Catholic AIDS Action
June 15, 2009
Windhoek, Namibia
In the far north of Namibia, where there are no good roads and the Zambezi River floods its banks every rainy season from December to March, malaria thrives and the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate (31.7 percent) is the highest in the country. The climate and local conditions can turn the simplest acts into a daunting challenge. Even when Catholic AIDS Action (CAA) offers school uniforms to orphans, the local women may have to wait for the material, or the orphans may lack soap to wash their new school clothes. Home care workers in the rainy season are hindered for want of umbrellas. Among CAA’s training materials for volunteers is this revealingly titled pamphlet: “It Costs Almost Nothing — Beneficial Indoor Games from Rubbish and Recycled Materials”.
No matter the challenges, CAA reaches out through its trained volunteers to provide loving support to more than 1,000 orphans in the region. Although an ambitious maize farm to feed the orphans was wiped out in the floods, the volunteers manage to run a soup kitchen for school children. Any day after school, you can see bright-eyed Mpambo, a clever 15 year old orphan, enthusiastically helping the younger children with their homework as they wait for their food. The little ones follow her around as she helps serve the soup; later, they all pitch in to follow her example in Everywhere Stephen goes in Africa, children tell him that the one thing they want above all else is to attend school.cleaning up. Because she can attend school, Mpambo is a picture of resilience, a leader, a symbol of Namibia’s hope.
So is 16 year old George. His father abandoned him as useless because he has a disability and is on crutches; his mother died and now George lives with a fragile elderly grandfather. Still, with all the blows life has dealt him, George shines at school. He soared through his exams and, with the help of CAA is clearly headed toward university, like seven other bright lights currently studying at a post-secondary level with full support from CAA.
Everywhere Stephen goes in Africa,children tell him that the one thing they want above all else is to attend school. School offers release from backbreaking labour, the excitement of learning, the happiness of com-panionship and the life-affirming possibility of making a better life. With the Foundation’s support, CAA is providing school uniforms and fees to 473 orphans and vulnerable children, and is reaching far more through its home-based care and youth outreach and education programmes.
When you consider the staggering impact of the pandemic, plus the crushing burdens of poverty and underdevelopment, the strength and resourcefulness of the Africans is awe-inspiring. Out of practically nothing, they have built vast networks of home care workers, feeding stations and training programmes to cope with the rampaging impact of the virus.
How could we turn our backs on George, Mpambo and the thousands of hopeful youth who have already lost so much — and still not given up?