December 2010–March 2011 Issue 2

ENEZA UJUMBE The Voices of Mathare Youth

Health Life HIV Issue 2

Support MSF’s New Campaign:

.
Europe! Hands Off Our Medicine is Médecins Sans Frontières’ campaign to try
and push Europe to back down over controversial plans that will cut off the sup-
ply of affordable generic medicines from India. These medicines are relied on by
millions in developing countries who would have no opportunity to get the drugs
they need without generics.

The steady supply of these affordable medicines relied upon by MSF and other
BLUE HOUSE CLINIC treatment providers is now under threat: Europe is pursuing a trade deal that will
jeopardise access to affordable medicines by putting company profits above the
Blue House is an outpatient clinic health of people in developing countries. The deal now being negotiated between
located in Mathare along Juja India and the EU could delay the production of affordable generic versions of newer medicines in India by
up to ten years. The ‘Hands Off’ campaign is MSF’s voice telling Europe to back off. You can support MSF
Road opposite Mathare Youth in this action by going to action.msf.org .■
Sports Association (MYSA).
Geoffrey Ochieng is a patient at MSF’s Blue House clinic in Mathare. He explains how access to generic
It offers TB (Tuberculosis) treat- antiretroviral treatment has given him an incentive to rebuild his life.
ment, TB Screening, HIV testing
“I decided to start treatment with antiretroviral after being infected with tuberculosis and meningitis at
and Counseling.
the same time because my immune system was so weakened by the HIV virus. There were days when I
Antiretroviral drugs, Treatment felt like ending it all…but after a strong debate with myself, I decided I was going to live and not die.
Today I take my drugs religiously; My CD4 count is increasing, and with that my sight, which I partially
of Multiple Resistant Tuberculo- lost to this disease, is getting better. I am working hard too; I want to go back to school. I know that the
sis, PMTCT and Sexual Gender sky is the limit, and I will not stop at anything. I am saving for my school fees. I am only 19, but I will
Based Violence care are also of- not stop, I have to go the extra mile, and make sure that I have the life that I have always wanted. Blue
fered. House has given me a family, and I always go there whenever I feel low, and I get counselled. I have a
great support”■
All services are absolutely free...

Inside this issue:

Care and support for people infected with HIV/AIDs
Editorial P2 By Caro Mutuvi
People infected with HIV/AIDs can live for many years if they get proper care and support from relatives
Parents role in disclosure P2
and friends. They can live long and normal lives if we assist them by ensuring that they are loved and cared
Ask the doctor P3 for. We must also ensure that they have a proper diet, hygiene and medical care.

Laura’s corner P3 People infected with HIV may feel isolated and may suffer from loneliness, shock, anger, fear and depres-
sion. What can we do to help? We can give them our time and company, to listen patiently as they express
Across Borders P4 their ups and downs of living with the virus. Let us show love and care to them by visiting them regularly
whatever the circumstance. As for employers, let us not deny HIV positive people job opportunities. They
have the right to work and earn a living just like everyone else. In fact, any employer who is found guilty of
terminating contracts of people living with HIV must face the law.

HIV/AIDs is manageable. Many people are alive and healthy today thanks to Anti Retroviral (ARVs) drugs.
This disease is not only spread through sexual intercourse. There are many young adults who were born
with HIV. They need love and acceptance. Others get infected through rape and blood transfusion. But re-
gardless of how it is spread, let us not judge, as it affects us all. Let’s learn to put stigma behind us and live
in peace with each other.■
Quote of the day:
“Our medical programmes depend on a constant supply of affordable medicines. For people with HIV/
AIDS who need medicines to stay alive, a ten-year wait to get a newer drug is not viable. They’ll die wait-
ing.” Arian Bauernfeind, Operational Coordinator for MSF projects in South Africa, Malawi, Lesotho and
© Moses Kamau Zimbabwe. ■

For more information contact: MSF Mathare Programme, Nairobi Kenya. Tel: (20) 2016881-Parklands office
email:msff-mathare@paris.msf.org Editing and Layout: Judith Akelle Waguma
December 2010- March 2011 Page 2 Issue 2

