The face of HIV

It's all about ambassadors these days.

A new NGO has come to Fiji- Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation (PIAF). Their regional office is strategically placed in Lauotka. Their function is to raise awareness in the community by sharing their stories as people living with HIV. Their program has been the most effective one I've seen for HIV education in rural areas.

Essentially what they do is start off with an interactive training. A man named Temo, who is both a trained peer-educator as well as a ex-Red Cross trainer, gets up and involves all participants in a game to better understand the spread of HIV. He walks the participants through the steps of transmission, emphasizing the importance of testing and safe sex.

After the training, everyone settles down and listens to stories to "put a face to HIV." When the stories begin the crowd falls silent as the heart wrenching tales resonate through the room. Never have you seen such intent listeners as the audience faces turn to sorrow. The room is silent, the people leaning slightly forward hanging on to every word as these AIDS ambassadors talk about going through watching children die to the difficulties in confronting their families.

These outreach programs range from going to villages to army barracks to fire stations. The 'face of HIV' is changing peoples perception and truly educating people on the gravity of the virus.

The change in perception is evident. I remember going to the army barracks and having someone ask something along the lines of- "well, why doesn't the government just give all the infected people injections so that they cant transmit it anymore." After the program, the same man came up and profusely apologized, saying that he had never met anyone with HIV and had no idea that they were 'normal' people. It's incredible to see the transformation.

Outside of these programs, the AIDS ambassadors are involved in many activities relating to HIV education. Below I have added photos from a outreach program at a rugby match (this is just to show their involvement outside their own programs), a school program and the military barracks visit.





A booth at the rugby game- passing out educational materials.



Explaining how the questionnaires work

Outreach team. Also photographed are Champions (professional athletes from Fiji who volunteer to promote HIV education)

The program at the military Barracks

A program at a secondary school in Ba.

Disclaimer- not all of the people photographed are AIDS ambassadors. The ambassadors I have added are only the ones who have come out publicly in the media.

The new year

The 21 of May 2009, represents my one year mark as a volunteer in Fiji. A time like this is often overlooked in the midst of projects and daily obligations. But, much like New Years, I see this day as something to celebrate- a day to reflect on the past year, and how I can improve in the year to come.

So many thoughts come to mind on how to celebrate the amazing exposure my work and situation have offered. But perhaps the best way to do this is to recap some incredible, noteworthy, moments;

· The pleasure of living three months in a village with Viliame, Tavenisa, and Lo.

· My site- working in a reproductive health clinic in Lautoka (the best place to live in Fiji- but then again, I’m biased)

· Living with and getting to know my amazingly accommodating roommate Nagisa- a very close friendship that will surely continue beyond this experience

· Carrying out a nightclub condom distribution program in the major clubs in Suva (the largest city in the South Pacific)

· Working on a large scale donation to provide medical equipment to the hospitals and health centers in the western division

· Having the opportunity to travel for two weeks on a government boat around the Yasawa islands, stopping at every health center, nursing station, and village, to provide rural, outpatient services.

There are so many other noteworthy experiences, but the chronological list I have provided stands out as having been unique to my volunteer experience. Not included are the moments that have taken my breath away- a sunset here, a shared meal there… the small pleasures afforded on a daily basis that have made me so fond of this country and my particular circumstance.

There, of course, has been the odd occasion where I have been robbed, forced to move houses, or been treated with disrespect because of my age. And, to overlook these things would be foolish and give a misleading perception of my situation- but, these experiences are what have made the last year “real,” has given me perspective, and have served as lessons that I may not have learned otherwise.

So the year is over and a new one will start. The new class of volunteers has arrived- launching a journey that they will make their own. As for me, I will be celebrating both their entrance into the country, and the beginning of my second year.

A family visit

My mother, brother, grandfather and uncle Bobs came to visit. While they were here, we were able to snorkel, scuba dive, travel to far off (well sort of) islands, go white water rafting, and visit the Fiji Museum.

BULA! from Fiji.

At 91, he is the oldest person to tackle the rapids of the Upper Navua river... and here's what he has to show for it, complete with a satisfied grin :o)

Out at sea

Carlito (I am now on nick name basis with Carlos Castaneda by merely reading his book) wrote that "in fact, the reality of the world we know is so taken for granted... that our reality is merely one of many descriptions." In that case, I concede to the fact that my relationship with the English language and therefore my descriptions, often prevent me from portraying my true reality.. whatever that is... And since I am giving you insight into my reality I have chosen to add a few photos (along with short descriptions) and simply state that... I traveled with work for two weeks on a boat through the most beautiful islands of Fiji- the Yasawas, there was a dental, school and outpatient team, we visited two villages a day, there was a lot of fishing....


