I created daily reports for them to fill out with regards to their work here at the clinic, which will help us keep track of their contributions to the clinic, and learn how we can improve the system.

Rhona came in for half a day on Thursday, which was good for her to ease back into things, and we also had a bunch of meetings that she needed to be a part of. First, we met with East Coast Architects, who are slowly but surely clearing up all the building snags from construction of the new building. The main issue is that the big items that remain to be completed – the parking lot needs to be tarred, the roof needs to be repaired, and the electrical cabling needs to be properly set up to handle more electrical power (for air conditioning, etc.) - could potentially need more funding than what we have right now. This week, we will be following up with the guy who handles the account for the renovations, so we know exactly how the funding was spent and if any money remains to address these outstanding items.

Our next meeting was with Eric from Human Health Development Trust. LOVE HIM! Human Health really wants to work with us to get all the people in the community who have HIV and TB on treatment, and they are willing to train our staff for FREE to make sure that the job gets done! They are going to train our VCT counselors and our HBC workers on TB-DOTS and Home-Based Care, and they are going to train all the staff on HIV/TB counseling. Once the training is complete, they are also going to conduct the assessments, so our staff can be SETA-accredited, which is very exciting! This training will enhance the quality of care our team provides to patients on a daily basis!

For my next meeting, Nicole, the receptionist, took me to the Austerville Clinic for their community meeting, which is about a five minute walk away from the Blue Roof. There I met volunteers from Happy Hearts and Senzane Care Center, as well as nurses and representatives from the Austerville Clinic and Wentworth AIDS Action Group. I’m so happy I was able to attend because it really gave me some perspective on how the different community clinics can really work together to address the medical needs of the very poor in Wentworth. There was still an air of competition though. What’s silly is that we all exist for the same purpose, and there is always going to be a need, so why can’t we just all work together to achieve our common goal? The meeting also gave me great insight into the kind of community council that KCA wants to start for the Blue Roof. I have to be careful about how I proceed here, because I don’t want the councils to be in competition either, but my impression of this meeting was that it focused on the needs of the Austerville Clinic and what the community can do to help them. So then, every clinic should have a meeting that focuses on their needs and how the community can contribute. Or, alternatively, these community meetings should be held in a neutral location, or held at different locations every month so that the meetings are not so focused on one organization’s needs versus another’s. I mentioned something about us getting sewing machines donated so we can set up an empowerment program for our patients to make clothes on site – and a woman at the meeting mentioned different organizations that would be willing to donate fabric for the initiative. I’m very excited about looking into this and getting this and other empowerment programs rolling!

Another thing I noticed is just how blessed the Blue Roof Clinic is for having the support of Keep a Child Alive. During the meeting, various concerns raised by those present all came back to funding in one way or another. "We want to do this, but we need funding." "The government is going to fund the repairs to our roof, but we do not know when, so we just have to wait." Keep a Child Alive has made the beautiful new building at the clinic possible, and donations from people just like you help Keep a Child Alive continue to sustain the programs and services that our clinic provides to so many patients in need.

My day was not over just yet! At 4:00PM, I met with the Blue Roof youth. There were ten kids present today, a few more than last time, and I hope the numbers will continue to rise in the coming weeks. I’m going to ask all the kids to bring someone new to the Blue Roof meeting next week, or an old member that hasn’t been to Thursday meetings yet. Using the KCA College Program and the KCA Kid Power initiative as a guide, we discussed how to fundraise and the different events we could do. The majority of them want to do a fashion show, which is very ambitious, but I’m confident we can get it together!

I also talked to the kids about participating in the Youth Day that’s being hosted next weekend by WOW (Women of Wentworth), but unfortunately, they did not want to have anything to do with it. There is apparently some kind of animosity between the Blue Roof youth and the WOW youth, because the kids were very adamant about “having nothing to do with them.” It’s so unfortunate, because all the different community clinics are working for the same common goal, there is no reason to be in competition with one another, and not support each other’s work. The more support we give one another, the more effective we will be as a movement! I’m going to contact all the other advisors for the youth programs in the area, and see if we can orchestrate some kind of youth team building, where all the programs have to work together!