Editorial
December is a month which brings with it the school and Christmas Meet another young woman, Kady. She is a 22 years and also lives in
holidays; it’s a month that heralds in a New Year, new wishes and new Mathare. Kady’s history of violence and abuse is almost as old as she is.
hope! December is also a month which brings a special day, a day not to She is very angry. Its like anger is the motor of her life today and it is
forget: The World AIDS Day! very difficult to let it go so as to build a new positive life for herself. If
you were in the same situation as these two young girls, and you are
Globally this is a day to create awareness about a chronic disease-HIV/ given a scale of zero to ten, where zero is the worst and ten is the best
AIDS. This year as we celebrate the successes achieved, we also must condition possible in your life, what would you need to do to move for-
face the reality that there are still millions of people who deserve to have ward even if it’s just a small, very small step?”
access to free treatment in order to live life with dignity. There are sev- This is a question I often ask clients in our HIV/TB/SGBV clinic, for
eral dynamics to HIV, and the most important one is that it is manage- any kind of difficulty or problem or condition they are facing. For
able. Médecins Sans Frontières – Doctors Without Border’s, its core objec-
tives are to provide free medical and psychosocial treatment to resource
Even though it obliges people to stay on continuous medication for the limited populations, especially in settings where poverty levels are high
rest of their lives, it also calls for positive living and also strictly adher- and there are unstable social, economic and political contexts.
ing to the treatment. Meet Marie Anne an eight year old orphan living in
Mathare estate. Mary Anne lives with her relatives and has been on ARV In addition to this, at the Blue House clinic, we ensure that clients have
treatment for four years now. Ideally it’s her relatives’ responsibility toaccess to treatment and a deeper knowledge of themselves. We also
ensure that she is following her treatment strictly as prescribed. How- ensure that they understand and adhere well to their medication so that
ever, Mary Anne’s physical condition and blood analyses reveal that they can overcome the repetition of traumatic events, as a result of self
she’s not taking her ARVs correctly. motivation and a stronger social support. This 2nd issue of the Youth
Newsletter welcomes new testimonies, new questions, news from our
After a brief discussion with her relatives in one of the counseling ses- youth and our children who participate actively to their medical and
sions, they admit the difficulty in administering the daily treatment with psychosocial treatment! Thanks to you all because even if the challenges
consistence. It is only then, when they get the results, that they realize are there, you continue to believe in the therapeutic meaning of this
what the risks are: that they could loose their child. newsletter!■

The pain of disclosure

Christine Munene explores how parents reluctance to reveal to their children their HIV status can have damaging effects

The pain and distress that other students, Tom had a good friend he could talk to in class and share
children go through when all his troubles with. He would be there to console Tom, and also report
they discover their HIV the matter to the relevant authorities, and the students would get pun-
status cannot be put into ished.
words. Some discover
Days went by and he still had to take his medication and the cough per-
their status after frequently
sisted. Often he would ask himself questions. “Could I have HIV/AIDS
getting ill, while others are
ridiculed by their peers or TB, or any other disease that my mother has been keeping secret from
who then push them to me?” One day, when visitors from a nearby youth group came to the
start asking questions school, he got the answers he so longed for. The main purpose of this
© Moses Kamau about their health. visit was to discuss HIV/AIDS and the modes of transmission. The little
boy through the questions and answers was able to know how this dis-
A section of the youth in Mathare, feel that it’s the parent’s role to tell ease was spread. Tom became worried and his mood changed all of a
the truth to their children instead of them learning when it’s late. sudden, at that moment, it struck him that he could also be HIV positive.

While HIV/Aids prevalence rate has been on a steady decline in Kenya, That day he went home fuming with anger. He found his mother in the
currently there are over 22,000 children infected with HIV through kitchen and asked for the truth. He asked his mother why he has to take
mother-to-child transmission. The experience of Tom Odhiambo, a class all the drugs, as well as her. His mother was awestruck, she started cry-
five pupil in Mathare tells it all. Tom was an active pupil in class and aing, but he did not care, he wanted to know the truth. Bluntly he shouted,
child with many dreams. However there was something wrong with him. I think I am HIV positive. Shocked, his mother stood up and turned so
He did not know what it was. that she had her back to her son. Slowly she told him the truth. “Yes son,
it’s true, you are, but you have to understand….” She did not finish, he
He did not understand either why he was supposed to take medicine sped off. For hours he could not be found. He just wanted to disappear,
every morning and evening. He would ask his mother later, “Why do I the reality was so harsh.
have to take these drugs yet I am not sick”. Not knowing how to respond
to this question, his mother would keep quiet. When Tom got persistent, Months later Tom was found at a nearby hospital after he had been ad-
she would say “son it is for your own good” and sometimes if he re- mitted in critical condition. After his recovery, the doctors advised his
fused, she would threaten to beat him up. One Monday morning as he mother to take him home, and seek the services of a counselor. Every
headed to school, Tom started coughing. In class he would get teased by Friday after his release, he would go back to hospital for appointments.
his fellow classmates. This had become a norm. They laughed at him, He later accepted his status and forgave his mother. Tom is now a
saying that he had TB and AIDS. “Look at how he is, his cheek bones healthy boy; he finished his secondary education and is now studying to
are literally sticking out,” they would say. Tom cried. He wished for all be a doctor.■
those boys to stop with their banter. Despite all the ridicule from the
December 2010-March 2011 Page 3 Issue 2

