Keep a Child Alive

A story from Sahara about Ravi

Keep a Child Alive was thrilled to receive an update from Sahara Aalhad Care Home yesterday! We began supporting Sahara’s work in Pune, India this year, and we are proud to have already provided treatment, care and support for 560 patients and their families!

Ravi (pictured on the left) is a bright and gentle 19-year-old boy with an older sister, age 22, and a younger brother, age 18.  When Ravi was only 6 years old, his father passed away and five years later, his mother tragically passed as well.

All he understood about his parents’ deaths was that they passed from a contagious disease, but he never learned any more about what that might mean.

When his sister left home to be married, Ravi and his brother were then left in the care of their grandparents. Shortly after, his grandmother died.  Unable to care for them on his own, Ravi’s grandfather then took him and his brother to live with their uncle.

Soon after moving in with his uncle, Ravi fell ill with a high fever and a severe cough.  He was taken to a government hospital in Pune for medical treatment, where he was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and also tested HIV-positive.  From the hospital, he was referred to Sahara Aalhad and began taking TB treatment and anti-retroviral medication.  With his health renewed, he was able to return home.

In May of this year, Ravi came back to Sahara Aalhad in a very weak condition, weighing only 68 pounds, and having contracted tuberculosis again.  His relatives and neighbors feared that he might infect them, and they were reluctant to take him back.  The fierce stigma against HIV in India is having devastating effects on its population, as those infected and affected by the disease face social isolation and abandonment in their own communities.  Sahara Aalhad offers a safe haven for those most in need and welcomed Ravi’s return with open arms!

Since May, Ravi has been receiving HIV and TB treatment at the Sahara Aalhad Care Home.  He has gained 20 pounds already and is healthy and happy again! Despite his many hardships, the team at Sahara describe Ravi as passionate and full of enthusiasm, and he can always be found playing his favorite game, cricket!

Your support for KCA helped make Ravi’s recovery at Sahara possible.  DONATE NOW and continue to be a part of Keep a Child Alive’s work with Sahara in India.  

Food Day at ALIVE Medical Services, July 2010

From: Jennifer, KCA Director of Development

ARVs + FOOD = LIFE

I arrived at the clinic to the sounds of singing, the staff concluding their morning meeting with a song of celebration for the day. It is “Food Day” today, and the air is already charged with an energy that excites the senses to the fact that something special is about to happen here.

“Food Days” are serious business at Alive Medical Services, where we know ARVs + Food = Life. Held twice a month to accommodate 1,000 patients on ARVs most critically in need of support for nutrition, Food Days are an all hands-on-deck, an all day affair at Alive. It takes staff and volunteers two full days to prepare the food parcels, meting out each portion of beans, rice and sugar with loving care and precision, stacking them gently in the store room so the polthene bags don’t tear.

I greet the patients who arrive, even earlier than their usual early, to jockey for a spot at the head of the line, hoping to be among the first to be seen at the clinic, pick-up their medication from the pharmacy window, and then receive their precious monthly food allocation. For most, it is the only food security they know —without it, they would go hungry. And for many, it is as important as the drugs themselves. Hunger is incredibly painful, and for the very poor who rely on Alive Medical Services for treatment and surrounding care for HIV/AIDS, it is reality that they endure every day. One mother I spoke with told me about her struggles to keep her children alive on ARVs while living in conditions that expose them to sickness and disease every day. Before she came to Alive and was able to get nutritional support, her children used to cry in agony because of hunger. She, too, was hungry and forced to beg for whatever food she could get to care for her family. “Our life was too hard” she said, “Many times I wanted food for my children more than the medicine. To fill their stomachs and cease their suffering now, so that they may sleep in peace.” She is thankful for Alive Medical Services because the food, not the drugs alone, have saved them all from dying. Today, she and her children are getting stronger and they do not get sick as easily now, because they also have clean water to drink.

