Emmanuel

I am the sort of person who loves hearing stories, so I thought I would share a story about Huruma.

Some of you, who have done your research, may know that Huruma houses about 150 children, 25 of which are HIV positive. The effect of HIV on the social fabric of Africa, and its ubiquitous presence here is not something that is easy for me to understand, or even recognize all the time.

But I got a little closer to understanding this weekend after we came back from Lake Naivasha and learned that one of the children, Emmanuel, had passed away. Emmanuel was a boy I didn't know very well, he was in class four and he was HIV positive.

Medically, I don't know enough to explain exactly what happened, but I can explain what I know which may or may not be biologically correct. Emmanuel had not eaten anything on Friday, probably by his own choice because Mama Zipporah is very adamant that the children on ARV's ( Anti-RetroViral) get enough to eat, and no one noticed until the next day. So his immune system became compromised, and he was taking ARV's without food, so all in all it was a bad situation. They took him to the hospital on Sunday after he didn't want to wake up or eat anything. They found out that he had contracted meningitis , and after the doctor put the IV in , he went into shock and died.

When the arrived at the hospital the nurse told Mary, a staff member at Huruma, to ask Emmanuel if he knew where he was. Emmanuel said "Yes, I am dying. I am dying." It's hard for me to imagine a child in grade four saying that.

I didn't personally know Emmanuel, but I know I had met him, and I know that I had played seven up with his class two weeks ago. I find it really eerie to know that a child I had spent time with is now gone.

When Mama took him in, she knew that he would die eventually. She understood that if he stayed wherever he was before Huruma he probably would die faster. But she chose to take him in and show him love for the time he had left. She committed to be his mother and offer him the best she could, until HIV took hold. I really admire her for seeing the value in all her children, while the rest of Kenyan society views them as a burden.

So that's the story I have to share. I hope it offered a brief glimpse into life in Africa, and maybe gave a real, human face to the AIDS crisis.

Peace,

Bethany