LAURA’S CORNER
In the previous edition, Laura told us about the pain of loosing her sister to AIDS In the second part
of the account, she tells us how she learnt about her status:
Life after Caro had gone wasn’t easy. First I had to where it was discovered that I had to change medi-
accept the fact that I had no older sister and my cation, treatment for malaria was not enough for
only sibling was my older brother. Life looked what I had. This is how I learnt of Blue House and
bleak. I had no one to talk to. I no longer had the I had to start the medication again. This time it was
girl talk I used to have with my sister. For me this different. At Blue House I was taken to the volun- © Eva Paglia MSF
was the beginning of the end. tary counseling and testing centre. Since I was still
young, my aunt had to play the role of guardian. I Doctor, Doctor!
A few days after the burial which took place at our was not counseled myself, she was. All the neces-
rural home we had to come back to Nairobi. At the sary information was given to her. I was just there. Your medical questions, our an-
bus I sat between my father and brother, I felt swers
empty, loneliness engulfed me mum was nowhere A few weeks later we went back to the clinic, this
and now my sister too. I realized that they were all time I was counseled. It was now clear to me that I QN: Many young adults living with
gone for good and I had to accept it or always live was HIV positive. I was scared; I knew that I was HIV have HIV negative partners. They
the life of loneliness. now among the living dead. I thought that my body fear that if they tell their partners the
was living but that my spirit was dead. I was told truth their relationship will end. How
When we got back home, Alvin tried all that he about ARVs and how they boost the immune sys- should they disclose their status to
could to make me feel complete and live normally. tem and how they increase the CD4 count. All this their partners?
I tried until I got used to it. Life was becoming sounded like French to me, I did not understand, I
normal again. Schools reopened and I reported just nodded. Back at home, everything went on Ans: For sure if partners are open with
back. This time I had to work extra hard to make normally, Alvin tried all he could to encourage me. each other concerning their HIV status
sure my dreams and goals were achieved, I de- He kept telling me that I would make it. I did not it’s the ideal condition in a relationship.
cided to go the extra mile. Things were much understand him, everything seemed like a puzzle to But because it’s rare, for this situation
calmer until one day everything took a different me. Alvin was always there for me; he kept re- they should seek help from a counselor
turn. It was October 1st or thereabouts; I can’t re- minding me of my medication and made sure that I who can guide the process of disclosure
call the exact date. I got severe malaria and a bad did not miss even a single one. I felt I was not according to the needs, expectations,
toothache. I did not understand anything; I was alone motivation and self esteem of the client.
feeling as if it was now my time to go to heaven Think over what you want to say, why
but that was not the case. A week later, on my next visit, Alvin accompanied you want to say it, and how you want to
me. When we got to Blue House I was surprised to say it so you will feel more prepared
After a few days of serious illness my aunt took see that he was known by all the doctors though he when you disclose your status.
me to the hospital, I think she too was scared that I never talked about it. What happened at the clinic
would die. My skin was covered with rashes all made me suspect that there was more to it. At this Disclosure is a process and to be able to
over, and my eyes turned pure white. I kept asking time I had started taking drugs but it was still diffi- do it, you need to build the capacity!
myself, am I the next victim? Everyday I went to cult since every morning and evening Alvin was
bed, my dreams turned into nightmares and my on my back and would ask “Have you taken your QN: I am a young adult who is HIV
visions into impossibilities. I felt so weak that drugs?” positive. I have never had surgery, had
everything looked as if it was an imagination. Ill- sex or had blood transfusion. It is said
ness took control of my body, my whole system Time passed by and I have gotten used to taking that if a child is born HIV positive he/
felt like it was going to shut down. At the hospital, the drugs. Alvin revealed to me that he was also she cannot live up to 5 years. There
they did many tests, and no one was telling me positive and that he discovered his status when wasn’t PMTCT when I was born. How
anything. Caro was alive. This now made me understand comes I am 23 years and still alive?
why doctors at Blue House knew him well. After
A few weeks later, I started feeling much better. he disclosed his status to me we started putting our Ans: Well I am happy that you are an
This is when the cause of my illness was discov- medicine together and even reminded each other adult who has beaten all odds by living
ered. The doctor sent for my father but to no avail. when to take the drugs .Life was now cool. I now positively with HIV! Despite all the unfa-
Then I was given a letter to deliver to him, maybe feel alive again. Now I am a patient at Blue vorable situations during your childhood I
this would make him see the importance of going House, dedicated to my medication and always believe there was some form of health
there but the problem was the same. talkative about salvation. The only challenge I care, good maternal practices and nutri-
have now is to make my relatives understand my tion which contributed to your well being.
He did not show any interest and at that time my status. As I sit down and relax I hope that even if It’s not a rule that all children must have
medication had also finished. My aunt had to inter- they know about me no one will discriminate upon died at 5 years of age because of HIV.
vene. She decided to carry my cross for me. I had me. That is my greatest fear. I am now a candidate
to pretend to be a total orphan without a father or dedicated to live her life to the extreme. I pray that, QN: How many types of HIV exist?
mother. My aunt took me back to the hospital my past does not affect my future.■
Ans: There are two main types of HIV.
Type 1 and II which further posses’ sub-
Blue House Clinic If you are an HIV positive youth liv- types referred to as A-E ■
ing in Mathare or Eastliegh and would If you have medical questions you would
like to contribute to the Newsletter like answered, come and visit us at Blue
please contact Simon Njoka Gitau House Our doors are open!
on: 020 201 6881
December 2010-March 2011
Across Borders: Fighting TB and HIV in Lesotho’s highlands
The daring hope of a 13-year-old girl
At the age of 82, Solo Robis has seen the ebb and flow of life and death
in the small village of Mofoka in rural Lesotho. But a worry still weighs
on him: How can he ensure HIV/AIDS and TB does not become a death
sentence for his bright young granddaughter Tsepang, like it has for so
many other villagers? Tsepang was diagnosed HIV positive two years
ago. She has just overcome a tough battle with TB after six months on
treatment in a country where HIV/AIDS related complications, like TB,
claim 18, 000 lives each year.
Page 4 Issue 2
carefully, taking her to the clinic for medical follow-ups, child support
sessions, and ensuring that she takes her anti-retroviral (ARV) medica-
tion. But he knows he will not be able to look after her forever: “I will
always take care of Tsepang and make sure that she is well, for as long
as I live. But what will happen to Tsepang when I am gone? I am old,
and the time will come that she will be left alone in the world. That is
worrying. I always ask myself what will happen with her. She is still very
young...”

