Visiting Masoyi (1)

Matt and I [Dale] spent two weeks in Masoyi, the first week staying in accommodation on the edge of Masoyi, and the second commuting from nearby White River.  Nicky joined us for the second Monday.  As it was Matt’s first visit, the aim was for him to see as much of the Project’s activities, and meet as many workers as possible.

Patients

Micheal (Mike) Bobbert is our main contact, and he was responsible for organizing our visit.  He planned for us to go on patient home visits most mornings with different teams of care workers.  We visited well over twenty-five patients in all, including eight with

Hovy

Hovy when we spent three hours walking his patch.  At its peak in 2010, his team supported 250 patients, but it’s now down to 50.  HIV/AIDS was the most common condition, with related ones like TB and high blood pressure; but there were a wide range of illnesses.  Some had family around, some were alone.  Almost all were poor, and we left food parcels with a few of them.

Matt writes: i think visiting this pair was the most emotional encounter i had out there. the commitment this lad had to care for his mum was deeply moving.

she has AIDS and has been on the ARV treatment for 5 years. she was abandoned by her family when they discovered she had AIDS.

her son explained that he was doing everything in his power to be a son, husband, and father to her, and do for her what his dad would not.

he has a job as a security guard but wanted to show us a photo of him taken whilst training to be a gamekeeper – the job he really wants. sadly, anxiety about his mum contributed to him failing school exams, which he needs in order to apply for such a job.

his devotion was a beautiful thing.