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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2004. PAGE 17.
Girl's 'journal' entry puts a face to AIDS
Editor's Note: Helen McShane
provided this journal entry' of her
daughter, Jessica Bokhout. She and
her sister Stephanie are currently in
South Africa working with AIDS
victims.
Jessica and Stephanie Bokhout left
for South Africa on Jan. 4. They
went well wrapped in good wishes,
prayers and the loving concerns of
the Huron-Perth community. So
many kind folks have been asking us
about our daughters. Others are also
interested in hearing how their
financial donations have been used.
In answer to the first question, I
am happy to assure you that they are
happy and delighted to be at TLC
ministries. Every day is a challenge,
and often they are also on night duty,
soothing cranky babies in the wee
hours, or holding a sick child for
' lengthy periods of time.
There are great moments of joy
and heartache, but they feel
surrounded both by the love at the
orphanage, and a sense of Divine
presence in that place. They are in
good spirits and despite a few
sunburns and sticky hot days, are
enjoying the lovely summer weather.
They return home in June, so there
will be many adventures still to
come in the next few months.
The money they took with them
translated into 40,000 Rand — a very
large sum in South African currency.
It has been combined with another
donation, brought by an Irish
volunteer, and has been used to
purchase a second-hand car. One of
these days, we hope to see a photo of
this "O'Canada" car and will pass
the photo on for others to see. The
suitcases of toys and clothing was
also well received.
The girls have had fun dressing up
the babies in their Canadian clothes.
As you can imagine, clothing 40
children must be an ongoing
challenge for those who wash, dry
and sort. Imagine the socks.
Stephanie appointed herself as the
sorter of the suitcases, and spent
many hours organizing the clothing
so it could be used.
Jessica has penned the following
"journal entry" for us to share with
all those who are interested in what
she and Stephanie are seeing in
South Africa.
The Faces of AIDS
From TV commercials for Save
the Children, or UNICEF, AIDS is
seen in the images of skeletal bodies
— people who no longer look human
— wasting away in dirty,
overcrowded clinics in rural Africa,
or children, who look like tiny senior
citizens, slowly withering to nothing
in institution beds.
With images like these, it is easy
to forget that these people we see are
in fact, real people, real adults and
real children, and not surreal images
created to scare us into giving
money to another charity.
In Canada, in Europe, in many of
the wealthy countries around the
world, AIDS is a disease that we've
heard of, seen a little about on TV,
but never thought too long or too
hard about for any given time. We
have more important things to do
and worry about I suppose.
For us however, Stephanie and
me, AIDS has become a part of our
everyday life. And these faces you
see on TV or in newspapers, these
faces that look like skeletal aliens,
yes, we hake seen those images for
real, we've seen them on roadsides,
at ,the farm begging for food at the
back gate, in the hospitals, or in the
townships. But, these are only a few
of the faces of AIDS.
AIDS is Tommy. A beautiful
albino 10 year old and my number
one fan around this place, whose
body has become bloated from years
of HIV medicine and AIDS
cocktails. I am told that once this
round of medicines stop working,
there is nothing more medically that
can be done for him.
AIDS is Beniah. For this two-year-
old heartthrob, AIDS appears in the
form of TB — creating night sweats
and coughing fits that cause his
lungs to seize up, his eyes to roll
back in his head, and phleghmy spit
to build up preventing him from
breathing properly. These daily
spells last anywhere from five to 15
minutes, and afterwards, Beniah will
sleep for hours due Co such
exhaustion on his tiny body.
AIDS is Lusindi, a new baby boy
who arrived to us last week — two
days after his mum died — because
his granny would lose her job as a
maid for a white family if she took
time off work to grieve and take care
of the baby. For Lusindi, AIDS is his
awful nappy rash all over his groin
and hips -making his ebony skin
pink and raw. AIDS is also the
infection in his little ears — both
inside and out. A peeling, oozing
mess that smells awful and which he
rubs at constantly.
AIDS is Pauline - a six-month-old
baby girl whose bout with chicken
pox was so severe, craters the size of
quarters developed on her forehead
and arms — oozing blood
everywhere, and so deep that the
bone below became exposed. Her
reaction to this virus required a two-
week stay in the hospital, and only
just now, nearly two months later,
have these sores properly healed.
AIDS is Calli — the newest arrival
in the nursery, who was brought here
yesterday because her mum is in the
hospital dying. This very tiny, very
sick, two-month-old baby, has
paper-thin skin, wasted limbs (My
thumb's width is wider than the
width of her wrist and arm), and
flesh that hangs in folds around her
groin. Her current weight is less than
..-when she was born.
AIDS, is in the face of every baby
and child at this farm — even those
who are healthy. It is because of
AIDS that these children have been
orphaned or abandoned. AIDS has
created a South Africa where more
than 25 per cent of the adult
population is infected with the
disease, and the other 75 per cent of
the population are in some way
affected by it — whether it be in
higher unemployment rates,
increased numbers of orphans or
child-headed households, or in the
growing surge of people crowding
hospital waiting rooms and causing
an already low funded health care
system to be stretched even further.
AIDS, not war, not famine, not poor
economies, is winning the race in
Africa's demise.
But, though AIDS is doing much
harm, and causing such hurt, daily, I
am reminded that it is is not able to
take everything. AIDS has not taken
Tommy's beautiful gentle laugh, or
his sparkle in his eyes, or his 10-
year-old ability to woo me with
flowers from the garden, or love
notes, or hugs and kisses, or songs at
supper time (what a guy, hey?).
Tonight as I was eating my "chicken
like a king" as it is called around
here, Tommy and four-year-old Jesse
sang me songs from Veggie Tales,
Ronan Keating's, When You Say
Nothing At All, Show Me The
Meaning Of Being Lonely (or lopa
as Jesse thinks is the correct word),
and Shania's Still the One.
AIDS has not destroyed Tommy's
position as the boss of this house — a
child who all the children respect,
and all the volunteers refer to as the
Godfather.
AIDS has not taken Beniah's
newfound giggle, or his two-year-
old mischief, or his ability to make
me wish every moment I see him
that I could bring this little fella
home with me. Yesterday Steph
taught the wee man how to do a
perfect superman pose, and this,
added to the monster faces Jen
taught him, and the Hiya I love to
hear him say, or the 'Wank you' he
mastered this morning, is making
him more and more and more
delightful every day. AIDS can't
touch that.
AIDS has not destroyed Pauline's
happy disposition, her quickness to
laugh and giggle when you kiss her
cheeks, or her cuddly little baby
body.
AIDS hasn't taken Lusindi's
gentle spirit or his easy smile, or his
way of being such a stinking pain a
bedtime. Sick or not - Lusindi
knows all the tricks to get out of his
cot for that extra cuddle.
AIDS can't touch the love that is
already smothered all over tiny Calli
and her dainty features. Though her
body is wasting away, she is alert to
everything around her.
Days here can be overwhelming,
Continued on page 18