HIV in Malawi: simple or complex?

On Thursday I ventured to Senga Bay with Finn and Kate. They are two musicians here on a Fulbright producing an HIV/AIDS awareness CD with one of Malawi's favorite musicians, Peter Muwanga. Their project, "Stories of AIDS Through Music," seeks to capture 10 narratives of people affected by the AIDS epidemic and tell their stories through traditional music.

We spent the day at Nyumba Ya Thanzi (House of Good Health), a nutrition organization that provides ARVs to children and mothers who are HIV+. I am encouraged by this organization's approach in caring for people with HIV because there are so many people who have access to ARVs, yet lack the food to accompany it. For someone on ARV therapy, this has the terrible effect of making them really sick. I remember being at a camp in January 2009 when we found one of our beloved "rugrats" throwing up next to a classroom. This 7 year old kid was one of the lucky ones in his community; the government provided him with monthly ARVs. And here he was, body rejecting the treatment because he hadn't eaten in two days; there was no food to absorb the medicine.

Anyways, I sat with Finn and Kate as they began collecting their narratives for the day: a Nyumba Ya Thanzi worker who lost two of his siblings to HIV; a mother who not only has HIV, but whose HIV+ husband is in jail for recently raping their 3 and 7 year old daughters and putting them at risk for contracting the virus; one of the organization's directors who has been living with HIV for years; a group of 4 HIV+ women.

As we're sitting there, listening to these incredible stories of strength and hope, horror and devastation, I was struck by a contrast that has a way of sneaking up on me again and again: how HIV/AIDS in Malawi is so utterly simple, yet so completely complex.

The faces of those affected by HIV are complex-old men, young kids, wives, NGO workers, teachers, businessmen, families. How do you even begin to work with that? Who do you start with?  But when it comes down to it, HIV simply affects...everyone, it affects people.

We know that HIV is spread through three ways, and most commonly (worldwide) through unprotected sex. Simple. Don't have unprotected sex. But the factors that lead to this behavior are sometimes so complex-social, economic, religious, relationships and pleasure, access to condoms, stigmas, knowledge, even fear. The man who sleeps with a girl because he has been told that sex with a virgin cures HIV, the woman who sleeps with a fisherman to provide food for her family, the couple that cheats on each other because sex is not openly discussed and they are not satisfied with their relationship, the young person whose just interested in their body and that attractive someone.

Finn and I became quite overwhelmed discussing these simplicities and complexities on the way home. Then I was reminded of our conversation the previous night about how an individual's responsibilities and talents play a role in navigating injustices in the world. How although we work towards a common goal, we each have to fight it using our own passions and abilities. Finn and Peter's awareness CD that will raise money to fight HIV/AIDS, World Camp educating kids/teachers about HIV and helping communities mobilize, and Nyumba Ya Thanzi providing care for those who are HIV+. We break down the complex, we make it simple, we make it workable.

And I am encouraged by an Oscar Romero quotation on the back of a t-shirt from my student activist group in college, "We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something and to do it very well." Perhaps if we all focus this, on the simple things we can do, we naturally take on the complex.

To read more about Finn's project, visit:  Andrew Magill's Stories of AIDS project.

new Malawi flag?

The country's flag has been a topic of hot debate in conversations and local newspapers lately. The government proposed a change to the Malawian flag. Why all the fuss? Some find it a waste of money/efforts the government should put elsewhere. Others feel the flag is not only the symbol of the nation, it represents the people.

As the Secretary of Information describes, a flag represents the "shared values, beliefs and aspirations of a nation...drives and moves the national population [it's]...a unifying factor of citizens, displays solidarity and patriotism.*" 

For many this means the strength of the past. For others it means future development.

Current flag:

Malawi's independence in 1964 was marked with the adoption of this flag. The rising sun symbolized the dawn of a new era.  Black for the indigenous people or Africans, Red for the blood shed in the struggle for independence, and Green for the land, crops, trees, nature.

Proposed flag:

The government seeks to maintain the cultural heritage and reflect Malawi's history on the flag by keeping the colors and the image of the sun. However, the new flag changes the order of the colors and carries the image of a full white sun. These changes symbolize a new era, one in which Malawi is no longer struggling for independence or becoming a nation, but becoming a new kind of nation, one in terms of a development that has already taken place and is now building upon that prosperity.

John likes the new flag: "Me myself, I am supporting this one. It's good. And I am supporting the Bingu administration. 90% of what he is doing is good, it is good. "

Ngoni likes both: "Yeah, I like the old one. The new one is a good flag. Sure."

What's your vote?

*Source: Jeffrey Kanyinji quoted in Nyasa Times and local newspapers

College...here we come!

Just wanted to give you an update on our Scholarship Program and share some of the best news we've gotten in the past few weeks!! As many of you know, we currently have 5 female recipients who are students at Byanzi CDSS (Community Day Secondary School) north of the airport.

from left: Precaria, Litah, Tamara, Monica, Lilian

Well, two of our students, Tamara and Litah, passed their Form 4 exams! The girls took the exams in October after studying for a year. The results arrived late January and were just recently announced on the radio! Talk about pressure. Both girls were the first in their familes to be awarded a MSCE (Malawi School Certificate of Education), marking their graduation from Secondary School.

