Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Happiness & Amose

We went back to visit Happiness and Amose (pictured here) today - you might recall that Happiness is the very, very sick man we met a couple of weeks ago. This time we stopped at the market on our way to see them and picked up some food - for about $3 USD we purchased three oranges, two avocados, a bunch of bananas, two kilos of rice and a kilo of sugar. [Side note: during our last visit we also met their neighbor, Veronica, a feisty old timer who told us she is "the oldest woman in Africa" when we asked her age. Veronica was visiting with Amose and Happiness, so we were able to see all of them again today. She is a hoot!]

Happiness has now been bedridden for two months, with the exception of two trips to the hospital. He is still unable to move, although he did speak briefly today which is improvement over the last time we visited. I felt helpless there, not knowing what to do other than give them the food we brought. Nie (our mentor) is at least able to have a conversation with them and offer her words of support and encouragement, but Erin and I don't know the language so it's hard to do anything more than stand there and feel awful for the situation in which they live.

Once again, I was taken aback by the condition of their "home." The walls were not even brick, more like a jumble of rocks and mud and sticks. The metal sheets for the roof had plenty of holes to let in the light and rain and mosquitoes. It is really appalling. Of all the families we've seen, this couple has affected both me and Erin the most. It is hard to see someone so close to death without the medical care or support that I honestly take for granted. And even though this man has AIDS, I think he will probably die of starvation before the virus kills him.

On a happier note...this afternoon a few of us went down the street to the Amani Center for Street Children, which is a brief walk from the home base. They are probably the most organized and successful program that we've visited here. They house and educate about 300 children of all ages (up to 18 years old) and the facility is large and beautiful by local standards. The two evening teachers were attempting to organize a soccer match among the kids, which mostly just looked like mass chaos, but it was great fun to watch. Erin even joined in the game for a bit in her skirt and bare feet! It is nice to see an organization that is able to do a lot of good in the community. I hope that one day TAFCOM will realize the dream of their Children's Center and that it will be as wonderful as Amani.

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