Living HIV Positive

As a newly sworn in Peace Corps Volunteer I am fully aware that my work is about to begin and before I know it I'll be in the full swing of things in my village.  Aside from working on agricultural and environmental projects, one of the issues that I will spend much of my time addressing will be HIV / AIDS here in Zambia, specifically in Mufumbwe District (where I'll be living).  As a whole, about 16% of the Zambian population is infected with HIV - Zambia is right in the heart of the worldwide HIV / AIDS epicenter.

I have no idea how many questions I got about HIV / AIDS before coming to Zambia, but there is no doubt in my mind that people asked more about that than anything else.  For as much as we Americans know about HIV (how it is transmitted and those that are most at risk to contract it), we still don't know much about the virus itself, and we still attach a lot of stigmas to it.  So this blog, though brief, will be about my first (known) encounter with HIV + people and how they live their lives with it.

The first thing I will say about HIV - it isn't lurking around every corner here in Zambia, in Africa, or anywhere in the world.  It's out there, but it isn't everywhere.  The second thing, with advances in medicine those that are affected with HIV now have the opportunity to live more normal and long lives.  HIV no longer leads to the guaranteed death sentence that it use to, and that's a very, very good thing.

About five weeks ago, while in training, we had half a day in which five people that were HIV + came to meet with us and discuss how they handle being infected with HIV and how they live their daily lives.

One woman told the story of how when she found out she was infected she informed her husband and insisted he be tested.  He refused and left her completely.  Just a few short years later he died from AIDS, and she is still living.  It has since been determined that he gave her the virus many years before she was tested.

Another man told the story of how he has been living with it for over 20 years.  He had no idea that he had the virus until his daughter died suddenly of suspected tuberculosis.  TB is sometimes blamed for deaths when, in fact, the real culprit is HIV / AIDS.  After she passed he went and got tested... since then he has known he has it.

These are just a couple of the stories, but all of the people we spoke with had really compelling, heartbreaking, and hopeful stories.  And that's just it - everyone with this condition has a story and a battle.  Luckily the odds in successfully fighting this battle have greatly improved.  The key is to live a healthy lifestyle (good food and exercise) and take full advantage of the medicines that are freely and readily available.

John, Linus, Mary(?), Eugene, Me, and Charicia

It was one of the best sessions that we had during our entire three months of training, and to hear their stories was really a unique experience.  However, I think the thing (for me at least) that was the most useful was to actually put names and faces with this terrible virus.  It can be a bit difficult to totally understand the condition when you know absolutely no one that is affected by it.  I really want to thank all of these speakers for coming to talk with us trainees.

From Trainees to Volunteers

On April 27th, myself and 33 other Peace Corps Volunteers walked into the United States Ambassador's house in Lusaka, Zambia, as trainees.  A few hours later we walked out as volunteers.  This was our Swearing-In Ceremony and after 11 weeks of training in cross-cultural topics, improved farming and gardening practices, and (every trainee's favorite) language - we had come to the end of training and it was time for the ceremony that would mark our official start as Volunteers in the United States Peace Corps.

This was the first time I had ever been to an Ambassador's house and let me tell you, it is an incredibly nice place.  When we arrived we had some small snacks set out for us with tea and coffee.  All the plates, cups, and saucers had the seal of the United States emblazoned on them - even the napkins!  The incredibly well dressed and groomed staff served our every needs while we explored all of the compound's grounds.  Needless to say an Ambassador's job has perks... this place was proof of that.

Next came the actual ceremony which involved speeches - lots and lots of speeches.  Speeches from myself and 5 other trainees, about our program and work.  The catch was that they had to be given in the local language that we had been studying for the last 11 weeks.  A big task and a little overwhelming.  There were speeches given by Peace Corps staff (the Country Director and the Training Director), The United States Ambassador to Zambia (Mark Storella), His Royal Highness Chief Chamuka (the man that manages the area where our training was held), and the Guest of Honor - the Zambian Minister of Lands, Natural Resources, and Environmental Protection (Wilbur Simuusa).

Tom Kennedy (Country Director for PC), myself, and Tom Storella (US Ambassador to Zambia)

The Entire Training Group, Guests of Honor, and PC Staff

Leaving training has been a really surreal experience because after just 11 weeks you manage to get really close to all of the people in your training intake, then you go through a ceremony, and it is more or less over.  Everyone becomes scattered to the wind and placed in different provinces throughout the country.  It is both very exciting to be going on to something new, but also sad to know that you won't get to see these people that you have developed such close ties with over the past few months everyday.

With that being said, the Swearing-In Ceremony was a great experience and one that I won't soon forget, and I'm sure my fellow, new volunteers won't forget either.  Now it is up to my placement in the North-West where I'll be for the next two years... one journey ends and the next adventure starts right away.