Before the food distribution begins, patients get a 15-minute demonstration/refresher course and Q&A on how to use PUR packets to purify their drinking water. We take for granted in the Western world, just being able to turn on the tap to quench our thirst, but having safe drinking water is another daily hurdle our patients at Alive must overcome in their battle to get well. In addition to accessing a water source, patients must have fuel to burn to boil the water so it is safe to drink. Those who lack the funds to purchase fuel end up drinking from contaminated water sources, increasing their risk of gastrointestinal diseases and other sicknesses particularly dangerous to those with HIV/AIDS.

Through the support of PUR and our fantastic friends at P&G, who have provided enough PUR for 1,000 patients for the year, the gift of safe drinking water is changing the lives of those in our care at Alive Medical Services. They are learning about the benefits of drinking water to their health, and it shows – they are glowing!

It takes two days for the staff and volunteers at Alive to prepare for a distribution of 500 parcels, and the entire food day is consumed by the highly organized, methodical flow of patients from intake, to consultation, to receive their medication, and then to pick-up their food parcels. The process includes an ongoing assessment of individual need for nutritional support based on the patient’s health and family circumstances. It’s very strict! Staff on hand act as security to ensure that no pilfering of food parcels occurs, and every patient must present a food entitlement card, stamped for the day, before receiving their allotment. Those who loose their food entitlement card must present a letter from the local police authority verifying that a report has been filed for the lost or stolen card before it can be replaced.

The patients waiting patiently all day are grateful under the shade of a canopy provided on Food Days to shelter them from the burning sun. While they wait, the staff of Alive Medical Services gives talks on a number of subjects, among them: the PMCTC, child immunizations, the use of condoms to prevent infection, the importance of diet and drinking water to overall health on ARVs, etc.
The link between nutrition and good health is an obvious one and, for people taking
ARVs, appropriate nutrition is critical to their success on AIDS treatment. But many of the poor with HIV/AIDS in our care at Alive are too sick to work and need emergency support for nutrition until they return to good health on ARVs. Keep a Child Alive and its visionary partner, The Stephen Lewis Foundation, together provide the resources that allow Alive Medical Services to continue its innovative patient food program, the only one of its kind in Uganda.
It is evening when I watch the last of the patients here for Food Day drive away on boda-boda’s and bicycles, weighed down with food parcels and containers for PUR for the month, and I am overjoyed.

“I AM BASHIR OF ALIVE”

Written by Jennifer from KCA in Uganda.

It’s been a little over a year since Bashir came to Alive Medical Services, only hours away from death.  Weighing just 28 kilos, he was too weak to stand on his own or even sit upright in a chair.  He was carried to the clinic’s small hospital ward, which cares for the critically ill 24-7, and given the immediate medical attention needed to keep him alive. Knowing that he could live was all Bashir needed to begin the battle for his life.  He struggled mightily to survive in those early days on the ward; and knowing that he had lived to see another morning was cause for celebration at the clinic, where the entire staff championed him in his effort to get well.   

After just 30 days on AIDS treatment, the light had returned to Bashir’s eyes.  He had added on 9 kilos, weighing in at a still very thin 37 kilos, and his appetite had returned.  His renewed strength allowed him to move about slowly, and eventually leave the ward and return home to his village.   

But for Bashir, the next several months would present many more obstacles for him to overcome in his fight to stay alive.  He was plagued by a difficult case of TB, which required prolonged and aggressive treatment to cure.  He suffered from Kaposi Sarcoma cancer, liver failure, kidney failure and he was malnourished.   

He’s the Muhammad Ali of Alive, though, and we all learned early on with Bashir never to count him out.  Free from TB, cured of cancer, his liver and kidneys now working fine, and with nutrition from Keep a Child Alive to ensure he has enough food to continue getting well, Bashir’s has been a year of triumph. 

And what a difference a year makes!  Today, Bashir weighs 45 kilos and continues to get stronger every day.  He still has issues with his health, but he takes them in stride.  Because he arrived at Alive in such an advanced state of AIDS, he suffers from peripheral neuropathy, neurological damage that causes numbness and pain in his legs.  His sight was slightly damaged, as well, by one of the TB drugs required to cure his TB and he will need glasses.  Other than that, he is doing GREAT. 

