| Love in the time of AIDS |
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| Tuesday, 04 December 2007 00:00 |
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Heather Scrimshaw
I first saw the project in 2005 and returned in March 2007 to volunteer for two years. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among the sexually active population of Zambia’s Western Province, is believed to be more than 18%. Unprotected sex has brought about a high incidence of both HIV and AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), leading to an increased death rate. Children are affected by the pandemic in different ways. There are children living with sick parents or relatives; orphans left without one or both parents or relatives; and many orphans have become HIV positive either through mother to child transmission or through prostitution. Families and communities are struggling to cope with the increase in the numbers of orphans and vulnerable children. The majority of orphans remain with their elderly grandparents or other guardians, who have little or no means of income. As a consequence, children have become malnourished; are missing out on education opportunities; and issues relating to child neglect and abuse have arisen. The OVC Project pays the school fees and support costs for some 550 children; feeds a further 170 malnourished children on a daily basis; runs a preschool for orphans; and provides clothing, blankets and bed mats to vulnerable families within the community on a monthly basis. The Project also has two income-generating projects up and running, a bakery and a minibus service. The majority of OVC Project work is achieved through financial support from churches and communities in Australia, America and the United Kingdom. I became involved with the Project in 2005 as part of a Uniting Church in Australia Short Term Exposure Trip. Five women from Adelaide were to visit the Project for two weeks.
Fiona and I are opposites. She is an extrovert; loves to talk and have constant company; athletic; energetic; loves the outdoors and physical work; and has her finger on the pulse of everything she does. I am an introvert; more of a listener than a talker; I enjoy being by myself; not athletic or overly energetic; I prefer to be indoors in front of a computer rather than doing physical labour; and it is certainly a challenge for me to keep up with everything that Fiona does. However, it is our differences that have allowed us to work really well together. After spending a few days sanding, varnishing and painting the OVC kitchen together, Fiona spoke to me about her frustrations in sorting data she had collected about the orphans and vulnerable children in the village. I have gifts in administration and very quickly sorted the data for her in a database, to which her response was, “I wish you could stay another two weeks”. I didn’t have any annual leave owing, but Fiona phoned my boss and I ended up staying six weeks with the Project. We each brought our skills to the tasks at hand and I remember clearly a particular morning when I was at the computer working on the database and Fiona came inside with her face glowing; I could just see that this was where she was supposed to be, out there with the children, planning and co-ordinating, rather than sitting inside tackling computer work. There has been a definite sense of “God timing” in all this. I maintained contact with Fiona and returned to Mwandi in 2006 for six months and again in March 2007 for a two year placement with the Project as administration assistant. One of the critical areas is HIV/AIDS education. The Project provides books and educational resources aiming to reduce the spread of the virus. Although Zambia is recognised as a Christian country, Christian principles are mixed in with traditional African beliefs, such as the natural healers (witch doctors) prevalent in Mwandi. Children wear rope necklaces and rope around their waists, the necklaces to prevent bad spirits and sickness and the ropes to ensure their bottoms form nicely. One of the local beliefs is that a man will be cured of HIV if he has intercourse with a virgin. Girls as young as eight have been forced to have sex with older men because of this myth. Apart from spreading the HIV virus, this also causes unplanned pregnancies and children born HIV positive. Each Wednesday during the school term the OVC Project runs educational videos for the students to help them understand what the virus is, how it is spread and how to prevent it. Education is absolutely essential, as many stories just break your heart. The Mwandi Community is a male-dominated culture. This has resulted in the women and children doing much of the work and the vast majority of men sitting around doing very little. There are some men who will fish to provide an income for their family, but mostly the women provide the income, work the fields, work their gardens, provide food, collect water and are the main support for the whole family. When an orphan is being assessed for welfare support, one of the key qualifiers is which parent has died; a child whose mother has passed away is likely to receive welfare before a child whose father has passed away. Mwandi has few positive male role models. Fiona and the management team have encouraged local male leaders to volunteer their time to the feeding program. Through this it is hoped the children will see that both men and women can contribute to the welfare of the home.
The Project provides hope and promise to those in most need in the village. It provides a safe and secure environment where children can come away from the pressures of daily life. It provides education opportunities. It provides spiritual and emotional support for those who have had too many losses in their short lives. You only have to look into the happy smiling faces of the children and the students who are working towards a better future to know what the Project's importance to Mwandi Village is. A child writes about how excited he is to go school and study his subjects; a 13 year old girl experiences joy as she plays with a doll for the first time in her life; a little boy runs around with loads of energy when three months ago he was barely able to walk for lack of food; an orphan feels part of the OVC family, it gives her the feeling that she matters to someone. These are the significant things that make the Uniting Church Overseas Aid Mwandi OVC Project important. Mwandi Royal Village sits on the banks of the great Zambezi River in the Western Province of Zambia, 70km from Sesheke and 140km from Livingstone, the tourism capital of Zambia. Heather Scrimshaw is part-way through a two year placement with the OVC Project. For more information go to: http://www.uim.uca.org.au/ucoa/welcome.
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In September 2004 Fiona Dixon-Thompson answered a call to volunteer full-time as the Project Coordinator of the Mwandi United Church of Zambia Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Project. Without any funding or support she moved into the position and established the Project in Mwandi Royal Village from the ground up. 
My first impression of Fiona Dixon-Thompson was, “Oh my goodness, what have I got myself into? How am I going to cope with this woman for two weeks?”
For education to work the children need to be well nourished. The OVC Project currently provides one balanced meal each day to 170 orphans and vulnerable children; it may be the only meal they receive. When the program first commenced the children were lethargic, anaemic, quiet and not doing well at school. With this one vital meal a day, the children are now loud, energetic and boisterous. The children are weighed when they first come onto the program and then once a month thereafter. They receive a free medical check and ongoing medical assessments, hygiene education, Christian input and become part of the OVC family. Some 20% of the children on the feeding program are HIV+. For these children it is essential that they receive this balanced meal daily.
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