tragedy

today I received news that a great and godly man, and friend of mine from Malawi, died of malaria this month.

malaria claimed his wife only months ago.

they left four young children, who are now numbered among the countless orphans in malawi.

suddenly i understand the questions people ask of God.

why HIM? why did this man, whose life was dedicated to orphans and the downtrodden, have to die of a treatable disease?

all of those statistics, are people.

its all real.

my heart
is broken.

............

i don't know how to reconcile the fact that i went to the health clinic the other day on campus and was given free malaria medication by the doctor - they just had it 'on hand' as a sample.

and the fact that a man i worked with, painted with, sweated with, laughed with is now dead.
and his daughter, who i played with, is an orphan.

i don't know how to reconcile that.

...............

a huge realization with this work and these opportunities has been how much I have been given.

but the gut wrenching part is understanding what responsibility comes with that.

if you knew you could save a man by paying $10, would you?

A malaria net costs $10.

Today I spent more than $10 on dinner out when I had food in the fridge.

and George is dead.

.........

i am devastated.

i feel like its important to write about this, because its real.

Luke 12:48

I swear you can't make this stuff up.

Swazi MP apologizes for HIV branding proposal:

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE54R3UV20090528

From TED: Hans Rosling on HIV: New facts and stunning data visuals

After a long day of AIDS writing, this got me all pumped up:

My Official New Life Plan,

at least until August,


involves the largest slum in Africa,


flying toilets,


a Rotary 3H Grant,


an Ashoka Fellow,


and being a teacher again.


Details to come.

Highlights from Goma, DRC

World Malaria Day - April 25th

Thankfully, I am living in a malaria-free area of South Africa. However, there is a good portion of South Africa which is not, nor is the vast majority of Africa. In fact, 90% of malaria cases worldwide occur in Africa. This summer, all of the students and teachers who accompanied me to Ghana had to be on malaria medication, in case we were bitten by a malaria-infected mosquito. I will also take malaria medication when I travel this summer to countries surrounding South Africa.

Malaria is a HUGE, HUGE problem. More than half a BILLION people are infected with malaria each year, and out of those, over a million die. The incredibly frustrating thing is that malaria is completely treatable and preventable. First, there is medication - both in helping to prevent the serious illness caused by malaria (such as the medication I take when travelling to malaria-infected areas), and that can be taken as treatment once one is infected by malaria. Even in areas where medication like I was able to take is unaffordable, there are simple precautionary measures such as bed nets and mosquito repellent or insecticide. It is just a matter of making such preventable measures available to people and setting up community education programs to spread the word about ways to prevent the disease.

This year, World Malaria Day was celebrated for the first time ever, with a call from the Secretary General of the UN to rally around goals to put in the measures to drastically cut down the number of deaths caused by malaria each year. I was so excited to see my inbox flooded with information about World Malaria Day yesterday, and I hope everyone will take a couple of minutes to read up about the monstrosity of a problem it is and what can be done about it. :)

"UN launches drive against malaria

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marked World Malaria Day Friday by launching a fresh campaign against the disease, which continues to kill more than a million people every year, mostly children. The new drive aims to help provide all African countries with sufficient supplies of mosquito nets or high-quality household sprays by the end of 2010, in addition to more health clinics and special treatment centers for pregnant women." - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7366301.stm

Read more about UN efforts to end malaria deaths here, or here.

Sad today

Last night I watched Last King of Scotland with my room mates, and this morning for our anthropology class we watched Hotel Rwanda.

Its ironic that two American-made movies (both of which I watch in the US) have become so much more relevant to me in South Africa. The horror of genocide becomes more and more real the more I understand what ignites it.

I have also found that I have become incredibly sensitive to violence in movies - it didn't used to faze me - but the more I learn about the reality of violence, the less I am able to watch it being simulated. Last night when I went to bed after watching Last King of Scotland I laid there for about an hour feeling sick to my stomach.

I am riding an emotional roller-coaster, some days feeling exuberent, amazed and hopeful about how this country is coping with its oppressive past, and then days like today, just overwhelmed and sad.

Not exactly the most happy beginning to a new week.