On Thursday night, Rae and I attended a braai (barbecue) that the German students living on Rhona’s property were hosting. We weren’t sure if it was still happening because it was raining, but we wanted to show up just in case! And I’m glad we did, because it was indeed still going on, and it was a lot of fun! The girls that stay on Rhona’s property are Marisa, Anna, and Uti, and they are the sweetest! Everyone at the braai, except for Rae and myself, were final year medical students, and they are in South Africa doing their practical, which has got to be fascinating! Next week, the girls are going to come shadow Rhona at the Blue Roof, and I’m looking forward to share with them all the incredible work that is taking place here!

Friends and Family Taking Action

I was so excited to check my email this week and read a KCA College shout out to my brother, Nick! Nick has started a KCA Chapter at New Hanover High School, and he is teaming up with my best friend Amanda Guy, who has just started a KCA Chapter at UNCW! KCA College is an action-oriented network of high school and college students who support the mission and work of Keep a Child Alive. KCA College members raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic on campus and take action by fundraising for Keep a Child Alive to provide ARVs and surrounding care to children and their families living with HIV/AIDS.

The new KCA Chapters at New Hanover High School and UNCW are going to give students in the Wilmington area, a fun and exciting way to get involved with AIDS activism. Our generation has never known a world with AIDS, but with the enthusiasm, passion and dedication of students like Nick and Amanda, people our age can be the force behind beating the pandemic. AIDS is preventable, treatable and stoppable, yet it continues to devastate the lives of millions of people. It is a human imperative for every one of us to do something to keep our brothers and sisters affected by HIV/AIDS, alive.

Me, Mike and Amanda at AIDS Walk NY

In Amanda’s own words:
“I will work as hard as I can, but I cannot do it alone…Students can truly make a difference. It only takes $1 a day to keep a child alive and these children cannot even afford that. We have to do something and I think by starting this club and doing what we can to raise money and awareness, we can make even the tiniest bit of difference.”

You can see the difference you make right here with the stories I share about the patients you help keep alive at the Blue Roof! To join Amanda’s amazing efforts, click here to join the KCA at UNCW Chapter. To join Nick’s mega Chapter at New Hanover High School, click here. Nick and Amanda are already planning to host a screening of Alicia in Africa: Journey to the Motherland (available to watch for free on www.aliciainafrica.com), to raise awareness about KCA’s life-saving work, and get their peers to “give a buck!” Click here to learn more about the KCA College “Who Gives a Buck?” signature fundraiser.

My brother Nick, my sister Nina, and yours truly

In Nick’s own words:

“We can make a difference in peoples lives and this is one of the great ways in doing so.”

I am so grateful to Nick and Amanda for joining me and KCA in the fight against AIDS! The funds they raise at home will continue to make my work on the ground possible! If you have an idea on how you can help, email me at noelle@keepachildalive.org!

RIght and Privilege

Rae, the woman who owns the apartment I’m living in, came to Durban last week to make sure that everything was in order in the flat and the other house she rents here. She has been staying with me since Friday in the extra bedroom, and it has been really nice having someone around to spend time with!

On Saturday, after my run, I went to the beach for a few hours while Rae ran some errands. The ocean was absolutely BEAUTIFUL today, with rolling waves, one on top of another! I guess the waves were no good for surfing though, because there were no surfers in sight! And the water was very cold!!

On Sunday, I was heading out the door to go running a little before 8AM, and I ran into Agnes standing right outside my door! Agnes is the woman who cleans one of the other flats in the complex, and offered to clean my flat once a week for 80 rand (which equates to about $8.00). This is actually the second time that I’ve opened the door and she has been standing right outside! I don’t know if she knocks, and I just don’t hear, if she just stands outside and waits for me to open the door, or if it really is coincidence where both times she arrives right when I’m headed out. Rae stayed in the flat with Agnes while I went for my run.

