The Price That One Pays

This time last year I was in southern Africa. I was not too worried about the violence in some of the places I was going to. Or the amount of travelling to far and strange places. But the one thing I was quite worries about was Malaria. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between 1 and 3 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa, the majority of whom are young children and the poor.

I was lucky, I had the correct prophylactic drug and I could afford them. I was shocked at the expense of good Antimalarials. There are cheep ones, but reading about the conta indications of these cheep drugs, I would rather risk Malaria than lose my mind or hair by taking these cheep Anti-Malarial drugs. I am not surprised that so many people lose there life in Africa due to Malaria. People just cant afford the good medication and don’t want to run the risk of side affects. I cant say I blame them.

But the risk is very real! The other day I was informed that Ian, who took over from me with North Star South Africa, has some how caught Malaria. It was likely he caught it in Kenya but he could have got it in Malwai/ Zimbabwe or even Zambia. He like many others that live in Africa did not take prophylactic drugs to keep him safe from Malaria. I guess this is the price one pays for being a humanitarian in Africa and you do not take the correct precautions. Ian is lucky – he has been to the doctors and confirmed he does have Malaria. He can afford good treatment so he should be fine.

Malaria is a bit like an airborne AIDS. You can do as much as you can to protect your self but if the little blighters (Mosquito’s ) bite you and they have Malaria and you not on prophylactic’s its just as bad as having unprotected sex with someone with HIV. Granted if you can get the treatment you will live a long and normal life. But like HIV, Malaria is for life too. It will always be in your system.

So my warning to you is if your going to be in a Malaria area take the drugs! Yes they may taste bad but hell its miles better than being stuck in bed with a fever! A small price to pay I would say.

25 Years on – The People it Affects.

As mentioned in an earlier blog, it has been 25 years since the first reported case of HIV and still no cure.

But how has HIV affected people with HIV?

Well I was quite privileged to meet one of the longest known survivors of HIV while I was in South Africa. What an inspirational person he is. I have been wanting to blog about David Patient for a long time now but I have not had the time or the right material to put into the blog to do him and his story any justice.

When I met David I knew very little about him. I still know very little about him. Only from what I have read on the net and from what I have been told about him. The day I met David, in Johannesburg, it was his 25th anniversary of being diagnosed as being HIV+. At the time all I know of him was he was a director for a company what we were looking at using as a supplier of low income medical services to the South African Express Parcel Association (SAEPA) and that he had HIV and was wildly regarded as one of the longest survivors of HIV. Other than that I knew little else of this man that would inspire me to write this blog.

As David walked into the boardroom he looked just like any other person I had met. A tall slim man, a man that walked with a sense of presence. During the talks we had with him regarding the SAEPA project the only signal to emit from David was that of positivity. He just about oozed it. He wanted to see the project we were working on succeed. No issue was a big issue to him. He was not interested in problems only solutions. In true South African sprit he would make a plan if it got the job done.

This was not a person who was in a, “Woe is me! I am the poor sick person destined to die” mindset that seems to be the attitude of a lot of people who are diagnosed as having HIV. But no David Patient was going to rise above that and use this disease to motivate him and others. It was in effect his life force.

David’s story is that of a quite tragic one. I urge you to read the following article (Positive Heroes - David Patient) about David’s life with HIV. It is truly inspirational to see what David had to deal with all them years ago. These things have made him stronger as a result of it. He has risen above it all and wants to use his life experiences to help benefit those who are less fortunate than he is.

David has been a real inspiration to me. He has made me realise that most of my problems in my life are small in comparison to what others have to deal with. He has made me realise that one should grow stronger from there life experiences. Never give up no matter what is thrown at you. It really is a case of “ If it don’t kill you it will cure you!”

I thank David Patient for his support while I was in South Africa. I think him for standing in my corner and his advice when I asked for it. A true hero, one that a lot of people could learn from.

In the true spirit of David Patient and his say it as it is way – If your going to be part of the problem and not part of the solution then “ go hug a penguin!” (read my this blog entry for an explanation of the “go hug a penguin!” remark )

Please do read the “Positive Heroes – David Patient” article mentioned above (click on the highlighted link for the full article)

For more articles on David Patient click on this link here for a list of Google search results.

