Visit with the Triplets

January 2nd, 2009

Home care visits. Today I went around on a scooter delivering ARVs to the local HIV patients who can’t come into the office for care. I went to check on the triplets. Yes, the quadruplets I told you about are now triplets. The little girl Katherine died of malaria. Very very sad….it’s so hard to see these poor kids who are so sick and how many children die from malaria here. Kelvin, Kennedy and Camp David were home with their mom Salamai, two other children and the father of the two older children. It is customary to bring a gift when you come to someone’s home. I had run out of food and felt terrible about it. However, I did have some stickers (assorted color stars) so I gave the older kids the stickers as a gift-seems stickers is the last thing they need, but the kids were excited. Kelvin and Kennedy are infected with malaria now and Camp David is healthy. Yes, that is his name. J Poor Kelvin and Kennedy are extremely lethargic and sick. Salamai explained she had run out of food for the babies formula and that is how she mixes their meds. Charles, the director was with me and told Salamai he’d come back with food. As we took off on his motor bike I asked him when he was going to bring the food for the baby formula and he said the grant money didn’t cover any food and he didn’t know. It is frustrating b/c Charles wants to help, but makes false promises to some of these people….It’s a catch 22 with the funding b/c they get funding for ARVs, but not food and ARVs can’t be taken without food. The government and many givers of grant money won’t give out money for food because they want the local people to learn to produce for themselves. Understandable and makes sense for some healthier patients, but how are HIV+ bedridden people supposed to farm? or those with sick triplets?

Given the poor health of the triplets, I decided I was going to get them the food they needed for the next 6 months since Charles had told Salamai he'd be back with food. We got a bjage and loaded up on dried soy beans, sorgum, powered milk, cane sugar, maize, etc. Two hours later, we were back at the triplets house. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the whole family was wearing the stickers I had brought as earrings! Salamai, the father of her two older kids, the older kids (one boy), and all of the babies wear wearing gold and blue star stickers on their ears. A happy moment given all this poor family has gone through….