This afternoon we have been given a little extra time to pack and get ready to go camping this weekend at a Maasai boma, so hopefully I will be able to upload some long awaited pictures. Check here or facebook later on today . . .
Today we concentrated on learning about the different aspects of AIDS and HIV, how it affects the people of Tanzania, and what it being done to help solve this issue. Our first stop was an aids nursing home/orphanage that they expanded to add on a day care and classrooms. At the nursing home they were currently housing about 20-30 patients. At the school/daycare we were able to go into a classroom and help teach small groups of students how to read and write the numbers 1-5 and the capital letters A,B, and C. This was a lot of fun especially since the children were so happy to have visitors. There were about 30 students at four different grade levels with one teacher!!!! I can't imagine teaching a classroom with four groups of students learning four different things, but the funding is not available to hire an extra teacher. All of the students have tested HIV positive and are reciveing free medication from the government. Most of the student are orphaned or being raised by other family members. Along with housing HIV patients who are in need of medical care, providing education/daycare for students, they are also reaching out to the community to educate others about the virus.
After lunch we stopped by WAMATA an HIV and AIDs organization that is all across Tanzania and Steven, our teacher is on the Board of the Arusha division as the secretary. At WAMATA they are working to empower people to get tested, providing medications, giving out small interest free loans, teaching vocational classes like taloring and drumming. I really like this organization because it is run by the community to support the community. Three women who are living with AIDs and HIV came to talk to us and share their stories. One of the women was shunded from her family and when people from WAMATA told them they were going to get her medications to help her get better they told them not to waste their time and money on her because she is going to die soon anyways. . . . she is still thriving today because of the help she recieved and her family has changed their view points about AIDS and HIV. Two of the women took out loans and have since repaid them and were able to take out a second loan. The loans that are giving out are a huge help because many people are not able to get a foot in the door and struggle to find a direction. For instance one women took a loan of 50,000 shillings so less than $50 with that money she was able to buy some chickens. After repaying that loan she was able to take out a second loan of 100,000 shillings with that she bought a bull. With out the loans it would have been a lot harder for her to get started and make a good living for herself and her family. It took a lot of courage for them to come and talk to us, it was very eye
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