Well, guess what? I’m listening to our theme song—Akon, as I’m writing this. I promise I won’t digress into other random thoughts about my political views or the latest trends for spring 2007 :) So about Belize….it was quite an experience, and for me, it’s always hard to put my feelings and thoughts into words.
It would be selfish for me to only talk about how Belize changed me. The point of the trip was to provide something to the people of Belize—to give them a message about the epidemic that has hit the country pretty hard.
I remember sitting on a wooden bench in a local clinic in South Africa one afternoon during my break, when a svelte woman sat next to me. Maybe svelte is not the word to describe her. She looked like a walking skeleton—with sunken cheekbones. Too thin to be true. When I was back in the doctor’s examination room after the break, the same woman walked in and sat next to the doctor. A couple more girls were in the room shadowing the doctor as well. Just by looking at her, we all sort of knew what she had. I couldn’t understand the Xhosa words exchanged, but the doctor dismissed her after checking her tongue, which was badly sore with purple spots—one of the symptoms of the disease. She was trembling hard as she fought with gravity to lift herself up from the chair. She took small steps heading to the door, but with great effort. Every step that she took was not only excruciating for her, but also for me and the girls to watch someone suffer through the terminal stage of AIDS. The woman, who could barely walk, was alone. She didn’t have anyone to help her.
Around 20% of South Africa’s adult population is infected with HIV. With a population of 44 million, we’re talking about around 5 to 6 million people living with HIV, and 1.5 million orphans. That’s more than five times the population of Belize.
It’s a guilt-trip for me just thinking about the woman in the clinic—I could’ve helped her. But what could I—merely a student with no medical training or whatsoever—have done for her? She was in her final stage of AIDS too.
I think what we’ve done in Belize provides an answer to my question. I’m probably right in saying that I couldn’t really have helped the woman in the clinic. But I realized that I can help to prevent the spread of the disease, so that no one would have to go through such an ordeal.
I’m really proud of what we did to serve the people of Belize. We were able to use our “expertise” as youths to connect to the younger generation of Belize. In fact we’re all 19 and pretty young (right Nandita? :) ) We were able to render our message on the prevention of HIV/AIDS to one of the most vulnerable groups, and stand in the forefront of the fight against this disease. To the family that we’ve fixed the roofs for, we didn’t necessarily talk to them about HIV/AIDS but I believe we showed them that there are people from around the world who care about them and want to help them. What else did we do? We went on the Radio and TV to reach a larger audience. We passed out flyers in the market, where women frequent. For biological reasons, women are four times more likely to contract the disease from men. How unfair is that.
I truly hope that we did make an impact on the communities we’ve visited. It is up to them to absorb the information and to realize that they can be affected, and that they have neighbors who have been affected. What I would like to see in Belize is the mobilization of the community and the creation of an activist group like the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa. TAC has been a powerful force in steering the South African government in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Belize needs more people like Lisa who is daring to speak up about her status and fight for the rights of the people with AIDS. The government should also recognize the immensity of the problem, prioritize the fight, make funds more accessible, and implement a comprehensive surveillance system.
On the other hand, I don’t want to discount the efforts of the members of Rotary/Rotaract and Mike. Belize is gifted with people like them who are truly passionate about social issues. I was astounded by their love for the country and their efforts to heal their communities. I cannot emphasize how much respect I have for them.
I wonder how the course of the disease will change in Belize, perhaps five or ten years later. I’d love to return to do more work like this.
I’m back to wearing contact lenses again. Although I don’t miss about having conjunctivitis, I miss other things about Belize. How can you forget about riding at the back of a truck at the end of the day and appreciating the beautiful sunset in the clear sky? The taste of scrumptious tamales at the Belmopan market, or the barbeque chicken after a quick swim in the river? Pulling over the road to cheer for the cycling team, trying to decipher the Creole that your host’s sister speaks to you, and lastly, witnessing our supreme leader fearlessly venturing the holy Mayan cave Indiana Jones’ style with everything but her pants on?
I made fry jacks yesterday. Chatting with Phylicia usually took place in her kitchen when she was preparing for dinner. I was a bit dismayed that my fry jacks didn’t puff magically like how Phylicia’s always did.
On my kitchen counter lies an interesting Mayan pot that has a Jaguar head sticking out of it. At the same time, it has human arms and legs. It even has a tail. Next to the pot is my pebble that I salvaged from the river that we swam in. I find myself trying to re-create Belize all around me. And I am glad that when I become really sentimental just thinking about our times there, my punta CD is waiting for me in the boom box.
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