Dec. 1, 2011 - World AIDS Day

Inspired by a fellow Lesotho devotee, I've decided to sit down and reflect upon the experiences that have led me to the passion and devotion I now have for the AIDS orphans of southern Africa and to helping in eradicating this deadly epidemic.

As a student of international studies and international politics, AIDS has been an area of academia that I've constantly been exposed to. However, it wasn't until this summer, when I became immersed in an AIDS environment, that I actually realized how deeply the disease affects me, even as someone who is not HIV+. Just a short recap for those of you who didn't follow me this summer, I spent 6 weeks in southern Africa as part of a Fulbright program focused on education. During this time, we traveled throughout the southern part of the continent and experienced many different peoples, cultures, traditions, economies, political structures, etc. It was an incredible experience that I will forever cherish. Although I was moved by a variety of things throughout the trip, the most emotional and profoundly affecting experiences were the times spent with those suffering from or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Throughout the preparations for the trip, and even during the first week of the trip, I mentally prepared myself for what I was about to experience. I read about AIDS, I read about Lesotho, I read about people who have spent time in the region and have been affected by the disease. I read, I read, I read. However, no amount of reading could have fully prepared me for this experience. I thought it would, but I was sorely mistaken.

I guess you could say that I was fortunate to have a gradual introduction to what life really is like for those affected by AIDS. Our first week in Lesotho was spent in Morija, where we stayed at a wonderful guest house that was also a temporary home to a lovely Canadian family who was there adopting a young girl, Rethabile. Billy, as they called her, was an AIDS orphan (meaning her parents died of AIDS, not that she has AIDS) who was left with no family and therefore sent to a large orphanage in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. I was fortunate to build a relationship with this family and to be able to talk to them nightly about their experience. The conversation I remember most was about the orphanage in which Billy was placed. They described it in detail, painting vivd pictures of rooms full of hundreds of orphans lying on the ground because there was no funding for beds, mess halls full of bugs, kids running around with little or no clothing and no shoes at all. As I listened to their story with tears in my eyes, I looked over at little Billy and made a personal vow to do everything I could to help children like her. Although this was incredibly emotional, I had yet to experience AIDS first hand.

Upon our arrival in Roma, our second location in Lesotho, we were greeted by several small, friendly, happy children. Some of my fellow travelers suspected that their happiness was due to their association of white people to free stuff, but I like to believe that they are genuinely happy just to have someone to play with for a few minutes. Before even unloading our luggage from the bus, we went out to meet and spend a little time with the children. We were swarmed immediately, as kids grabbed our hands, our waists, our legs and didn't let go. They showed us their school, their community center and their homes. We skipped and ran and laughed and played. We attempted conversations that fell flat after a few sentences of broken English, but rebounded with smiles and body language. We never let go of their hands. This continued on for awhile until it was time for us to go back to our lodgings. I cried as I walked away. I cried as we unloaded and unpacked. I cried myself to sleep as I laid in my comfortable bed with a full stomach, a pillow under my head and a heater on full blast. I cried for the kids who have so little, who are so sick, who have lost their family to AIDS, who are so happy and continue to smile, laugh and play despite the circumstances. Nothing I read prepared me for those emotions.

The rest of our time in Roma was spent in the local school and community centers where we played with and taught hundreds of kids, many who have physical signs of AIDS. In fact, one of my favorite kids was clearly HIV+. There were hundreds of kids like her, but for some reason, she became mine. Everyday she would find me and welcome me with a smile and a hug and a sweet greeting in her best English. At the end of the day, she would proudly show me things she made or toys she brought with her. On our last day working with the kids, my girl and I said our final goodbye and handed each other a small token to remember the other by. Due to the language barrier I never heard her story, and that makes me sad to this day. I cherish the time spent with her....the games played, the lessons taught and of course the dancing. Maybe someday I'll see her again, but for now, I can only look at the small rock she gave me, think of her often and hope that she's doing well.

On one of our final days in Roma, we were lucky enough to have a visit from an HIV+ woman named Daphne. Daphne talked with us at length about how AIDS has affected her and how it affects the community in general. She described the stigmas associated with the disease and how she dealt with them. She told us about how it affected her physically, mentally and emotionally. How it has affected her family, her husband, her children, her reputation, her employment status. She shared her entire experience with us...complete strangers. I learned so much from her, not only about the disease itself, but about personal strength, the importance of family and the role of AIDS in Lesotho.

These experiences are responsible for who I am now and what I plan to do in the future. This is when I realized that I can no longer associate AIDS with statistics and graphs. Instead, I now think of people....real people with real struggles and real lives. Real people who need our help. Some of you may be wondering about that vow I made when learning about Billy's struggle. In a nutshell, I've vowed to help in a variety of ways, including fundraising, returning to Lesotho to volunteer, working with organizations focused on the issue and (eventually) adopting my very own Billy.

My inspirational Lesotho devotee said the following in his blog and I couldn't have said it better myself.

"It saddens me that the one day Lesotho is recognized and talked about is on World AIDS Day. It is a country of such rich history, culture and beauty. But my hope is that after people hear about the AIDS epidemic in Lesotho, they are moved to take action. The possibility of hope, as daunting as it may seem, is possible in Lesotho. For us, every day should be World AIDS Day until this deadly disease is wiped off our planet."

I'm devoted to change, and I hope that you are too.

