Lyndsey wages war on Aids
A STAFF nurse from Bournemouth is to spearhead the launching of an Aids orphanage in Nepal for a Dorset-based international charity.
Lyndsey Drummond will spend a week in South Africa during the summer on a fact-finding mission before beginning work on the project later in the year.
The 28-year-old, from Southbourne, who works in the Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, is leading the initiative on behalf of the Murry Foundation.
The environmental foundation - chaired and run by local businessman Adam Murry - already has a highly successful orphanage for young victims of Aids in South Africa, currently looking after nearly 100 children.
"That will be my starting point," said Lyndsey. "I will find out as much as I can about how the foundation works there, what lessons there are to be learned and then come up with a proposal for something similar in Nepal."
She added: "It will be huge challenge because Nepal is way behind in dealing with a big Aids problem, in terms of funding, facilities and also in coming to terms with the disease as a social and economic issue.
"The country is suffering from a concentrated epidemic with the prevalence of Aids rising rapidly.
"This is a good example of where another part of the world can learn something from Africa. I am very excited at having the opportunity to be leading this. I believe it will make a difference."
Adam, who lives in Bournemouth, said Nepal, where he is currently establishing a tiger rehabilitation and release scheme, and an orphan children's village to house over 1,000 children, had not made the treatment of HIV/Aids a priority.
"They are not dealing with it, which is why we think there's a need to do something.
"In Nepal, there is virtually no funding for HIV/Aids and the vast majority of what there is goes to men - women and children are allocated almost nothing."
He added: "All our projects are multi-dimensional. We don't just look at an issue in isolation, but in the wider context of education, the environment and sustainability.
"We aim to establish projects which are viable and sustainable for the long term. We are about saving lives and making them better - human and animal." .
Construction of a Skills Centre
Allan K. Chalmers once said, ‘The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.’ The Murry Foundation hopes to provide those essentials with the development of a skills centre at The Holy Mission School, in the Limpopo province of South Africa.
Hope is a sparse commodity in an Aids orphanage, a place where young children are forced to accept life’s only inevitability way before they are supposed to question their own mortality.
Dying under the blistering South African heat was once the only real prospect for these children. The Sisters of The Holy Mission School have shown these children a tender touch and warmth so necessary in their lives, but The Murry Foundation feels these children deserve more and help financially, aiding the hard work of the Sisters.
The skills centre will directly and indirectly provide the three aforementioned ingredients of happiness for these children. A room of 48 square metres, is being constructed to house 10 computers and 8 sewing machines. In this room the children will have regular extra-curricular classes in computer science and sewing. It is very important for the children to develop these skills because they are predominantly orphans from very deprived families. Knowledge of computers and sewing will facilitate their advancement in later life. Many of the children are ill, therefore the teaching and instruction is not physically demanding. The computer skills the children will learn will allow them to communicate through the proposed New World Link web site designed by The Murry Foundation to bring school children from all over the world, closer together.
The Skill centre, the lessons, and the donation of this equipment will provide activities to make their days more exciting and rewarding. The use of computers will provide a mental salvation from the arduous treatments the children require to keep them alive. Those that do live past their infancy will find themselves not only occupied but useful in a society that has passed them by. This usefulness in turn provides a hope that at one stage they could not have dreamed of, a simple hope; that of normality and usefulness in a world they have never truly had the benefit of knowing.
The building will be of brick with a zinc roof and a tiled floor. It has big windows and is situated with a lovely view of the mountains.
The Murry Foundation supports the Holy Mission
There is undoubtedly a stigma attached to aids, to HIV. It is perceived as warning of society’s ever-increasing sexual liberation, a guilty affliction of particular social groupings. The truth, however, is very different.