25 Years on – Still no cure

It was around 25 years ago that the first reported cased of HIV were being reported in the US and soon after in other parts of the world. 25 years and still no closer to a cure. But that’s not that surprising at all. Decades have passed and they have not yet found a cure for the common cold. A virus is just that, a virus, the perfect killing machine. It mutates and it attacks with stealth and force.

But 25 years ago people who were infected by HIV were convinced that there lives were over. In most cases it was. Doctors turning patents away if, they had HIV, and the stigma attached to it did not help them in the early days. To be honest things have not changed much since in that regard. While I was in South Africa last year I heard a story of a mother who had killed not only her self but her kids as the local communities believed she had HIV. Then the other day I saw on the BBC website that HIV patients are being refused medication for common illness.

So what has changed in regards to HIV 25 years on? Well awareness for one has changed. No longer is HIV an African or Gay disease. Everyone is at risk across the globe. But it does seem that the numbers of Gays and people in African countries contracting HIV are on the decline. On the other hand infection rates of young white heterosexual people in Europe and in the US are on the up. Why is this so is any one’s guess. I can only but speculate that the young white’s that are now being infected feel they are immune to this disease. One thing is for sure awareness in the UK is nothing like I saw in the 6 months I was in southern Africa. At times I thought I was in the wrong country and that I should be back in the UK spreading awareness of HIV.

But things are getting better for people with HIV. Treatments are much more effective than they have ever been. And now with early detection the medication does not have the same devastating effect that it use to in the past. Advancements in the medication and treatment now mean's that people with HIV can lead a more normal life than before. But could it also be that because of these advancements in treatment that youngsters are willing to take the risk and get HIV as they know they can just pop a pill and things will be alright? I don’t think we will ever get to the bottom of that one. At the end of the day prevention is better than cure and to be “forewarned is to be forearmed”. So education and awareness is the way forward.

Be sure to click on the links in the blog for more details.

In the news

TNT Express publishes a quarterly in-house magazine, TNT Life, so that staff around the UK can be kept up to date with the going ons of other staff and company related news.

Well in this edition of TNT Life I have had a mention. Click on the images bellow to get the full story.


In addition to my story there was a bit on TNT's partnership, Moving the World, with the World Food Program and its work in Africa. Click on image for full story.

Twittering

I have never been a massive fan of the whole social networking thing but the past year or so I have found it to be a very useful tool. From Facebook to MySpace and now Twitter all these sites can be really powerful tools if used correctly.

Twitter is one of the new kids on the block ( well to me at least ) I am not on Twitter and I am not sure if I will ever be on Twitter. I know that Twitter is full of celebrities who love to share with there fans what they are up. That's great for the fans. But would any one be interested in following me on Twitter ? I think not my life is not that interesting.

So what is Twitter ? Well basically its micro blogging. You can post up to 160 odd characters in lengh at any one time. It appears that most people seem to do this while on the move via there phone but they can also do it online via the web. People can then "follow" there "Twits ?" and get updates from them. Now I can see the points of groups, celebrities and even companies wanting to reach out to the masses via this means of communications. Just don't see the point from an individuals point of view.

One thing I really liked about North Star Foundation was how it was very keen on embracing technology and wanting to share with others data about projects and data from projects.

Back in November 2008 North Star Foundation got Twittering and I have put down the right hand side of my blog feeds from two of the Twitter feeds. If you visit the North Star Foundation website or click on the links provided here you can view all the North Star Foundation Twitter pages and if you like even follow them to keep up to date with what is happening in Africa with North Star Foundation.

Pages to visit: ( Click on the highlighted links to go to the pages )

North Star Foundation - Official Website
North Star Foundation - Twitter
North Star Foundation South Africa - Twitter
North Star Foundation East Africa - Twitter

One Year On

Its quite a shock to think that 1 year ago I landed in South Africa to start my assignment with North Star Foundation ( Landed in SA on the 9th of March 08) It was the start of something really big and special in my life and not something I am likely to forget in a hurry.
A lot has happened in the 6 months since I left South Africa but a lot more has happened in the year since I arrived in SA.

So here is a bit of a recap of what was going on while I was in South Africa with North Star Foundation and what has happened with the projects.