Johannesburg....A Beacon of Light

The weather here is surprisingly nice, contrary to what we were told to expect. It is so beautiful during the day, with cloudless blue skies, a bright, warm sun and temperatures in the mid-60s. Even nighttime isn't too cold...with layers and a scarf, it's perfectly comfortable. This won't be the case in a few days, however, as Lesotho is at a much higher elevation and is much, much colder. No need to worry about that at the moment, though....

Today we visited the Constitutional Court and Old Fort Prison in Johannesburg. The Constitutional Court isn't really comparable to a court in the U.S., but the best way to describe it is that it's a federal court that deals with issues of social and human rights only. For example, some of the cases they cover deal with discrimination, freedom of the press and racial issues. The Court was created in the late 1990s at the end of the Apartheid era and embodies all of the things Nelson Mandela envisioned for the future. Everything from the architecture to the decor to the art exhibit has deep meaning and is representative of South Africa in some way. We were given a tour of this majestic building by 3 young interns and it was probably the best tour I've ever been on. They were so detailed not only in their descriptions of the operations of the Court and the building itself, but also in their discussions of the symbolism behind everything we saw and the representation of hope for post-Apartheid South Africa. It was a truly incredible and emotional experience and I even shed my first tear of the trip.

After the tour of the court, we had lunch at a little outdoor cafe on the grounds. We sat outside and enjoyed the warmth of the sun along with our food and Cokes. Later in the day, we found out that the exact place where we were sitting during lunch used to be home to the "Lashing Area" when the prison was operational. In other words, we were sitting where they used to lash prisoners for misbehavior or interrogation purposes. Many even died under the lashes, right where our feet we resting. I'm glad we found that out AFTER eating...

We finished up there with a short tour of part of the Old Fort Prison, which surrounds the Constitutional Court and acts as a reminder of everything South Africa never wants to experience again. We unfortunately didn't get to see Nelson Mandela's cell because they were closing, but we did get to see bunkers, food areas, bath areas and other small places that were used for torture and abuse. More emotions were stirred and tears were shed. The abuse and humiliation suffered by non-whites during Apartheid was so cruel and unforgivable, and to think that this was occurring less than 20 years ago is sickening. From what I can tell so far, South Africa has come a long way in the post-Apartheid era, however there is still much work to be done to combat racial inequality and the economic disparities between whites and non-whites. Expect to hear much more about this throughout my trip, as this will be a large part of my research and writing.

Here are just a few of the photos I took today. Some will help you better understand why I experienced so many emotions today. Others will just make you jealous ;-) Enjoy!

Beautiful beaded South African flag created by Zulu tribal women and donated to the Constitutional Court.



Our first meal as a group...even though there were only half of us present at the time because the rest had yet to make it to South Africa.



Followed by a discovery of what that area used to be.



A wooden sculpture in the Constitutional art exhibit that depicts an occurrence of torture during apartheid.



Images of the Old Fort Prison and Building Number 4. This prison was designed to hold 975 people. It actually held nearly 3,000, most of whom were subject to torture and inhumane treatment.











These 2 structures are 2 of the original staircases in the prison. When Mandela named this area as the home of the new Constitutional Court at the end of Apartheid, architects decided to maintain these staircases in the center of the square and add towers of glass-encased lights that can be seen from all of Johannesburg. This is what is now seen as Mandela's beacon of light, which represents hope for a new South Africa.



Drinking our first South African beer. This was immediately followed by our first South African burger. Those who say S. African beef is the best are SO right.



My first snack stash....sweet, salty and alcoholic :)

Location:Johannesburg, South Africa

The Journey Begins

For now, this will be a brief post, as I'm limited to Internet time at the moment. I'm currently sitting at a little cafe in the Johannesburg airport waiting on a few other people to arrive. Things are a little hectic, as about half of our group, including the 2 guides/professors will not be here until tomorrow afternoon due to a flight cancelation. So, for now, there are 3 of us waiting on 2 more to arrive, then we will figure out as a group what to do from here. We're an intelligent group....we'll figure it out.

My flights were simple, uneventful and long. I departed Dayton at 4:00 pm Saturday the 25th. I had the joy of spending my last few hours in America with Rob, Mom, Greg, Autumn and Kenners. It's amazing how much I love those people. Anyway, I had a quick layover in Atlanta, allowing me only enough time to find my gate, get my passport verified and buy a bag of pretzels and a bottle of tea.

The flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg was 16 hours....not quite as long as I expected, but still long. I enjoyed a complimentary glass of wine, a few decent meals, a couple episodes of Glee and a surprisingly large amount of sleep. By the end, my hips and knees were in a lot of pain and my ankles and feet were swollen, but my excitement was growing and all was right with the world.

I didn't have a window seat, but I was fortunate to catch a glimpse of the South African landscape during the descent. It was beautiful....flat until the very last stretch of sight where I could see mountains jutting into the clouds. Clusters of red, brown and black earth with splatters of green trees and blue waters. Brightly colored houses and buildings created an almost surreal image as bright greens, blues, yellows and reds were scattered throughout like a paint covered palette. After making my our way through customs (which was impossibly easy) we were greeted with a majestic sunset. I was unable to capture these images with Badu (my camera), but the mental image will be enough for now.

More details will come soon, as I'm running out of time here at the cafe. More to come later...