Lena: Orphanage

Posted 08:27 AM, June 21, 2006, by lenawine

Next to 'the compound,' as I have begun to call it, is an orphanage called Cradle of Love Baby Home.

While exploring the neighboring environs, we bumped into some of the staff getting off work and they invited us in. Inside, we came upon a room literally filled with babies, probably 25 or 30. The orphanage only houses children under the age of 2 because they require the most attention and are the most difficult to care for.

Unlike America, here it is easier to find home for children after the age of 2 because they are a bit more independent. Quickly one of the ladies who works there hands each of us a baby and the room gradually becomes quieter. For a brief while, we were mesmerized by all the adorable babies, but then our host begins to introduce them to us.

Telling us their name, their age, and how they got there. "That one's mother died during childbirth, too much blood, and that one's mother died during a car crash, that one's mother simply abandoned him, and that one's mother died of HIV/AIDS."

When asked if many of the children here are infected, she precedes to point at all those in the room who are, including the one that I am holding.

Suddenly, staring into the face of this adorable child, that had lightened my day only moments ago, my mood darkens. While in Nairobi, I visited an AIDS orphanage in the slums and although it was a profound experience, this was the first time I had held an HIV positive child in my arms.

I could tell that one of the other girls in the room was pondering whether she wanted to be holding or having physical contact with an HIV positive child. Another one of the girls asked me what happens to babies that are HIV infected. I told her that the same thing that happens to adults happens to babies, except sometimes it's faster.

Another suggested that she had heard that in some cases children can go back to being negative, after being HIV positive. At this point I had to interject, I was appalled that anyone would think that you could 'get rid of' HIV. I tried to explain that it is possible to completely suppress viral replication, but there was no way to ever completely eliminate the virus from one's body.

Afterwards, I was so upset by this suggestion that I looked online and lo and behold there are articles that say that babies seroconvert from positive to negative: BBC article and Newsweek article.

After reading these articles, I realized that this girl was talking about a situation where a child had tested positive as a result of passive transfer of antibodies from the mother to the child, rather than as a result of actual HIV infection. I guess it is just really important that such articles be clarified, so that there aren't such misconceptions floating around.

I can't believe that women are still dying of blood loss during labor. In some ways that is as appalling to me as all the AIDS orphans that I have been focusing my attention on in the past few years. Both the parents that die of AIDS and those that die during labor don't have to die and their deathes could be prevented.

This visit gave me a lot to think about and really put a face on some of the issues that I have been considering. It was such a heart-wrenching experience that I still haven't decided if I will go back to help out at the orphanage or not.

Comments

Lena,

Mi preciosa amiga Lena!!!...te extrano mucho!

It's so nice to be able to stalk you on a dialy basis. I am living vicariously through your experience. That's amazing what you are going through....it shall remain interesting seeing the growth that results of all of these experiences...

much love from Rochester, MN

Comment by: Gabi at June 26, 2006 02:03 PM

I read your recent post about the orphanage for the children under two years of age. It is truly heartbreaking (in all seriousness I began to tear up a bit as I read about it). Shocking how many people die so senselessly. I am sure you hear this all the time, but I really admire what you are doing. Not only your dedication to some of these important issues, but also you courage to go to these places and see the problems first hand. Change is slow to come if you cannot put a name and a face to a story.

Comment by: Debbie at August 15, 2006 04:57 AM