Zambia Updates

Since i don't think i have told you all what my job here is let me break it down for ya'll...

i am a monitoring and evaluating intern with Crossroads Christian Communications for those who don't know they are the umbrella organization for 100 Huntley Street (on channel 9, i think?) This job is an internship that is a requirement for me to graduate from grad school which i completed in June 2008. My job here in Zambia is to do reporting on HIV/AIDS mitigation projects and street children projects. So far i have been to several Home Base Care Projects in Kabwe where they took me into villages to visit many people, those living with HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB. These projects are CIDA funded and i need to report back to Crossroads to advise if the activities being done are done properly according to donor requirements.

Every month in these Home Base Care projects, there are mobile clinics...these mobile clinics are put in place to allow those who are sick to access medicine and counselling if needed. The line up for those to see the mobile clinic nurses is a long cue around the whole building about 300 people come. However, a mobile clinic once a month is not enough as many people need medicine alot more often than once a month. As well alot of people in the villages are bed ridden and cannot access the mobile clinic when it comes into the project. As well there are VCT (voluntary counselling testing) this is where people from the project and those in the surrounding community can test if they have HIV. Their results are given to them in about 10 minutes. Whether they are found to be positive or negative they are given counselling by a trained counsellor. I had a chance to visit one of the mobile clinics, on Sept 18, 2008, i met the counsellor from the VCT she was explaining to me about how the test is done and how she counsels those who are found to be HIV positive. She told me out of every 5 people that come into the VCT, 3 people are found to be HIV positive. When she told me that i felt a big weight on my chest, i was overcome with emotion. I am truly blessed to be here in beautiful Zambia and this visit to the mobile clinic and VCT has pushed me to do a great job while here, because it will benefit so many people. The prevalance rate of HIV/AIDS in Zambia is very high leaving many orphans and a very youthful population.

I am now in Lusaka the capital of Zambia, where i am going through reports from mobile clinics from the last quarter. I have to make a report on my findings, however the gentelman that i am supposed to contact has contracted Malaria and is very sick. But i gotta roll with it because this is very common in Zambia.

Ryan=)