After my run, I made breakfast, and had a chance to speak to Agnes a little. She asked me about how much it cost me to be trained as a social worker. Her daughter wants to go to school for social work, but Agnes was saying that it was just so expensive, was it worth the job? I explained to her that I love what I do, so in my mind that makes the degree worth it, and I was reminded of how blessed I am to have the job that I have. In college, I didn’t major in social work, or international health, or international relations, or program management. I majored in broadcast journalism and cultural anthropology. And while I really enjoyed what I was studying, my journalism and PR internships taught me that I wanted to do more than report the news. I wanted to go one step further from spreading awareness, and take some action, so I figured out a way to use the skills I gained from college in AIDS activism. It is important to remember what a luxury that is, for me to have been able to choose what I wanted to study, and then to still be able to choose an entire different career path. And I’m not the only one – most of my friends from college, and even high school, are pursuing a career off the beaten path of what their major set them up for. It may be normative for the circles I run in, in the States, but such flexibility is a privilege in South Africa.

The difference is evident even before children begin school, in school fees. Unlike the States, where if you pay taxes, you can send your child to any public school for “free,” South Africa requires school fees for public schooling at all levels, which makes it enormously difficult for many children to even begin attending school. There are amazing people working to eliminate school fees at the primary school level in South Africa, but what happens after that? Can you imagine never being able to go to school again after the 5th grade? I was in school for the next TWELVE YEARS. Just think about how different our lives would be if we had to become adults at age 12, because we could no longer go to school and needed to work to survive – or because we lost our parents to AIDS and needed to work to keep our brothers and sisters alive. I can’t even count the number of times growing up that I asked my mom if I could stay home from school, or how often my friends and I spoke about just being done with school and getting out in the real world. Rhona was telling me the other day about a little boy that is a refugee from Zimbabwe, and is currently staying at the Agape Orphanage, another site that Keep a Child Alive funds. She told me that all he wants to do is to go to school. How many 12 year olds in the States do you know who want to go to school? Agape was able to arrange for him to begin his schooling here, and they are currently working to ensure he is able to stay here, as a Zimbabwean refugee.

If you come from a family that can afford your school fees, the South African government permits you to go to school wherever you wish, unlike in the States where you attend the public school that is in your school district. There are three different types of schools in South Africa – public schools that are fully funded by the South African government (lowest school fees), Model C schools that are partially funded by the government (more expensive school fees), and private schools that receive no funding from the government (most expensive school fees). As is often the case in the States, the schools that are more expensive tend to have better programs for students, because parents can afford to contribute to the maintenance of the school, its facilities and programs. Schools in rural areas are subject to fewer resources and less financial support from parents, so their programming and facilities are more limited.

The limitation that I find most interesting is that students must decide in high school, what career they want to pursue. If you want to be a doctor, you need to take the necessary science courses in high school for a university to even accept you in the program. And when you begin applying to university, you cannot apply as “Undecided” and then spend the first two years of schooling changing your major five times (like I did) before you decide what you want to do. You apply to a specific program of study, like social work, you get your degree in social work, and you become a social worker. If you decide during your study that you want to study something else, you have to begin all over again (which I know is sometimes the case in the States depending on the university and what your degree is in). And often, even though degree programs in South Africa cost only a fraction of what they cost in the States, most people cannot afford to start over and study something different.

On Sunday afternoon, Rhona hosted an engagement party for her older son Brevin and his fiancé Diedre. It was the first time that both families had spent time together, and it was a lovely evening. There was so much love and joy at the gathering – and it felt so good to be a part of the family! The party also made me miss my own family terribly! At one point, I met Viola, one of Diedre’s cousins, who is 17 and a senior in high school. She had overheard me speaking to someone about majoring in journalism, and she asked me how I liked studying it, because that is one of the careers she is considering pursuing. I explained to her how I loved every minute of studying journalism, but it wasn’t directly related to what I am doing now. She was shocked, and she shared with me how much pressure it was to have to decide what she wanted to do for the rest of her life when she was applying for schools. And I thought I was under pressure with my college applications!

I often think about how different my life would be if I had applied to study piano or acting in college. I had the privilege then to choose “undecided.” I had the privilege to choose where I wanted to study “undecidedly.” And I had the privilege to choose what field I wanted to pursue whether or not it related to what I ended up studying. I believe that every human being has a right to an education. But what does that right stipulate exactly? Do you have the right to be educated up to a certain age? Do you have the right to a free education? Do you have the right to choose how you use your education? And why is education considered a privilege to so many people, when so many other people take it for granted? Every day I work hard to ensure people’s right to life, but what about the right to learn?