Positivity for the HIV positive

While on vacation in Hamburg, South Africa publisher John Brown had dinner with a retired couple who in the last year left their medical practice in London to move to Hamburg. Originally the retired couple, Mr. and Mrs. Hofmeyr, came to Hamburg to pursue art but found the rise of HIV/AIDS too overwhelming and stepped back into medicine. Through dispensing knowledge and medicine to help those HIV positive, she met a woman named Eunice Mangwane. This is where John Brown stepped in, he found the money (₤6000) to keep Eunice in Hamburg to help educate the villages about the disease.

Within weeks the team had found sources for antiretrovial drugs (ARV) from abroad. ARVs greatly impact the disease by improving life prognosis if put on the drugs before any complicating illnesses arrive. It also brings down the risk of an HIV positive woman transferring it to her baby during pregnancy from 23% to 1%. In the first months of operation the group had established a clinic where patients were treated and released. In a year they were training other adherence monitors who helped educate village women, identify those who were/are HIV positive, take them to a clinic, and back home. They also help keep tabs on them checking in on them daily to make sure they take the ARVs.

This all began about six years ago. Now they opened a Keiskamma art workshop which employs 80 women, where employment is rare, and they are taught to make crafts such as embroidery and felt making. These crafts are then sold in the market place. Through this workshop they also involve more than 100 village people in art projects which has helped the acceptance battle with AIDS and gives them the power to overcome it. One project was an altarpiece which was created to represent the celebration to the end of plague. This piece currently is touring American churches raising money for more Keiskamma projects.

I thought this was a good final article to conclude the blog entries with since our final unit is on HIV/AIDS in Africa. This is a very inspiring article because it just shows everyone that even though the extent of the disease seems so overwhelming it is possible to improve and impact the fight towards a better life. It is amazing how much the people of Africa are affected by a disease they understand/know so little about. Education is the key to turning it around and this article is a great example of that.

Source: Independent

Photo source:Photo1 and Photo2

Unique Madagascar

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and is also considered a biodiversity hot spot. A biodiversity hot spot is an area that meets three different criteria: 1.) the number of species in the area, 2.) the number of species that are found nowhere else and 3.) the extent to which the species are faced with extinction. The island houses many different exotic plants and animals, many of which are not seen on the African continent. This means there are no large animals in Madagascar such as lions or elephants. The largest of the 8 total carnivores on the island is about the size of a cat. Madagascar is home to a quarter of all African plants, 80% of those plants are exotic and unique in their own way. One example is the Baobab tree which can grow to over 70ft in circumference. This is so unique because there are only eight species of the tree and six are located in Madagascar.

Approximately 2,000 years ago is when humans are said to have first arrived on the island. At that time it was covered with about 95% of forest. As people started settling on the island the forest area began to quickly diminish. In 1950 the forest area was drastically diminished to about 15% and then less than 10% in 1995. The traditional method of farming the land was to cut a small portion of trees down, burn it to fertilize the soil, and then plant seeds for rice. After farming the land for a couple of seasons they move on to another piece of land and then eventually return back to the original land. During the time between seasons where it is not farmed the land is regressed back to forest. However as more people migrated to Madagascar more land was chopped down and after being chopped down so many times, the forest can no longer regress.

This activity is part of an assignment I had to do for another class. Instead of thinking of how it pertained or related to that class because I just kept relating it to this class. During the unit where we discussed European dominance in Africa I kept thinking of what Africa was like uninhabited or when the land was not being abused. That, what it was like while uninhabited or just used for what was needed and not abused, is what Africa is or was. Africa is no longer that way because it is now overpopulated and ruled with disease.

Source: Pearson Education: Environmental Science

Photo Source: Photo1 and Photo2

The Hutu

The Hutus are an ethnic group which live in parts of Burundi and Rwanda. This group is one of three in the two countries making up 90% of Rwanda's population and 85% of Burundi's population. All together there are approximately 12-13 million Hutus.

Originally they arrived in Africa during the first century AD, forcing then habitants, the Twa, to flee. Then in the late 14th and early 15th century the Tutsi arrived which resulted in the economic and political domination of the Hutus. Eventually a civil war broke out amongst the two in the mid 90s (see previous blog on Hotel Rwanda). Hutus overcame Tutsi dominance and elected the first Hutu President.

Centered around the clan, Hutus share responsibilities equally amongst the men and women when it comes to farming. They depend heavily on cattle for food and money. For the most part they speak two main languages- Kirundi in Burundi and Kinyarwanda in Rwanda. Those who are active traders may also speak Swahili. Then there are the few who are educated and speak French. All but about a fourth of the Hutu population practice Roman Catholicism, instead of their native tribal religion. This is a result of the European missionaries who began converting natives in the 1800s.

After seeing the movie Hotel Rwanda it was still somewhat cloudy about who the Hutus and Tutsis were/are. So, I searched and found this article of information about the Hutus. It is interesting to see how the European domination, particularly through religion, appears in almost every aspect of African history. For example, Hutus conversion to Roman Catholicism.

Photo Source: Photo1 and Photo2

Source: Hutu

Hotel Rwanda

Hotel Rwanda is an inspiring story about a family trying to escape the mass genocide in 1994. European powers in the early 90s crossed tribal boundaries which forced two tribes, the Tutsi and Hutu to live on the same land. Under Belgian rule the Tutsi were the more powerful of the two tribes, repressing the Hutu. Then, after the President is killed the Hutus take over and begin the mass genocide, trying to wipe out the entire Tutsi population.