Aids, for some people, is not an avoidable disease. On his recent visit to South Africa, Adam Murry, Chairman of The Murry Foundation, visited the Holy Family Centre in Limpopo, South African, a religious centre run by holy sisters who care for children suffering from HIV and Aids. These are the world’s forgotten children, who had no choice but to live with this deadly virus. Many babies are born into the world, already carriers of the fatal disease, a symptom of their genetic inheritance. Others have been even more unfortunate, if that is possible. One baby, and that is the only way she can be described, was brutally gang raped at 2 years old. Not only was she forced to live with the physical and psychological effects of rape but her sadistic, inhuman attackers left her with another indelible scar; a life of medication, injections and treatment for the HIV that they spread through her diminutive, innocent body.
It is important that we do not view these children as modern-day lepers. They are no different to any child born with a life shattering disability or illness.
It is a disgrace that these children have had their lives snatched away, their dignity compromised and their innocence lost forever.
Holy Family Mission was first established at Ofcolaco in the Limpopo Province in 1951, offering a diverse range of services for the local community, including a primary school, a clinic, an income generating weaving project, youth camps, home based care training, Christian leadership courses and various other activities. Over time, these services have changed as the needs of the people in the area have developed. For example, the primary school has moved to the main road where it is more accessible to the children, the clinic no longer operates because of adequate government clinics nearby.
For the past twelve years, Holy Family Mission was only staffed by one priest who carried out his ministry in the surrounding villages. The picturesque property is situated at the foot of the Drakensberg Mountains. Over time, the buildings began to deteriorate, unused and empty. With the permission of the Bishop of Tzaneen, Bishop Hugh Slattery, a group of religious sisters took up residence at the mission in 2002 to bring new life to the mission, repairing the buildings ready for use as an HIV Aids Centre.
In the initial stages, it wasn’t clear how the mission could best respond to the needs of the people. So for some time the sisters listened to what the local community had to say before undertaking any specific plans. It became evident that the needs of the local community were vast and varied. So the first years were a period of assessment and evaluation as a variety of activities were undertaken. Together with staff from the nearby villages the following services were offered:
- home based care for sick people
- help for people who were malnourished
- a place where people in need could find some rest and comfort
- a temporary refuge for women who had been assaulted or raped
- a place where people of every faith, without distinction, could find spiritual
help or just have the chance to pray
- counselling and support for people with HIV/Aids, especially those rejected
by their families
All of these services are worthwhile but eventually it became very clear to The Holy Family that the greatest need was to care for orphaned children with
HIV/Aids and this remains the present orientation of the centre.
Sister Dane, one of the Mission’s founders, comments, ‘The first request for our help came from the Letaba Hospital, through the paediatrician, but with the approval of the Superintendent. There was a great need for some children, with TB and HIV/Aids, to receive follow-up care after being discharged from the hospital. Some of these children were orphans and others were very vulnerable or abused, coming from very dysfunctional families. Children with the aforementioned diseases need long term medical care with frequent visits to the doctor. They also need to be given medication on a regular basis for the treatment to be effective and the paediatrician felt that this would not happen in many cases. ‘
The orphanage has 26 staff members:
- 4 religious sisters who are responsible for the administration of the Centre
- 1 medical doctor who comes once a week to check the children
- 1 S.A. registered nurse and counsellor who comes if any of the children become sick or need counselling
- 2 male staff for maintenance of the property
- 3 drivers
- 9 trained carers (including 2 crèche teachers)
- 6 domestic staff
The carer’s trained by the ‘Choice’ organization work day and night to ensure that the children receive constant care and attention. Many work a second job through the day, or at night to support their own families. Although, it would be easy for these people to be broken by the unnecessary suffering that surrounds them, it appears that they draw strength from the adversity that they face on a daily basis. Our day to day lives are spent in a grey mist of mediocrity, we rarely encounter pure godliness or raw evil. The mission however works at one end of the spectrum to counteract the other. The Murry Foundation’s support of the selfless goodness of the mission is essential in the battle against a dark and disturbing truth. The world must maintain its equilibrium; we must often find seemingly infinite darkness before we find our guiding light.
The children living in the mission have endured a combination of extreme poverty, resulting in malnutrition, the death of parents from HIV/AIDS and TB,
abuse, especially rape alcoholic guardians, leading to neglect, mentally handicapped mothers unable to care for their children, ignorance, desertion and rejection.
