Workin' at YOUDAO

Youth Development and Advocacy Organization (YOUDAO) is the NGO (non-goverment organization) that two of the six of us (myself and Shannon) are working with this summer. Due to our week of culture and language training in Salima, our Safari in Zambia, as well as the couple days devoted to our workplan and budget to request sector funds from WUSC (World University Service of Canada), we'd only worked a couple days before this week. Here is a picture of me in front of YOUDAO which is located in Area 25A of Lilongwe.

Below is the list of subjects YOUDAO programs encompass. This sign hangs on the front gate.

This week we began projects from our workplan which included doing case studies on specific HIV positive patients as well as attending a meeting with school girls from one of the Violence Against Girls in Education (VAGE) meetings (I will post pictures from this later in the week). Not knowing right now the details that we're able to disclose I'll just briefly talk about each of the women we met with. Many were comfortable answering absolutely anything and even said to put their pictures with our report, so I'm sure it's okay that I include them here as well.

Our first case study was with a woman (approx 45 years) who is widowed due to HIV/AIDS. She discussed knowing that she had HIV after her husband died but she didn't get tested or tell anyone for many years after. Her husband was a 'womanizer' (her words) and slept with many other women, so she knows that she contracted the virus from him. Her children have been very supportive now, but she's desperate to learn skills so that she can support herself financially.

The second girl with whom we met is a sex-trade worker. She is 17 years old and began working the trade at age 13 when her parents could no longer afford her school fees so she had to drop-out. Her friends got her into it, but the money is what keeps her doing it. It allows her to have a cell phone, buy new clothes, and biscuits... she still isn't going to school. We were curious about some specifics which she didn't hesitate to share, there was no embarassement about her job, it's just reality to her. She charges 500 MK ($3.33 CAD) per round and usually gets in about 4 rounds per week. She would like to quit working but although YOUDAO has provided her with several training sessions (of other work that she could do), she hasn't given up the trade. Oh and get this, the bars here have rooms in the back that are rented out for this purpose - HOW CRAZY IS THAT!?

The last women with whom we met on our first day is a divorcee. This is EXTREMELY rare in Malawi, but because her husband was abusive, as well as slept with other women, he gave her and consequently 2 of her 5 children HIV. Only her youngest boy is on ARVs (anti-retro virals provided free of charge by the government). She had to escape and is now living with her 5 children in 2 rooms her uncle owns (each no larger than the average Canadian's shed).

This next woman is also a widow as her husband also died of HIV/AIDS and she too is now HIV positive. She has four children but only her oldest (age 13) knows as she worries the younger ones will be scared that she will die, which they obviously will, is this reason enough not to tell them...? I don't konw.... Her son was absolutely adorable and kept creeping closer and closer to sit beside me. He got close enough that I could see in the cup he was drinking water from... it was full of dirt, soooo sad. Here is a picture of she and her son below.

This is the last woman with whom we met this week and it was definitely the hardest situation. All the situations were difficult and many visits left me feeling sick or on the verge of tears, but this was the absolute worst. This woman has 5 kids. She and the three in the photo below: daugter age 4 and twin boys age 1 are all HIV positive. Her husband sleeps around and is abusive, but she doesn't feel that she can live without him (financially). Her husband knows he is HIV positive but wants more and more children, against his wife's will. She has already lost two children to HIV/AIDS, so YOUDAO has just become involved and is trying to figure out how to get her away from her husband.

YOUDAO supports all these women and their children to the best of their ability. As a new NGO, founded only in 1997, they are lacking a significant amount of funding. Action Aid an international NGO supports YOUDAO but they're constantly looking for other donors.

I haven't told these stories to make anyone sad, or to recruit funders, my intentions are only to inform all of you that I care about and that have supported me throughout this journey with OSHI, some of the things that I am experiencing here in Malawi. To leave you on a bit of a lighter note, here is a picture of me eating sugar cane - aka basically sucking the sugar water out of it - haha I'm not a huge fan, but I had to try it! They thought it was pretty funny as the juice was dripping out of the opposite end all over me - how classy am I?!

xo from Malawi

Michelle