Brian Crosby and Esther Mhagama from Oxfam at a resource centre for people with HIV/AIDS in Tanga, Tanzania.
"We met with a group of about 30 people with HIV who meet regularly in a kind of community centre, and by way of introduction they stood in turn to give their name, and a number - the number of years that they have been living with the disease. In declaring themselves HIV positive, they run the risk of being shunned by their peers or disowned by their families, so they draw support and comfort from each other. There was a 19 year old girl - two years. A 58 year old woman with eight children - four years. I spoke to Peter, a 34 year Kenyan who has been positive for 4 years. He lost his wife to AIDS 4 years ago, and isn't really working at the moment, picking up casual labour on the docks when it's there. He's on the herbal medicines, as his white blood cell count is above 600. They taste rank, he makes a puss to underline this. He says he won't take the Anti Retroviral Drugs unless his count falls below 200, if he gets them. It's doubtful that he would qualify, he says. The group make crafts to sell to visitors like us - colourful fabrics and handbags. They have hand held wicker style fans bearing a line in Swahili that means 'Sadness will End'."
exerpt from Paul's Diary.
[more...]
