Support Group Visits

On October 19^th and 20^th, Lorren and I went to Jambezi and Ndlovu Clinics to visit HIV support groups and check on their activities, attendance, and progress.   Even though the turnout at some of the clinics last week indicated that the stigma against testing – and maybe against a positive diagnosis – is lessening, support groups are an essential part of HIV treatment and positive living after a positive diagnosis because the stigma against AIDS still exists, particularly in extremely rural areas. 

First up was the Siyaphambili support group at Jambezi clinic.  Their current membership is at sixty-four people; quite an impressive number considering the group started with only ten people in 2005.  They meet the first Monday of every month, unless there is a special occasion, in which case they will meet at the occasion instead.  Like many HIV/AIDS support groups, they used to maintain a nutrition garden, which provided social support, work, food, and profit for the members of the group; however, they were unable to keep up the garden due to water problems and chickens eating the vegetables.  They would like to start another farming project on a donated piece of land, but they do not have the seeds to do so.  Hopefully, E. Africa will be able to provide some assistance in acquiring the seeds they desire.  Other potential projects in the works are a livestock-raising program, sugar marketing to local villages, and a cooking oil press project (for sunflower seed oil). 

As a group, their achievements thus far are impressive.  They plan, organize, and fund their own workshops as well as provide the food and refreshments.  They were also able to keep up the garden for an exceptionally long period of time without any outside assistance.  In their first year, they had some assistance from the DAAC (district AIDS action committee) in the form of food rations, but other than that, they have been functioning autonomously.  Their levels of knowledge about HIV and AIDS transmission and disease course are very high, and they specifically remarked that the support group is instrumental when someone is commencing on ART as the person starting treatment can see positive results in the other support group members even when they themselves are struggling through difficult side effects.  Although they are currently experiencing some difficulties with their projects, overall the group seems to be functioning very well.

At the end of the meeting, they all stood up and began singing a beautiful song.  I didn’t understand the words, as it was in Ndebele, but Lorren explained that the lyrics were all about rising up and lifting each other up.  These people had the most amazing voices, without any training or planning or instruments.  I was completely speechless.  They all thanked me specifically for coming, although I was really nothing more than a glorified recorder.  After the meeting, I was also able to say hello to an elderly gentleman that I had made an acquaintance of the previous week.  He has never traveled outside Zimbabwe, but he has a map of the US in his home, and he recited all the states for me.  His wife was brought back from the brink of death when she commenced ART, and he is eternally grateful to any and all people involved in making the drugs available to him and his. 

The next day we headed to Ndlovu Clinic for the annual anniversary of the Nkosikhona support group.  This was quite an affair with the headsman for all the local tribes, a chief’s wife, a local preacher hired for the occasion, entertainment, and a communal meal afterwards. Nkosikhona support group membership is at around one hundred people, and most showed up because of the important occasion.  The preacher spoke first for quite a while both about local anecdotes and quotations from the Bible.  After him, the Headsman was given an equal amount of time to address the group (the headsman is similar to a governor, he ranks higher than all the chiefs). After the Headsman, it was Lorren’s turn to address the group after which I gave a small speech.  This was the conclusion of the formalities and the beginning of the festivities.

Members of the Nkosikhona support group

More members

The Headsman addressing the group

A local teacher, and member of the support group, brought eight of his students to sing and dance as the entertainment.  They were a little bit shy at first, but with the encouragement of the audience they were soon dancing around and singing with confidence.  Once again, there were no instruments other than the voices themselves, and I quite enjoyed this music as much as I did the songs from the day before.

The local schoolboys singing and dancing