In fact, with small funds from Keep a Child Alive, Bashir recently started a Boda-Boda Parts business near his home – and, just as he determined they would, the funds have multiplied and business is good!  Because of his business income, Bashir is able to pay the school fees for all six of his school-aged children to attend school, and has even expanded his inventory.  His beautiful wife, Farida, also on treatment at Alive, is healthy and well.  And the baby he didn’t think he would live to see born last year is now a year old, negative and thriving.  

This afternoon, I made the two hour journey towards Jinja to see Bashir and meet his family.  It was quite an adventure!  Once outside of Kampala, the land is green with vegetation that stretches for miles, punctuated with small tidy towns with colourful storefronts promoting MTN, Orange, and Uganda Telecom.  After passing through acres of hills planted with tea, the Mabira Forest, and miles and miles of sugarcane, we came at last to the marketplace where we arranged to meet Bashir.  The people at the marketplace could not believe that Bashir had guests from so far away.  They laughed and nodded to him that they were impressed.  Bashir said, “To them, I am a big man now.  I am better, and they see.  I have a shop. I care for my family, and my children they now go to school.  I tell them all I am alive and they can live too.  I am very proud to receive you in my home.” 

He calls himself “Bashir of Alive” and he may need to walk with a stick to keep him steady, but he walks with his head held very high.  

Landed in Kampala, Uganda

From: Jennifer Singleton, Director of Development for Keep a Child Alive, written on Monday, July 12th 2010

Jennifer is currently in Kampala, Uganda working with Dr. Pasquine from Alive Medical Services, for more on the clinic click here.

Greetings from Kampala, where terrorists bombings last night have left the people here shocked and the city on high alert.  It is a sad reminder of the little regard that some have for life, while others, like the amazing team at our clinic, Alive Medical Services truly fight for the lives of every patient who comes through their doors.

And as their fight for life continues, we need to mobilize support like monthly donors now more than ever.  The situation in Uganda today has become alarming for anyone who needs AIDS medication; anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment.  Lack of adequate funding has led to shortages in ARVs, affecting the scale of treatment in HIV/AIDS centers throughout the country.  Earlier this year, the numbers of new patients being accepted onto treatment were restricted due to shortages of ARVs.  The situation has worsened now, with most HIV/AIDS centers no longer initiating ANY new patients onto ARVs!  Those already on treatment continue to receive their medication, but must pay for the more costly 2nd line ARVs, which are taken if the patient develops resistance to the first medications given to them.

At a meeting this morning, a high-level member of the Ugandan Ministry of Health acknowledged that KCA’s clinic, Alive Medical Services, was the only one they knew of that was continuing to add new patients onto treatment!  Always overwhelmed by the number of people seeking care at Alive, our Medical Director Dr. Pasquine Ogunsanya, has seen an increase in the number of people coming to the clinic in a state of full-blown AIDS, desperate for the medication to keep them alive. “Imagine” she says, “They are standing there before you, begging for their lives, or for the lives of their children.”

Through our support, Dr. Pasquine can keep hope alive for those desperate to live another day.  Alive Medical Services can provide them with the AIDS treatment, excellent medical care and nutritional support to get well — with all the compassion and love that it takes the very sick to truly heal.  They are the only ones doing what they do today in Uganda.

For how much longer this service continues depends on you reading this blog.  If you  think you do enough already, please try to imagine that someone is begging you to save their life, and you have the power to do it for just $30 a month.  What would you be willing to give up today to save one more person from dying senselessly from AIDS?

I bring you no words from the people here who you are helping to keep alive with your support, for they say they have “no words to express the thanks and gratitude to those so far away for loving us without even knowing us.”  ”How do we say thank you for that life?”  I am with them today, and they say it with the tears of joy running down their beautiful, beaming, joyful faces.

In a city that reels from its losses today, we are surrounded by the possibility of life. Please, comment on this blog that you will become a monthly donor.  I want to tell Dr. Pasquine she can continue to keep putting people on to treatment, wash away the tears and let them know that life will be there for them tomorrow.  50 of you, today.  Please!

xo Jennifer

The 3rd Children’s Day at ALIVE Medical Services

From Dr. Pasquine Ogunsanya

We had our third Child’s day in 2010 on Friday, 25th June 2010 and oh my goodness, we were overwhelmed! It was the biggest turn up of our KCA children we have ever seen. We had more than 500 KCA children turn up for this special day.