The government just passed a date of examination change, and beginning this year students will now take the exams in June. So keep your fingers crossed for our next exam takers, Precaria and Monica.

Congratulations girls and thank you to all of you who support our Scholarship Program! If you'd like to donate, you may do so online at http://www.worldcampforkids.org/.

Congratulations Peter and Betty!!!

We've got some exciting news to celebrate here in Malawi. This month our sincere congratulations goes out to two of our fantastic translators, Peter Gusto and Betty Liwimbi.

Happy Engagement to Peter and his fiance, Nellie! And get this, she proposed to him! Talk about empowerment. What a catch, Peter. We are thrilled for you both. The lovely couple couldn't seem happier, and plans to marry this November. Our January 2010 team was lucky enough to celebrate Peter's 26 birthday and meet Nellie.



Just before Christmas, Betty had a beautiful baby girl named Tadala (means "a favor or blessing. something we wished for " in Chichewa). They stopped by the World Camp house after our session to let Jaren and I meet the little one. She is happy, healthy, and already getting bigger. Betty assures us that Tadala will be ready to translate in no time. Congratulations Betty!!



Both Betty and Peter send you former volunteers a big hello! Hope this finds all of you World Campers having a wonderful weekend. Don't forget to encourage your friends/classmates to apply for a service internship with World Camp this summer!

Zikomo from Malawi,
Katy

Malawi plans to put 500, 000 on ARVs in 2010 – VP

Malawi plans to increase HIV positive people on the national life-prolonging anti-retroviral (ARVs) programme from 270, 000 to 500, and 000 in 2010, Vice-President Joyce Banda has disclosed.

Banda, whose office encompasses the Department of Nutrition and HIV/AIDS in the Office of the President and Cabinet, said to reach this feat Malawi plans to establish its own ARV factory because currently all ARVs are imported under the Global Fund on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. “Government is considering opening an anti-retroviral drug factory so that people access the medication easily,” she said.

The National Association of People Living With HIV and AIDS in Malawi (NAPHAM) has welcomed the news because, according to its Executive Director Amanda Manjolo, many people with HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, in Malawi were dying prematurely because they could not access the life-saving drugs. Manjolo also said the news was coming at the right time when contributions to the Global Fund were dwindling with major donors to the Fund – like the US government – cutting down their contributions. “We don’t need to depend on others for ARVs because this is a matter of life and death,” she said.

According to the National AIDS Commission, at least 14 per cent of Malawi’s population of 13.1 million people has HIV. The first case of HIV was discovered in Malawi in 1995. Malawi used to follow a policy of putting HIV positive people on ARVs whose CD4 count (viral load) has dropped below 350. But the country has recently adopted a World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline that recommends putting people on ARVs even when their CD4 is above 350. “We really appreciate the new guidelines because people were dying unnecessarily because they were not put on ARVs on time,” said Manjolo. But since virtually almost everyone diagnosed with HIV must be put on the life-prolonging drugs the budget of procuring drugs will greatly increase, according to Secretary for Nutrition and HIV/AIDS in the Office of the President and Cabinet Dr. Mary Shawa.
“We have to find the money as a country,” she said.

Dr. Shawa was, however, upbeat that Malawi was winning the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS since there has been a marked reduction of new infections which has led to the national prevalence rate to stabilise at 14 per cent. “The number of people dying from the disease has also greatly reduced because with ARVs no one need to die,” she said, adding that the number of AIDS fatalities will dwindle further with the increase of people on the national ARV programme.-AP

by: Nyasa Times, 15 February 2010

peace, love, soccer, and Malawi!

Malawian poem selected for World Cup billboards to promote peace

By Nyasa Times

Published: February 4, 2010

A poem written by Malawi’s fast-rising star poets on the African continent, Stanley Onjezani Kenani , has been selected among the few to be put on billboards in South Africa during the World Cup tournament to take place in July.

Kenani wrote about the development on his Facebook page.

“My poem among the selected few to be put on billboards in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup,” he wrote on his profile attracting comments.

He wrote that the poem reads: “World: a large football pitch. Where none is man alone. Life: a game for all, poor or rich …”

The poem is entitled Umutu Ngumutu Ngabantu, Zulu language menaing that we live for each other.

Kenani will receive R2,500 for the 25 words in the poem.

According to Megan van den Heever a Media intern at Art for Humanity (formerly Artists for Human Rights) the organisers; the project is aimed at challenging xenophobic attitudes by bringing together artistic and poetic voices from around the world in a print portfolio.

A chartered accountant with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and a holder of a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from the University of Malawi , Kenani began writing stories and poems at the age of thirteen, and has now been published in many parts of the world and in many languages.

Kenani’s poetry, which strives to match the rhythm of an African’s life, is a mesh of metaphors, folklore and song. He believes “that poetry is a breath into the life of the world, and that poets must be listened to as they tackle topical issues that affect our daily lives.”

In another development, a well-known Britain-based Malawian artist Samson Kambalu has also been asked to do the artwork, so that makes two artists from Malawi.