South African Express Parcel Association (SAEPA) – During my time in South Africa I was responsible for being the impartial point of contact to get SAEPA’s Low Income Heath Care program off the ground. We investigated service providers and get the right people around the table to progress this project with SAEPA and service provider (iKhambi Care) During my last few days with North Star Foundation the Service Level Agreement was signed. This was a great milestone for this project. Ian Lubbe (North Star Foundation South Africa) was then handed the rains to take the project on to the next stage. Ian informs me that there are now two established clinic, Jet Park – near ORT Airport and Centurion – near Pretoria. This is a great start to this project but its still has a long way to go to meet the goals that were set back in 2008. I am sure its just a matter of time till these goals are met. Till then I wish this project all the best for the future.

Walvis Bay Wellness Centre – This project is one of the dearest to my heart. A lot of blood, sweat and tears was put into this project. Not just by myself but by the whole team. While I was on assignment with North Star I was able to take this project from its inception to getting the doors open, in order to treat and educate its first clients. Clementine took over from me after I left SA. She was able to take the centre to the next level and set up the official opening of the centre on Worlds Aids Day (1st December 08) From the photos it looked like a really super day and was well supported. Unfortunately I can’t have a happy story for all my projects. Last week the doors on this centre had to close due to lack of funds. I know North Star is busy trying to get this centre re-opened and I hope he is able to do so sooner rather than later.

Zambia – Chirundu Wellness Centre – Now here is a real success story. Getting the Chirundu Wellness Centre to Zambia was a mission in its own right. Just the logistics of the whole thing was immense. Nothing went as smooth as we had hopped on this project. Getting the unit to Zambia was one thing but getting it to its resting site was another thing all together. Having to pay a contractor to level the ground and get a transported to off load and site the container was two quite arduous tasks that needed to be done to get the centre on its way to being open. If that was not enough there was the small task of getting funds put in place. We had the money it was just getting it to Zambia that was the problem. Just to get the cash to Zambia took over a month. But all this hard work has paid off with Ian reporting that the site is seeing around 700 people a month! This is great news. This more than makes up for all the frustration of getting this centre open. Well done to every one who made this project as successful as it is today and long may it continue.
Zimbabwe – Beitbridge/ Chirundu (Zim side) – Well I did not have a lot to do with these projects but I thought it would be good to report on it. When I left South Africa I had sent the centre to Beitbridge, and it was being housed at Swift Transport till we could finalize the arrangements to get it placed at the old custom house. Since leaving SA North Star Foundation has got every thing in place for the move to open at the old custom house at Beitbridge and will be shipping the container for Chirundu (Zim side). Chirundu should be in place sometime in April if all goes to plan.

This is all great news and it still makes me feel very proud to have been part of North Star Foundation. North Star still plays a big part in my life. I keep in regular contact with the team in SA and its never very far from my mind.

As to what else is happening with North Star Foundation – Ian reports the following:

Malawi is still going strong and that plans are afoot to launch Wellness Centres in Kenya sometime in March. North Star Foundation are also looking at expanding into the DRC, Botswana, Tanzania and Mozambique. So loads on then. I wish the team all the best of luck

Walvis Bay – Open – Worlds AIDS Day – 1st December 08

Well the Walvis Bay Wellness Centre had its official opening on the 1^st of December 08. I was not able to attend this function due to commitments in the UK. But I did feel like I was part of the event. Both Paul and Ian who did attend kept me up to speed with proceedings and Ian even sent me a message to my phone when the ribbon was cut at the centre.

The event was well attended from what I can tell representatives from Nam Port (Namibian Port Authority), The Walvis Bay Corridor Group and members of the Walvis Bay local government were in attendance.

Its great to know that there was many people there to see the opening and to hear how important projects like this are to the industry and the community they operate in.

But it seems that this is not enough.

Last week (End of Feb 09) I had an email from Ian (North Star Foundation, South Africa) to inform me that the Walvis Bay Wellness Centre has had to close its doors. This is due to the lack of funding. It seems that even projects like this are not even safe from the global credit crunch. I do hope that this will only be a temporary thing. I am sure it is.

Although I was a bit gutted to hear this bad news but one must remember the good that the centre has done in the short time it was open. During the time it was open it did get to make a fair bit of difference in the community. No matter how small the difference is it’s still a difference that has made some good in the community. People will remember this in time and when they do I am very hopeful that the doors on this centre will be open again soon.

The team did a great job in a very short time and I am still very proud to have been a part of this project.