CARE OF THE CHILDREN
The core objective of The Mission is to provide holistic care for the children.
Medical Care
A medical doctor visits the Centre each week. He sees any new children and also any who are unwell. He reviews all the children every month referring those who need special care to the paediatrician in Letaba hospital.
All medication for the children is dispensed through the Holy Family doctor and through Letaba Hospital. It is only administered by the staff at Holy Family.
Children with special needs are taken to Letaba Hospital. These needs include:
- Psychological and bereavement counselling
- Physiotherapy for children with developmental problems caused by malnutrition
- Physiotherapy for children with any handicaps
- Occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
Nutritional Care
Many of the children have been severely malnourished or are suffering from HIV/AIDS. Good nutritious food is essential for their development and for fighting disease, especially those whose immune systems have been attacked by the spread of HIV.
A nutritionist at the Letaba hospital has prepared menus for the orphans that will provide the best nutrition for the children, who are reaping the rewards of a balanced diet. The focus on nutrition is particularly advanced given the apparent disregard for such programs in the developed world. Diet and a child’s behaviour and development are intimately linked.
The Mission has also developed a large vegetable garden so that they can produce plentiful fruit and vegetables for the children on a daily basis including a mango plantation
.
Education
a) Primary School and High School
Most of the bigger children attend the local Primary school nearby. The centre has an excellent relationship with the school and we have 46 children attending the school at present. The teachers monitor the children and if any are unwell the mission is immediately informed. Most of the children walk to school but the weaker children are taken by car.
A lot of our children have never been to school because their families have neglected them or ill health has prevented their attendance. They now have a wonderful opportunity to be educated and they really enjoy and appreciate the school.
We have 6 children attending a boarding High School for which they are receiving bursaries
A child with cerebral palsy is attending a small day centre for the disabled in the village of Pharare
b) Pre-School
A preschool with 17 pupils has been developed nearby. There is a fully trained pre-school teacher, assisted by a very capable friend of The Mission who is completing her training. One child from a nearby farm also attends the pre-school.
In addition to 2 classrooms, a teachers’ office and a bathroom, the pre-school has adequate space for sleeping and eating and an ample playground. Recreational Activities
The Holy Family occupies a large property so there is plenty of space for the children to play.
The following recreational activities are encouraged although certain children are unable to take part in certain extra curricular pursuits due to their illness or disability:
- Cultural dancing and singing
- Music
- Sport, particularly volley ball and net ball
- Gardening on Saturdays
- Cooking (the older girls can all make bread, biscuits etc)
- Craft work and sewing
- TV is available but is supervised. DVDs and Videos are procured for the children
The Mission also take the bigger children for special excursions. They have been to Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Swadini Reptile Park, Legalameetse Nature Reserve and Makalali Game Lodge, also participating in specially organized days that include children’s cultural dancing groups from some of the neighbouring villages.
Before the intervention of The Murry Foundation the Centre relied on donations from overseas aid organisations and private donors. This was a precarious position for the school as funding could not be guaranteed on a day to day basis. The school’s long term survival relies on consistent support, without which the ill children would undoubtedly suffer an arduous demise under the blistering African sun. After his visit to the school, Adam was so moved by the work undertaken by the sisters that he offered to fund all aspects of the running of orphanage, to relieve the sisters of the day to day monetary pressures.
Adam has just returned from Africa where he has also negotiated and donated land for an orphan village. This will be the second village the foundation has undertaken and will also provide relief for The Holy Family orphanage.
The Murry Foundation believes in the protection of the vulnerable and it is impossible not to be moved by the heart breaking stories of these unfortunate children. They deserve the same chance to live and shape their lives as any other person. They will, tragically, never be afforded this dignity. Gro H. Brundtland once said ‘It is vital that we harness political and financial commitments to fight the war against AIDS at the highest levels.’ Help The Murry Foundation fight this war, before tomorrow’s generation becomes a casualty of a very unnecessary war.
