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THINKING GLOBALLY at the "Global Strategies" conference, and ACTING
LOCALLY at the "Focus on Women" conference - A report from Uganda
(cont. page 2)
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What kind of choice is that?
At the reception I meet a Ugandan woman. We are both mothers, activists, and HIV-positive.
She tells me that when she began to get sick she went on the anti-HIV drug Combivir
(AZT - 3TC), and later added nevirapine (Viramune).
I am pleasantly surprised she was able to get them. Then she fills in the details.
She has two children. In Uganda, primary school is free, but you have to pay for
secondary (middle and high school). Many parents can't afford it.
She tells me lab tests (CD4= and viral load) are expensive. Her professional
income is enough to pay for HIV drugs, her child's school fees, or labs to monitor
her health. But she must choose one. What kind of choice is that? And she has
more than the average Ugandan. Her story brings me to tears.
The many tribes in Uganda speak 54 languages. We are treated to drummers, singers
and dancers. While I am still processing her sad story, my new friend is dancing
and celebrating the good things in life. Over the next 10 days I will see this
over and over again: despite suffering, poverty, and injustice I don't see people
feeling sorry for themselves or seeking pity. They are looking for solutions,
and eager to do their part.
Condoms work….Praise God!
Next a Baptist preacher who works in refugee camps asks if we have HIV in California.
"Yes," I say. "I've had it 18 years." He's blown away. He's never heard of a person
having it more than 10 years. I show pictures of my 5-year-old twin girls (uninfected),
and tell him we took NVP when they were born. This conference is about how to
make NVP available to women in Uganda and other parts of the world.
I show a picture of my husband, HIV-negative after 16 years with me. He and
his friend are delighted. "We always heard this thing about condoms, but
we didn't really know if they worked. Now you are showing us that they do."
I smile, embarrassed to be having this conversation with a preacher. "Condoms
work," I say. "Praise God!" he says.
He says there are 50,000 refugees along the border with Rwanda, with nothing
to do but drink, have sex, and wait for food aid. Many people live in one hut.
Perhaps a mother and father will sleep in a bed while their four children sleep
under it. He is desperate for contacts with the outside world. I tell him about
Balm in Gilead, a group that is helping churches do AIDS work (www.balmingilead.org),
and offer copies of WORLD and "Where women have no doctor." The book
is perfect for such a setting where there are no medical facilities, but people
get sick all the same.
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