We were so happy that the staff of SME Banking SCB - Standard Chartered Bank came to partner with us on that day and about 35 of their staff came to serve our children.

SCB staff donated sodas for 480 children and also donated children’s clothing which were distributed to the children. We had estimated that 350 children would show up but so many arrived that unfortunately, there was no more room.

Our theme for the day was “Love in Action” and we wanted to let the children know that even though they are HIV positive they can still live a normal life and even pursue all their dreams. They can grow into reponsible adults.

The General Manager of SME banking SCB, who flew in that afternoon, drove straight from the airport to ALIVE Medical Services to help his staff serve our children. He has promised that this Friday, the bank will send a driver to pick 5 of our KCA children to tour the bank!

What a beautiful day full of our KCA Children.

Love,
Dr. Pasquine

To donate to programs such as Dr. Pasquine’s Children’s Day at ALIVE Medical Services, please donate now.

Journey to South Africa blog

Alicia Keys and the winners of the text alive contest, Talaina, Rachel, Aaron, Sonya and Kristen have blogged about their incredible experience on their journey to Africa! Read about what they felt, the wonderful people they met and transformation in their lives. 

A Love Story from The Blue Roof

Webb Matomane & Margaret Madonsela met in the waiting room at KCA’s Blue Roof Wellness Center in Durban, South Africa in 2008. The Blue Roof Clinic is a state of the art center providing free anti-retroviral treatment, nutritional support, home based care, psychosocial support and alcohol/drug abuse counseling to more than 1,200 patients. Margaret came into the Clinic to be tested and Webb was collecting his repeat medication for the upcoming month. They began talking and when Webb left he told Wendy, our receptionist, that although he knew her, he had misplaced her phone number and wanted to contact her after their talk. Since then, a relationship developed from this meeting at the Clinic and they married in 2009! Margaret says Webb has made her so happy and it puts a smile on her face that her grown children have accepted him as her husband and that they are HIV positive together. They are happily married and want everyone to know that life goes on even when you are HIV positive. This Valentine’s Day, you can help keep more people like Webb & Margaret alive. Give $5 Text “ALIVE” to 90999 to donate to Keep a Child Alive.

Beginning the New Year with Nutrition

Today is Nutrition Day at Alive Medical Services. Every month, the clinic provides food parcels to nearly 2,000 patients. Anti-retroviral medication cannot be taken without food, so the comprehensive care approach at Alive Medical Services ensures that every patient on treatment receives a monthly food parcel.

Dr. Pasquine Ogunsanya reports that the clinic is already seeing a greater influx of patients in 2010. She says, “It has been constantly busy with both the inner reception and overflow reception full. They have all asked me to wish you a Happy New Year and a big thank you for their lives.”

Join KCA in 2010 and help Alive Medical Services care for many more patients in need.

Update on Bashir

KCA’s Director of Development, Jennifer, traveled to Uganda and Rwanda last month to visit Alive Medical Services and the Centreville Clinic. While in Uganda, Jenn met Bashir for the first time. Bashir is one of nearly 2,000 patients receiving anti-retroviral treatment at Alive Medical Services. After only four months of comprehensive HIV care, Bashir has gained nearly 30 pounds. His health improved dramatically in the first 30 days of treatment; but then, he developed tuberculosis and was diagnosed with Kaposi’s sarcoma, a cancer common among people living with HIV/AIDS. Thanks to the extensive treatment of opportunistic infections at Alive Medical Services, Bashir has recovered from TB and continues to do well on his cancer treatment.

In this video we share with you now, Bashir is looking at photographs of his transformation that we published in the 2009 Black Ball Journal (read the story here). He was so moved to know that so many people he’s never met have read his story and care about him and his health. This is the impact that you, our Keep a Child Alive donors and members, are making in the lives of the people we serve. Thank you for being a part of this movement, and please help us keep many more people like Bashir alive.
DONATE NOW.

