We also had two speakers come to speak with us. First Yvonne, who works out in the community giving emotional, mental, and physical support, came to speak to us about her work and then took us into the townships to physically give some of the donated items to some of the families in the area that are associated with J.L. Zwane (the community center we were practically based out of this week). We brought clothing and toys to those who needed it. It was nice to see where our donations were going to (the medications went to a local clinic) because in the U.S. it seems that people donate items to an organization, but never get to actually see it being handed off to the people who really need it and seeing the expression of extreme gratitude on their faces. Yvonne works with a lot of people who are HIV positive, and she says that it is such a large part of her life that she has had to force herself to be extremely strong when working with those infected so her emotions don't get the best of her. She said she wants to "find pain and do something about it."
Our next speaker was such a remarkable person. Her name is Nombeko, and she was raped when she was in he twenty's by five men at knifepoint and was infected by HIV. What was so incredible about her was her attitude about the entire situation. When she was told her test results, she just said, "okay, what do I do next" instead of crying or feeling any emotional pain. She has dealt with the disease in an amazing way by surrounding herself with the people she cares for, doing what she wants in life, and not letting the disease take her down. She believes that education is the key to stopping HIV/AIDS so currently she works as a Health Information Officer and also performs for audiences in order to tell her story and educate anyone who is listening about the disease. Her motto in life is that if something happens, she accepts it and deals with it. She says that things happen that cannot be helped, and all we can do is move on and figure out what to do next.
Tuesday night was also our first night with our host parents. We all got together (students and host families) at one person's home for a large evening meal. It was nice to have everyone together to meet the other host families, laugh, and learn some sweet dance moves. I also think it was a nice way to ease into the home-stay process by starting out as a large group. When the evening ended, we all went home with our respective host parents. Trisha and I stayed with Zukile and his girlfriend Loretta. They were an amazing couple that went out of their way to care for us for those three days. That night we talked for two hours in his living room just learning about each other and asking questions. I asked them if they had any opinions on HIV?AIDS since it is the theme of our trip here, and they both say that they know people infected and they both seem very well educated on the subject. Zukile works in a corporate office building where he actually puts on a presentation about HIV to new incoming employes. Loretta works as a social worker and sees prisoners infected with HIV/AIDS everyday and says it is difficult, as a social worker, to listen to their stories of being infected in prison.
That night they plugged in a heater in our room, gave us extra blankets, and even turned down the covers for us so we were all ready for bed. The bed was way more comfortable than the one I have in our usual house in Cape Town, and the room was much warmer as well. I think I slept better that night than I had any other night in South Africa so far.
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