Inaugural Women's Health Caravan 2008
The women’s caravan ‘team’ officially arrived in Moshi on Saturday evening to a heavy rainstorm that is typical of the rains we have seen in the evenings during Tanzania’s long rains which run from the end of January until late May. We have been extremely lucky with the weather during the day so far. It has been hot but not terribly humid. We are 22 volunteers and MANY supporters on the group who live here locally. Everyone is truly dedicated. Our own volunteers had to spend or raise up about $4000 to make the two week trip to miss time at work and work long hot days!! Thank you to you all, we could never have gotten here without you.
We have 12 translators and two drivers and several other important people such as Agnes and Vicky, who have been keeping everything afloat at the women’s center for the last 6 months. Prior to our arrival, the center’s outreach programs have been going well, expanding slowly with several women utilizing the shelter. Our most recent tenant has been there a month. She is a young woman with HIV who as a 14 month old child. She was ill and now pregnant with a second child and had basically given up on life due to difficult circumstances in her home. Her husband was an abusive drinker and they were living in extreme poverty. She had left her child at her village home and travelled to Moshi and was sleeping outside under a tree at the social welfare office for days prior to Mama Agnes Urasa (who incidentally did our home study for our adoption of Malinga which is STILL being processed) brought her to our center. We were able to provide her shelter and social support. By fate she delivered her second child on Saturday morning, the day we arrived. She named him Charles and we won’t know for 18 months if he has HIV. The testing available here in Tanzania cannot safely confirm infection prior to that age. Agnes and Vicky sent someone to find her other child at her village home after she arrived at the center and he was found lying naked and unable to sit up on a mattress in her home, with no adults to be found. His name is Charles and he is also too young to test his HIV status. He is thriving at the center with his nutrition improving significantly and he now smiles and is able to sit up (which a baby can usually do at 6 months). Her new baby was taken on Monday to a regional orphanage because she cannot care for both and cannot breast feed the new little one as she is HIV positive. She will not be able to afford formula so has no choice but to give him up. Their separation will be for up to one year. At the one year mark she must decide whether to retrieve her child from the orphanage or relinquish him to the social welfare department for potential adoption. The whole process has been heart breaking for her but she has been brave and accepting and for the last day or so seems to be re-bonding with Stephen, her 14 month old, who needs his mother. Her energy is improving postpartum, which is probably a huge factor.
We also acquired another house resident on the first morning of the first caravan clinic day. Once again, Mama Urasa brought a homeless HIV positive woman who has two children that have been relinquished to social welfare and are in an orphanage. She will stay until we can try to find her accommodation. It is not clear yet whether she will ever be well enough physically and mentally to get her children back. She probably has a psychiatric illness, perhaps related to years of untreated HIV. It is unlikely that we will be able to do anything particularly meaningful for her as I don’t think she can really be helped and she can’t stay at the center forever. We will try to locate any existing family and try to convince them to take her in.
We have 12 translators and two drivers and several other important people such as Agnes and Vicky, who have been keeping everything afloat at the women’s center for the last 6 months. Prior to our arrival, the center’s outreach programs have been going well, expanding slowly with several women utilizing the shelter. Our most recent tenant has been there a month. She is a young woman with HIV who as a 14 month old child. She was ill and now pregnant with a second child and had basically given up on life due to difficult circumstances in her home. Her husband was an abusive drinker and they were living in extreme poverty. She had left her child at her village home and travelled to Moshi and was sleeping outside under a tree at the social welfare office for days prior to Mama Agnes Urasa (who incidentally did our home study for our adoption of Malinga which is STILL being processed) brought her to our center. We were able to provide her shelter and social support. By fate she delivered her second child on Saturday morning, the day we arrived. She named him Charles and we won’t know for 18 months if he has HIV. The testing available here in Tanzania cannot safely confirm infection prior to that age. Agnes and Vicky sent someone to find her other child at her village home after she arrived at the center and he was found lying naked and unable to sit up on a mattress in her home, with no adults to be found. His name is Charles and he is also too young to test his HIV status. He is thriving at the center with his nutrition improving significantly and he now smiles and is able to sit up (which a baby can usually do at 6 months). Her new baby was taken on Monday to a regional orphanage because she cannot care for both and cannot breast feed the new little one as she is HIV positive. She will not be able to afford formula so has no choice but to give him up. Their separation will be for up to one year. At the one year mark she must decide whether to retrieve her child from the orphanage or relinquish him to the social welfare department for potential adoption. The whole process has been heart breaking for her but she has been brave and accepting and for the last day or so seems to be re-bonding with Stephen, her 14 month old, who needs his mother. Her energy is improving postpartum, which is probably a huge factor.
We also acquired another house resident on the first morning of the first caravan clinic day. Once again, Mama Urasa brought a homeless HIV positive woman who has two children that have been relinquished to social welfare and are in an orphanage. She will stay until we can try to find her accommodation. It is not clear yet whether she will ever be well enough physically and mentally to get her children back. She probably has a psychiatric illness, perhaps related to years of untreated HIV. It is unlikely that we will be able to do anything particularly meaningful for her as I don’t think she can really be helped and she can’t stay at the center forever. We will try to locate any existing family and try to convince them to take her in.
posted by karenandroman at 9:01 AM
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