Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007 - (Page 21)

Letter from Botswana NATAVILLAGE.ORG Raising money on the web for people living with AIDS by Melody Jenkins housands of truck drivers patients at a time, and makes the trip that help to reduce the viral load, allow traveling the long stretch of to Gweta twice a week. Without those the immune system to get stronger and road between South Africa and anti-retrovirals, most of the 405 men, permit many mothers with the AIDS virus to live long enough to raise their east Africa pass through the village in women, and children on treatment children. In Botswana, more than Botswana where I live. e road is would be dead now. 80,000 people receive these drugs. often called the AIDS superhighway. e Nata clinic has many problems: e village where I live and serve as an We oﬀer the HIV rapid blood test minimal equipment, shortages of HIV/AIDS community in Nata, but what capacity builder is good is it to know called Nata. e if you have AIDS if you can’t get the population is about drugs to ﬁght the 5,000 and of all women eﬀects of the virus? in the village who are ose 300 members pregnant, nearly half are of my village who infected with the AIDS virus. In Botswana, get their antipeople are buried on retrovirals in Gweta Saturdays and a couple can’t always depend of years ago as many as on our ambulance ﬁve funerals were held as there are fuel each weekend in Nata. shortages and Most of these deaths frequent ambulance were due to AIDS. breakdowns. And I’m assigned to the the cost of getting Nata clinic with 23 there on the bus is Nata’s AIDS nurses now have surgical gowns and protective eyewear. hard-working staﬀ, too high for most including a doctor from at $4.50. An AIDS medicine, sheets, instruments, bandages patient has to make the trip at least the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other supplies. But the biggest twice every three months. But many six nurses, family welfare educators problem is the cost of getting patients villagers live in mud rondavels with a and nursing assistants. More than 200 from Nata to Gweta. e clinic in grass roofs. ey farm crops or raise patients pass through the clinic each Gweta has computers to track HIV/ a few livestock to survive. Few have day. We give infant vaccinations and AIDS patients, lab results, specially electricity or decent sanitation. On oﬀer a well-baby clinic and antenatal trained doctors, pharmacy technicians average, they earn about $2 per day and care. We deliver up to 20 babies each and the capacity to record and monitor can’t aﬀord the bus fare to reach the month, give daily treatments to about blood tests. We’ve recently added those clinic in Gweta. Many are absolutely 40 patients with tuberculosis and services at Nata clinic but the rollout of destitute. stabilize the victims of road accidents our ARV program is not yet complete. It became clear that some people before sending them by ambulance In 2003, Botswana began giving free were dying because they couldn’t aﬀord 120 miles to a hospital in Francistown. ARVs to any person with a CD4 blood the bus fare to get to Gweta and our Many of our patients come from within count of 200 or less, which means the need to care for 400 orphans was also a 30-mile radius of our village where patient’s immune system is not strong straining resources. A few grassroots there are three rural health outposts enough to ﬁght common infections. fund-raising projects I had begun were that depend on our services. We also After taking the medications, some not meeting these needs. Many people give anti-retroviral treatment to 105 patients literally look like they have in the village were in crisis and needed residents of Nata and send another 300 come back from the dead. e antiAIDS patients to a clinic 60 miles away immediate help. retrovirals are three tablets taken daily in Gweta. Our ambulance carries 12 WorldView 21 T Melody Jenkins http://NATAVILLAGE.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007

Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007 Contents President's Note Lafayette Park Note to Readers Commentary Letter from India Commentary Letter from Botswana Letter from Ha Teboho Letter from Jumbi Valley Letter from Mununga Letter from Medellin Giving Back Community News

Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007

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