Out of Africa: Part 3 – When Orientation is Dis-Orienting

On my recent trip to Africa, I disciplined myself to keep a daily journal of what transpired and how I felt about it. These entries are from that journal.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005
The day’s orientation, lasting from 8:00 am until 1:00 pm was spent in HIV and AIDS training. The training was led by a man and woman from South Africa. Ernest, the African is one of the top African officials in World Vision. The primary “trainer” regarding HIV was Logy (pronounced Low-ge with a hard “g”). She was a former social worker who now works with World Vision in the HIV battle. Her father named her while studying Greek. Her full name is Eulogia which is Greek for “Blessing.”

As we talked about HIV the stats basically were nothing new. In truth, the statistics was one of the primary items God had used to prime my heart for this trip in the first place. It was interesting to learn that India is overtaking Africa in new infections and that the Eastern European block of the former Soviet Union has the highest percentage of new infections per capita.

The knowledge about how the disease spreads was basically already in my knowledge bank as well. There were facts of which I was made more keenly aware. For example, the method of mothers transferring the disease to the child was made clearer. It is through the blood that is involved in childbirth and through nursing, but not through the pregnancy period since there is no exchange of bodily fluids during pregnancy.

The bodily fluids that carry the highest concentration of the HIV virus are semen, vaginal fluids, blood and mother’s milk. These fluids make the risk of infection especially high. Saliva, tears, urine have a much lower concentration and the risk of infection is likewise very low.

I learned a bit more about how the virus operates. One of the facts that make the HIV virus so dangerous is that it, not unlike the flu virus or the cold virus, mutates regularly. This makes it much more difficult to attack because there are so many strains. This fact alone means that if a couple were married who both were HIV positive, they should not have unprotected sex because they could be carrying different strains of the virus and then both compromise their immune system further by running the risk of double infection.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is so dangerous because of the method it attacks the body. HIV, as the name suggests attacks the body’s immune system. It is a very insidious virus. The HIV virus attaches itself to the body’s T-cells. The T-cells are the “generals” as it were who direct the immune system to attack any invader. This virus causes the T-cells to not alert the body’s natural defense mechanism. In time the T-cells will actually reduce in number. It is then that the person is diagnosed with AIDS. A healthy body will have a T-cell count of 800-1200. Once it drops below 250, the person is said to have AIDS. In reality the only thing that has changed is that the body has a lower count of protecting T-cells due to any number of reasons.

In reality, no one dies from AIDS. They are said to die of AIDS related illnesses. Opportunistic viruses, such as flu or pneumonia, etc. can have a more deadly affect, and cause death, because the body’s natural defense is shut off.

This is distinct from another attacker of the human body . . . cancer. Cancer cells are the body’s own cells. They are renegade cells that are attacking the body rather than promoting health. Since they are the body’s own cells, albeit renegade, the body will not attack them, and they cause all manner of illness and death. Both illnesses prevent the body from defending itself, but by very different means.

So much for my medical expertise. (My doctorate was not in medicine, so if I have some errors, please excuse me.) Even this is just the tip of the ice berg of what these hours were like.

There were items I would change in the training, but all in all, it was a worthwhile time. In the developing world of Africa, the empowerment of women is seen as a key component in the battle against HIV and AIDS. Women have little if any rights in most of the countries. That will come to bear in a much more real way as the week goes on and I will share some more of that.

An interesting take on this pandemic can be found in this interview with Bono in the New York Times. You may have to take two minutes to create a login account.

During the afternoon we boarded a bus and took a shopping excursion to a local shopping district. The area was close and tight like I have seen in the Middle East, and there was likewise a lot of pulling you toward their booth in that vein. I have to admit I was not overly excited because I, like most men, do not like shopping. I wanted to get gifts for the significant people in my life, and for the folks who sponsored me to come here, that alone was why I was here. I was about to learn something about myself.

I have always thought I hated to haggle over prices. Our Kenyan host told us that the quoted price was always the beginning place to negotiate down. The experience actually became fun. I wanted to pick up some gifts for my family, a few friends and the folks who had given financially to make this trip possible. I began to enjoy the haggle so much that I got some good deals. Our host said not to worry, even if we had a good deal, they will not sell if they do not make some profit. That is good, because I did not want to take advantage of anyone. But perhaps I learned something about myself. I may be better in the states if I had the cash to be in a position to discuss. All I all, this was a good diversion after the morning sessions.