The movie tracks a hotel manager and his family through the ordeal. Under UN protection the hotel is a place the Tutsis run for cover. In the end Tutsi forces finally fought the Hutus off over the border, leaving more than one million people dead. The hotel manager helped save approximately 1,200 lives.

Even though this is movie came out a while ago, I just recently watched it. Unfortunately it is not only a piece of history for me, but I also have a real life connection to it. In 1994 I was seven years old, a couple years later, when I was in 4th grade I became good friends with a girl who just moved from Rwanda to the U.S. She would never talk about it or even speak her native language because she was so embarrassed and heart broken. My friend was born in Rwanda and escaped to the U.S. where her brother attended college at the time. Her whole family was killed in front of her. She and her sister survived by playing dead in a ditch while Hutus paced over them with machetes and guns.

So, the reason I chose to blog this is because back in 1994 the whole world knew what was being done to these people, the UN was even over there. Yet, no one did anything except stand by and let it happen. Now, we still know of wars like this going, maybe not a mass genocide, but slowly many people are losing their lives and yet we do nothing. Everyone should see this movie and hear the people’s stories!

Photo Source: www.impawards.com & cleaveblogs.com

Educating the Future

At the end of the year 2000, Oprah Winfrey promised $10 million of her own money be put towards a school for girls in South Africa. Two years and more than $40 million later, she successfully broke ground. This particular school would take disadvantaged young girls and fill them with knowledge and skills. Knowledge and skills learned in this school will then be passed on to future generations to come.

The academy is a private institution for girls, grade 7-12. In August 2006 the school became independent. All the teachers employed are from South Africa. Oprah is convinced the key to tomorrow’s future is educating today’s youth.

Finally, on the 2nd of January of this year Oprah cut the ribbon on the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls- South Africa in the Gauteng Providence. The doors were opened to the first 152 students, unveiling 28 buildings. These buildings included a library, wellness center, gym, theater, dorms and dining hall, and science/computer labs. Not to mention sports fields. Classes the girls will take will concentrate on the basic curriculum of language, math, science, and social studies. However, life orientation, leadership, and art/culture classes are also included.

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I always admired Oprah, even if I can’t stand her show, for how much she donates to Africa especially. I believe this is a fresh start for most of these girls. It is also a fresh start to educating Africa. All people ever say when they talk about the spread of AIDs and diseases are that it is because they aren’t as educated. Well, Oprah took the first step in helping educate those who need it.

Photo/Article source: www.oprah.com

The Dinka

Photo Source: Encyclopædia Britannica

For more than a decade now the war in Sudan has been an ongoing battle which has proved devastating to many who live there, especially the Dinka. The Dinka were once South Sudan’s richest and proudest tribe. Unfortunately though, they are now the opposite. Culture and customs of the Dinka tribe are based heavily on the symbol of cattle. They used cattle as a symbol of weath and most importantly, a gift to the girl’s family during the dowry rituals. Now, they use the promise of cattle because the war has wiped out the cattle.

So, the customs, rituals, and beliefs which once centered around cattle now are being changed. Songs and stories of greatness are no longer heard. The Dinka now believe they are being punished for once giving so much of their life to one animal.

After I viewed the video slideshow about Arek, the former slave in South Sudan, there was a piece of information about a Dinka community group that interested me. I had never heard of the Dinka before so I googled it, thus, coming across this article. I learned the Dinka is a tribe, once of great stature, characterized by a distinct appearance. Dinka people had very dark skin, almond shaped eyes, square-narrow shoulders, tall, and a tribal scar on their forehead. One thing that ties this in with our curriculum is the source of the war. Our last unit focused a lot on the religion mix of Christianity and Islam. The conflict between the north (Islamic) and south (Christian) have left the country in turmoil, destroying most of its institutions and infrastructures. Many schools were destroyed as well, leaving a whole generation illiterate. Like when the Europeans took over Africa, many dialects, cultures, beliefs, and families have been lost and torn apart.

Photo Source: shezaf.net

Article Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Guns Engulfed

It is cyclone season and five cyclones have already hit Madagascar. Now the sixth one, Jaya, is on its way towards the island yet again. The previous cyclones have left roughly 450,000 people without major necessities such as shelter, food, water, and medicine. Medicine is a biggy too. Medicine is in dire need so cases of diarrhea, measles, malaria, and other infections don’t spread and become another source of casualties.

The main meal of many islanders, rice, has become short in supply due to the storms wiping out the crops. With malnutrition already an issue, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN World Food Program (WFP) have stepped in to make sure it doesn’t escalate.

With buildings and roads destroyed, the UN has designated different routes in order to get supplies to areas as quick as possible. Supplies may include buckets, tents, school supplies, and cooking oil. UNICEF and WFP hope this will spark optimism in all those who have already lost so much.

This article reminded me a lot of what happened in Tsunami. Of course it is not as big as the Tsunami was but the effect it had on the people was still as devastating. Some of these people in Madagascar were already hurting for medicine and nutrition, so this just makes it worse for them. It’s just another article which makes us realize how lucky we truly are.

Photograph & Article Source: “With Sixth Cyclone on Way, UN Readies Aid for Hundreds of Thousands in Madagascar” All Africa Global media-- allAfrica.com