Despite quoting Carlito, no drugs were involved - though I will say that there were many times when my reality did feel like a dream. I have decided that there are two kinds of people- those who can tell grand stories about their experiences and those who can't. I'm the latter. Here are some photos...




My living situation for 2 weeks

Where we slept

Where we ate

Afternoon refreshments- yummm, coconuts. Everyone likes the water, but few like the flesh, which works out well because the flesh is my favorite part.

The medical boat. The engine hasn't worked in over a year. Quite decorative... not?

Inside a very well stocked nursing station

Unloading on Yasawa-i-rara (the top most inhabited island)- also called 8 month island. They say that if you get the sand from here in your hair, it'll take 8 months to get out. I don't know about all that, but I will say that walking on it was like walking on an inch or so of powdery snow.

Swimming in the open sea

delivering a much needed water tank to a health center. Water supply is scarce on most of the islands- and hygeine is the biggest public health issue in the villages and schools.

Out-patient mobile pharmacy

Pap smear team- Auntie Vani is wearing a head lamp upon my suggestion, unfortunately that meant that she no longer needed me to hold the flashlight during pap smears... I lost my job to better technology.

School team.

Dental education

Toilets by class

MMR and TT vaccinations

Class 1 teacher leading students to the community health school team

Looking out to Waya island- you don't see that everyday

Farewel Viwa

Girls collecting sea weed. You know... typical after school duties.

The ladies- the head sister and two dental therapists

Last night, the i-tatau, departing ceremony

Baby powder and a garland- in true fiji fashion.

The old capital

Before Suva became the capital of Fiji, it was a little town called Levuka, on an island in Lomaiviti (translation, inside Fiji-- look at a map and you'll see why the translation is relevant) called Ovalau. Oh and is it ever beautiful.

I didn't take any pictures of the town itself, but it's quite unique as far as South Pacific towns go. When you get off the boat you are overwhelmed by the smell of Tuna- as the Sunbell factory sits just beside the wharf.

After you get over the strong scent, you begin to enter the city. When I had cowboy boots I never wore them- but you need a pair for Levuka. Due to colonization, the buildings and town structure make it feel as you have walked on the set of an old Western movie-- except there were no pubs with swinging doors... unfortunately.

Anyway, what was I doing there? I was on vacation. On a whim another volunteer and I decided we would take advantage of the long weekend of March 6-9. Carron, the volunteer stationed there, is always complaining of her isolation on "the rock".... so we went. And what a treat is was. Below are some photos.


Putu- this is what I was looking at when I called you on your birthday

Mission steps - 199 steps to the top

the view at from the top

on our way for a swim

on the road to Carron's house

Back at the hospital

Lautoka Hospital from the back


After taking a few months off from observations at the hospital, I have managed to weasel my way back in. This time in obstetrics and gynecology, where I have observed three natural births in the first day. I'm becoming more and more fascinated by the medical field- particularly the practical/clinical portions.

The medical students have changed since last year. There is a new batch of sixth year students, who Im just starting to meet. They will be doing their attachment at Lautoka Hospital for the next year before, most of them, return back to their respective countries.

Fiji School of Medicine is the only internationally recognized medical school in the South Pacific. This means that each incoming class will include students from all over the pacific like; Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands, etc. Many of them are sponsored by bond programs provided by international organizations. They literally get paid to become doctors for their own countries. That's pretty neat, if you ask me.

Chompers

The fluoride varnish project is starting to get off the ground. We have found out that we can expand the number of kids that we had originally allotted and cast out a larger net. We are now looking at a total of three schools, which will drastically improve the legitimacy of the research we are able to get out of the project. The research will be crucial to presenting the idea of switching over from gel to varnish, to the Ministry of Health.

I have been working with the dental outreach team who is very excited about changing over to varnish. They too think it will be much more effective. The gel they are using now contains only 0.4% fluoride, less than most fluoridated toothpastes.

I was invited to see the how they are currently applying the fluoride gel. Below are the photos from the visit.



Waiting for recess to finish

Kids lining up

Getting ready to receive fluoride on their toothbrushes

Kids who didn't bring toothbrushes applied fluoride with their forefingers