In Lesotho, funeral home and burial service signs dot the roadside – a Hunched over a piece of coloured paper, pencil in hand, Tsepang is lost
reminder of the massive toll HIV/AIDS and TB have exacted during the in her own world as she draws during a child support session at the Mo-
last two decades. Solo knows this all too well: “It is really bad. It was foka clinic. Sessions like these have made a difference to how children
even worse in the past decade because people were dying at a very living with HIV see themselves. Here Tsepang is able to draw, sing,
young age,” says Solo. “There were at least two funerals per week, and dance, and laugh with other children who share her HIV positive status.
all around deaths in the family became commonplace - like my wife and
like Tsepang’s mother.” MSF nurse Patricia Nyoni describes how the MSF counselling group for
child patients evolved: “We started these support sessions for children
Solo has been Tsepang’s guardian since her parents separated and her in 2008. That is when we started seeing an increasing number of chil-
mother died of HIV/AIDS in 2006. He took Tsepang, then aged 9, to the dren who were testing positive for HIV and/or TB.”
nearest MSF-supported Mofoka clinic because she was getting sick regu-
larly – she was suffering from chronic diarrhoea, skin rashes, vomiting, At school Tsepang is a bright and promising grade five pupil, with a
and high fever and severe coughs. MSF’s Selibeng sa Tšepo (meaning talent for drawing and English. “My favourite subject is Math. I want to
“Wellspring of Hope”) project, which aims at increasing access to inte- become a nurse someday, so I will study hard,” Tsepang says. “I want to
grated HIV and TB care was already running then, so Tsepang could be be like Nurse Makaloba Ntabelala at the Mofoka clinic, because she
initiated on antiretroviral therapy at the clinic close to where she lives. helps the children a lot.”■

Ever since Tsepang tested HIV positive, Solo has been looking after her

WORD SEARCH
G A N I Z A R G O R E Z B T W O P E
R M C L R E E D S O N B C D O D L G 1. EPIDEMIC
A G B C I M E D I P E S P Y D R U L
2. HOSPITAL
D I N G D V E X B S U Y J W N R D O
E T V A H Z Y N U K J B E K I W I C 3. SYMPOMATIC
X S Y M P T O M A T I C O M W R S I 4. WINDOW
A M E Z M F A J D A D R X W V L A M
5. PANDEMIC
C P B C X G A S I D E F A K P T S O
T Z U F J S L H S E U V T P L K T N 6. ELISA
H A R S K F T I U L G S B X E Y E I
7. TEST
U T S K W L I M C P A I V H U R R V
V E E I J C P I G O L T R B X N M O 8. DISASTER
K S G D L W M S U T D E I M P O T X 9. STIGMA
O T A C I E J B S B N L O P B J B V
10. RAPE
P L E F D B P O P V A O F A S I S O
R I C A A C H U R N S Z O N I O E A
Y E P V W X O P Q R Y P S E A J H T

If you are an HIV positive youth living in Mathare or Eastliegh and would like to
contribute to the Newsletter please contact Simon Njoka Gitau on: 020 201
6881

For more information contact: MSF Mathare Programme, Nairobi Kenya. Tel: (20) 2016881 email:msff-mathare@paris.msf.org