Mapuordit HIV Centre (only one in a wide radius)


Friday 9th September

There’s a problem with the internet in that there are only 3 connections and then P’s and as you can imagine she is at her desk a lot of the time. There are more people and students with computers and they are all trying to get on Face Book (!!), and as soon as one succeeds, the others all crash.

The children’s ward remains busy with mostly malaria cases. Two who arrived very late last night have cerebral malaria, not sure how they are going to be, early days.
As their diet is so poor, many have malnutrition, and are very anaemic - they become so sick. It’s amazing that most survive One minute they seem to be at death’s door, and then with some quinine and fluids they slowly come round. Those beautiful big cow-like brown eyes looking up at you get me every time!!

The infra-red thermometer (with extra batteries) that I brought is a great success as it takes a temperature in 2 seconds, instead of the old mercury ones that are just so old and worn they are hard to read.
Last year, I gave out many digital ones that I’d brought, but like most things the batteries go or they walk. The only batteries here in the market are double A and the big fat ones. I also brought lots of small medicine cups and scissors donated by the hospital I work for. All in use every day, they think all their Christmases have come at once!! Thank you Longueville!!

There are many HIV positive patients throughout the hospital, most at least getting treatment which is wonderful. Last year, we were only seeing the really sick ones that were at the end of their lives, but even ‘early stagers’ in the disease are receiving treatment.

In Rumbek, the biggest town from here, there is a local radio station and sometimes you can pick it up here, but good reception in the town. Anyway, once a month someone from the HIV centre here goes into Rumbek, and for 2 hrs they have talk-back radio on STI’s, Hepatitis B, HIV - it is spoken in English, then translated into Dinka. People can ring in and ask questions, it’s a great innovation and very new in this ‘neck of the woods’. It was only last year that they got a communication tower, unfortunately the signal does not reach us.

Also, some funding has come in to provide a mobile unit to go out to the communities spreading the word (on HIV, not Christianity). One of the downsides is that there is very little written in Dinka or even posters with pictures only. You have to bear in mind that 80% of the population here is illiterate, rising to 92 % for women. So more pictures are needed.
Ian is on the hunt with the Sudanese community in Sydney.

My first thought was we could make some ourselves, but first find an artist, paper, and laminator. Hmmm! Let’s record some messages instead, first find a recorder, then electricity, or batteries, and so it goes on. But I am sure we will come up with something, things certainly are moving forward in this area.

What happens here is if a man dies, possibly of AIDS, then his brother inherits his wife or wives, who are very likely to be HIV positive too. If there’s no brother then someone else close in the family, so the man’s name is carried on. The wives have no say in this. So, you get to see how very quickly HIV is spreading. Also, there are more soldiers around who are more than likely to be HIV positive too.

In the maternity unit, there are at least 3 mums all positive, with babies also HIV positive and older brothers and sisters in the same situation. One little boy is about 4 but looks like an old man, and moves like one. All bone, no fat or muscle, with big sunken eyes and a very stooped back. His mum is really too ill to look after the new baby, but there is a lovely grandmother who is doing her best to provide food for them all. Because they are all HIV positive, there is a special feeding program for them and they are all on treatment, even the new-born....heartbreaking.