Reflections on India

Oh Mother India…we are with you…

How does one describe the experience of being in India? After many years of traveling there I have still not managed to find words that fully describe the wonder, the pain, the exuberance, the innocence, the explosion of life that is India. But there in the eyes of its people lies thousands of years past and also a glossy digital future.

India is very advanced these days compared with when I first stepped foot there in 1982. Something about it has captured my heart more than any other place on earth. It really feels like home to me. Though India is on the way to becoming a major superpower, so much of its identity is steeped in the past and that mentality is where we find most of the tragedy of AIDS.

For women, India can be a terrible trial. Women are the laborers lugging the bricks on their heads yet still standing elegant in those incredible sari’s which would make anyone look like a goddess. Women are often married off to complete strangers and they can suffer a lot of abuse if it all goes wrong. Mostly infected by their own husbands and then beaten up for being HIV+, they still seem to stand on higher ground, courageous as hell. Widows are also abandoned by their in laws when their husbands die. There are even instances where she is thrown on the funeral pyre by the family. Here the stigma is leading the charge and keeping India in the dark ages where HIV is concerned. What can be done? Much.

All the organizations we visited on our trip are doing amazing work but they need more support. Visiting Sahara Homes was an intense emotional experience. As many very sick and needy people who had clearly been through terrible discrimination lay in their beds recovering both physically and psychologically, we were so moved by their desire to be touched and loved and recognized.

We visited the slums in Pune and conversed with people, smiling and waving as we went. Visiting the shacks where people live juxtaposed with open sewage and huge very smelly garbage dumps where goats and dogs scavenge, these conditions should not be allowed. In a home where 9 people slept in a space 8 x 6 we wanted to weap. Young women who seemed way too young to be married talked to us about their problems and children whose growth had been stunted by HIV stared at us wide-eyed as their bodies betrayed their age. A 12 year old looking 8. A 19 year old who looks 12. Its very hard to see. Children should be given the best chance in life but who can provide it when all around are suffering and struggling?

One young woman who was raising two of her own children as well as her orphaned brother broke into tears as she described how her husband beats her. Her aged father watched, knowing he was powerless to help, the entire family dependent on the little the husband provides to the family. But in spite of all this pain there is a way to empower the poor to break free of the chains that bind them to poverty. Providing the surrounding psycho social support and a way out of the dependence on abusive family circumstances is paramount. And providing home based care and nutrition is everything. Everywhere we go, food is critical. And love and respect.

AIDS drugs are available through government centers but care for those abandoned via stigma is not. We met many left to fend for themselves after the death of parents or husbands. One child had tried to kill himself twice after his parents died of AIDS and he was left by the roadside to be abused and ridiculed. He is still only 11!!!! RNP+ had taken him into the house in Jalore that they created as a last resort for abandoned kids and he seemed finally happy and free, playing just like a normal child…but the trauma of losing his parents obviously remains in his darkest hours.

How can you help? Money. Just like anywhere else, its all about the money. Nothing can be changed without enough resources to provide all of the services that the poor need to break free. And we have seem such transformations that it makes us want to stop at nothing to provide for more.

I returned to America, turned on the TV and was again immersed in the marketing of fear and materialism that are so intricately linked in our country and I longed to be back in India where the smallest amounts can provide so much relief to a people who deserve so much better. 2010 begins a new year where we will be shouting from the mountain top about the rights of those abused and abandoned because of a virus that has been more deadly than all of this century’s wars combined, destroying in its path the will of entire communities and savagely killing millions.

In this spiritual land I am reminded that the little voice that is always inside of us, our true selves knows what is right and what is wrong. Lets help 2010 be the year we listen to those little voices instead of the marketing machine.

You know what to do now…

Mother India we weep for your poor and then we get up and kick butt for you. As Indians say “Chalo!!!!!” Right now!!!!!

Leigh Blake
Founder and President
Keep a Child Alive

A one-time $5 donation is charged to your wireless bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Donations collected by the MGF. 4 info call 866-810-1203 or goto hMGF.org/t. Standard rates may apply. Text STOP to 90999 to cancel ; HELP to 90999 for help.